Defense strong against Dons in win

By Ryan Kuhn
The Guardsman

The phrase ‘defense wins championships’ has apparently been planted in the minds of City College’s football players, as the Rams have only given up three points in the last two games.

After allowing 18 points in their first road game two weeks ago, the defense has not allowed a single touchdown since as they defeated De Anza College 62-3, on Oct 2 to keep their perfect record, now 4-0, in tact.

Head coach George Rush knows first hand what his defense is capable of.

“They are fast and they play hard and they play tough,” Rush said. “They are physical and they knock the crap out of you.”

Not only did the defense hold De Anza out of the end zone, but the No. 1-rated defense in Northern California also scored 14 points for the Rams on two fumble recoveries.

Sophomore linebacker Sua Tuala scored one of those touchdowns, as he ran 70 yards on a Dons fumble.

“It was a blitz and I just picked up the ball and ran as hard as I could,” Tuala said.

With defense staying sharp, the offense also has been putting up numbers of their own, scoring over 60 points for the second game in a row.

With the combination of a rushing and passing attack, and a total of seven touchdowns, City College finished with 588 yards of total offense, 320 yards more than the De Anza.

Running back Kenny Haynes who ran for 53 yards and a touchdown feels very happy with the offense, but knows there is always room for improvement.

“We put a lot of work into the offense but I don’t think we reached our peak yet,” Haynes said. “We have great playmakers and once we reach our peak, no one can stop us. Working together, believing in each other and trusting each other is going to get us where we want to be.”

Another part of the Rams offense is sophomore quarterback Steele Jantz, who is second in passing yards and third in touchdown passes in Northern California.

Jantz finished the game 13-19 for 296 yards, with three touchdowns and one interception. He also ran for 34 yards and a touchdown.

Even with the perfect record and a No. 2 ranking in the state, Rush knows that challenges will be ahead in the form of Butte and San Mateo colleges and improvement will be needed in some areas.

One of those areas is limiting penalties; the Rams committed 23 penalties for 218 yards and have the third most penalty yards in the state.

“We need to limit those penalties,” Rush said. “We can’t make mental mistakes.”

City College returns home next week to a brand new turf field at Rams Stadium where they will host San Joaquin Delta College on Oct 16, who is 2-0 on the road this year.

Kick off is at 1 p.m.