Fans of Fresno City College Rams and West Hills College Falcons football teams could not have asked for a better afternoon of football. The perfect weather brought out a modest-sized crowd, who struggled to find a spot in the shade at the 1:00 p.m. kick-off, with the Rams on the receiving end.
Less than three minutes into the first quarter, the Falcons put 6 on the board with a 28 yard touchdown pass, preceded by an 11 play, 94 yard drive, and followed by an extra point. The Rams attempted to answer this score on their next drive, but only inches away from the end-zone, a turn-over gave the Falcons a momentary upper hand. Held at bay by a strong Rams defense, however, the Falcons were 4 and out, and had to punt back to the house’s territory.
One pass later, the Rams brought one home as Quarterback Emmanuel Lewis connected with freshman wide-receiver Isiah Barton, who was alone in the end-zone. This led to a tie score at the 5 and a half minute mark of the first quarter. Coming close to extending their lead at 3 and a half minutes left, the Rams shot just wide of the field goal post, ending the quarter tied.
Half way through the second quarter, the Falcons defensive back, Jeff Jones, nearly intercepted a pass at the Rams’ 10 yard line, but he was unable to hold on as he hit the turf. Despite a missed opportunity for a turnover, a tough West Hills defense kept the Rams at bay for most of that quarter.
Yet the Rams would have the final word of the first half as Lewis was able to find a gap and run one home for the house from 31 yards out. The Falcons experienced another solid Rams defensive on their final drive for the half, giving the Rams another chance to put more numbers on the board. However, as the clock wound down, the Rams took a knee, leading to a 14-7 halftime score.
To begin the second half, West Hills found a kick-off return at their own 30 yard line. However, they found themselves 4 and out at the hands of a relentless Rams defensive line and were Rams territory, where the Rams accepted a fair catch.
Feeling confident in their lead, the Rams attempted a pass on a fourth down and 10 yard stretch at their own 40 yard line. With intense pressure from a West Hills blitz, however, Lewis was forced out of the pocket, and unable to see an open receiver in the end-zone, he was forced to throw the ball away, giving the Falcons a chance at the Rams’ own 40. The Falcons were unable to capitalize on this opportunity, however, and were unable to get within field goal range.
After a fair catch at their own 20 yard line, the Rams drove it deep into Falcon territory 12 minutes into the third quarter, where Lewis connected with Isiah Barton once again, this time at the Falcon’s 1 yard line. Following was a first and goal score for the Rams where, freshman running back, Josh Tobar, carried the ball across the goal line. The third quarter ended 21-7.
Soon after the start of the final quarter, the Falcons closed the gap with a touchdown less than two minutes in. The following extra point set the Rams with only a modest seven point lead. However, the Rams answered straight back with a 30 yard pass to sophomore wide receiver, Arkeem French, who carried the ball another 30 yards to cross the goal line, barely breaking a tackle from Falcons defensive back, sophomore Darren Hairston. The Rams would next attempt to fake an extra point into a two-point conversion, but the Falcons were quick to respond with a denial.
West Hills’ sophomore Tate, Humphrey, met significant pressure from the Rams defensive line, which sacked him, causing a fumble and leading to yet another Rams touchdown.
With four minutes left in the game, sophomore running back Antoin Dewalt ran another touchdown past the Falcons defense, leading to an end-game score of 41-14.