INLAND FIELDHOUSE

RIVERSIDE – What impressed me most about the Ramona-Riverside varsity football game on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023, is that no matter how far away I stayed for 99.9 percent of the action, the game still ended at my feet.

With time ticking away on the final minute of the fourth quarter and Poly trailing by a touchdown, I headed down from a press box to get to the sideline before the buzzer. And even though I prefer the sideline, weather permitting, here I was trudging down the steps late in a big game. Anyway, I got onto the field just as Bears QB Victor Aguilar scrambled toward the sideline at the 5-yard line. He slid out of bounds as time expired – losing the game – but then just kept sliding and sliding, all the way to the literal tip of my toes. I helped him up. Neither of us said a word.

Ken Mushinskie: “A few years ago at Ramona it was a very similar game. They were throwing the ball all over the place. It was a super-close game. We knew tonight was going to be a grind. Their defense is very good, and their running back is just a load. Jshaun Thomas is a stud and our kids bent but they didn’t break, and we got the win. The momentum at the beginning of the game really helped us out. We were trying to get another one in and make it 21-0 but they got one back and then they tied it, and it was just a great effort to the end, trading punches back and forth. I have to give credit to Poly. They never gave up and our kids never gave up, and it’s just a great high school football game.”

Jarron Gilbert: “We left some stuff on the table. We had shots to get stops and we weren’t able to get them in critical moments. Credit to them. They played a good game. We just have to handle those high-pressure moments a little bit better. We’ve had too many close games. We spotted them 14 points to start, and we played some good defense for a little while after that but it’s hard to make up those first 14. Makes a huge difference.”

Ramona – 14 – 0 – 7 – 14 — 35
Poly – 0 – 7 – 7 – 14 — 28
First quarter
R – Valenzuela 16 pass from Acosta (McAllister kick), 8:43
R – Mesa 3 run (McAllister kick), 6:43
Second quarter
P – Monforte 3 run (Samosky kick), 10:39
Third quarter
P – Luna 4 run (Samosky kick), 8:10
R – Tolbert 6 run (McAllister kick), 4:22
Fourth quarter
P – Dominguez-Wales 11 pass from Aguilar (Samosky kick), 10:46
R – Valenzuela 36 pass from Acosta (McAllister kick), 9:42
P – Padilla 32 pass from Aguilar (Samosky kick), 8:01
R – Tolbert 17 run (McAllister kick), 3:59
Team statistics
Total plays – Ramona 61; Riverside Poly 76.
First downs – Ramona 15; Riverside Poly 20.
Penalties – Ramona 4-60; Riverside Poly 7-60.
Turnovers – Ramona 1; Riverside Poly 2.
Individual statistics
Rushing – Ramona: Tolbert 18-75, Acosta 9-67, Mesa 2-12; Riverside Poly: Thomas 26-102, Monforte 10-86, Morales 7-35, Aguilar 3-22, Luna 1-4.
Passing – Ramona: Acosta 13-23-0-164; Riverside Poly: Aguilar 11-20-1-175.
Receiving – Ramona: Valenzuela 4-70, Lerma 3-52, Ruiz 5-35, Bracamonte 1-7; Riverside Poly: Thomas 2-50, Dominguez-Wales 2-40, Padilla 2-39, Henry 2-22, Robles 1-22, Morales 1-11, Allen 2-9.
Interceptions – Ramona: Daniel 1-20; Riverside Poly: None.