Bold Call Gives Collins First Victory as Rams Head Coach
Rams Defeat Sierra College
By Patrick Cochran
It was the gutsiest of calls. Rams quarterback Anthony Gordon had just capped off a 67-yard drive with a 9-yard touchdown pass to stellar wide receiver Easop Winston.
An extra point would tie the game against Sierra at 24 and send it into overtime, and at first that seemed to be new head coach Jimmy Collins’ plan. The special teams unit was at the line, ready to snap the ball, when opportunity presented itself.
Flustered by the count, Sierra College went offside, flags flew and the Rams were awarded half the distance to the goal line. Now with his team less than two yards from the end zone, Collins knew what he had to do.
To the pleasure of the crowd, the Rams went for two. The pressure was immense, and Sierra only upped the ante when they called a timeout. Given the chance to change his mind and try to tie the game with a kick, Collins stuck to his instincts.
The Rams lined up with sophomore running back Elijah Dale in the backfield, and snapped the ball. Gordon handed it off to Dale, who dived toward the right side of his offensive line.
Blowing past the line of scrimmage, Dale was hit by a Sierra defender a half yard in front of the goal line. A battle ensued, with the defender putting all his might to try to wrestle Dale down, but that wasn’t going to happen.
Furiously chopping his feet and driving his shoulder into the defender, making him stand up, Dale forced his way into the end zone. The refs signaled that the two- point conversion was good, and the Rams and their fans went wild.
With only 35 seconds left, Sierra didn’t have enough time to march down the field for a field goal or touchdown, giving the Rams an exciting 25-24 win for their season opener on a hot, sweaty day in the Central Valley.
“Give it to the best (junior college) running back in the country, Elijah Dale, behind three All-American linemen — it was a no brainer,” a jubilant coach Collins said after the game. “I am still at a loss of words. As a team we battled through adversity and early season mistakes, but we stuck together and won this game.”
Turnovers, penalties and an anemic offense plagued the Rams for the first 55 minutes. Fumbles on both kick and punt returns enabled Sierra to lead almost the entire game, and an offense that seemed reminiscent of the Alex Smithled 49ers, with almost no downfield passing game, but in the last five minutes all of that changed.
“We made mistakes, but we kept fighting,” sophomore wideout Antoine Porter said.
Starting in his first game at quarterback for the Rams, freshman Gordon could not get into a rhythm for most of the game. The only passes he seemed to complete were short ones, with no luck on deep passes.
With five minutes left, things finally clicked for Gordon, who led his team on a seven-play, 85 yard drive, capped off with a home run deep pass to standout wide receiver Winston.
“They are a tough team, and always give us a good game,” Collins said. “But
we showed today we can battle adversity and our team will be ready.”
Torching the cornerback covering him, Winston flew down the field catching Gordon’s ball to take it to the end zone. A two-point conversion put the Rams within in one touchdown of tying the game.
The Rams immediately followed with an onside kick, but Sierra recovered it. All Sierra had to do was hold on to the ball, get a couple first downs and let the clock run out, but the Rams’ defense stepped up and forced Sierra to punt.
With the ball at their own 33-yard line with a 1:44 left on the clock, Gordon and the rest of the offense stepped up their game and drove down the field, getting the touchdown and the two-point conversion for the win.
“We were so confident on the two points,” Porter said. “At half- time we had called it, and we knew we could do it.”
Gordon certainly proved his worth with the late-game heroics, and despite the slow start had a good day passing the ball with 306 yards, three touchdowns and only one interception.
“In the beginning I got hit a couple times hard, but got my feet wet and learned what it’s like to get hit at the college level,” Gordon said. “We were playing from behind and had nothing to lose, so we went balls to the wall and it paid off. The offensive line kept me on my feet. They got us into the end zone on that two-point conversion. The defense played great even after being on the field all day long.”
The star of the game, though, was freshman wideout Winston. Dominating the Sierra secondary all afternoon, Winston ended the game with 12 catches for 173 yards and two touchdowns, both of which came in the last five minutes. If Gordon and Winston can continue playing together the way they did in the last minutes of the game, the Rams will have an explosive passing offense.
The Rams hope that the exciting finish carries over to the next game against cross-bay rival Laney College of Oakland on Sept. 12.
“They are a tough team, and always give us a good game,” Col- lins said. “But we showed today we can battle adversity, and our team will be ready.”
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