INLAND FIELDHOUSE

RIVERSIDE – What impressed us most about the San Gorgonio-Ramona varsity football game on Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, was the Rams’ relentlessness.

Ramona went up 14-7 in the first quarter and then turned on the jets, coasting to a 42-7 halftime lead before revving to a 56-13 advantage and finally powering all the way up 70 points for the first time in more than 20 years. The Rams seemed to score on every possession and even some of San G.’s!

Chris Chaddick: “We just ran into a bigger team. It came down to three simple things: they’ve been together for 10 years (and) we’ve been together one. They’ve been in the weight room in the past five years together. I got this job in May. It comes down to continuity, strength and experience. They’ve been there. They’ve been to the big games, and we haven’t. Not one of our kids, outside of Payton Clark, has been to the playoffs. Not one. They went from basically being a laughingstock to the pride of their school, league champions, in one year, and not it’s time to take that next step. We’ll let their bodies rest through Christmas break and then it’ll be time to build. Am I disappointed in the way this game went? Yes, it’s embarrassing but you learn from embarrassment and failure. Am I disappointed in them as men? No. And what they’ve accomplished as a team? No. I love these guys. One hell of a first year. Not many teams went 9-1 with a first coach in all of CIF, just Mater Dei and Mt. Carmel, so I’m proud of these boys. They did a great job.”

Ken Mushinskie: “We knew if we played our game and stuck to the script of what we wanted to do and control the line of scrimmage. We’re a little bit bigger than them. They probably had the edge on speed, but our defense was flying around, they made plays. And our offensive line really came together and eliminated the blitz and put some points on the board. We said, ‘We need to strike fast.’ And we haven’t been able to do that consistently, and we were pretty consistent tonight and it led to a big win. I think the three losses we had in league really motivated us. We were able to get in on an at-large berth. We knew we had a good team, but we just missed a play here and a play there during league. Norte Vista smacked us in the mouth but they’re very, very good, big and fast and physical and a typical Ken Batdorf team, so we were able to play off that a little bit. And it’s CIF football. Everyone is 0-0 right now and that’s how we played it.”

San Gorgonio – 7 – 0 – 6 – 0 — 13
Ramona – 14 – 28 – 14 – 14 — 70
First quarter
R – Tolbert 58 run (Martinez kick), 11:22
SG – Sawyer 22 pass from Clark (#20 kick), 7:57
R – Tolbert 3 run (Martinez kick), 5:57
Second quarter
R – Shinar 40 pass from Acosta (Martinez kick), 8:40
R – Mesa 16 int. return (Martinez kick), 7:21
R – Valenzuela 64 pass from Acosta (Martinez kick), 4:02
R – Mesa 5 run (Martinez kick), 0:57
Third quarter
R – Valenzuela 45 pass from Acosta (Martinez kick), 9:00
R – Blocked punt recovered in end zone (Martinez kick), 4:25
SG – Sawyer 70 pass from Clark (run failed), 4:04
Fourth quarter
R – Acosta 8 run (Martinez kick), 6:07
R – Mendoza 22 int. return (Martinez kick), 2:25
Team statistics
Total plays – San Gorgonio 55; Ramona 59.
First downs – San Gorgonio 8; Ramona 19.
Penalties – San Gorgonio 7-67; Ramona 8-85.
Turnovers – San Gorgonio 4; Ramona 2.
Individual statistics
Rushing – Sawyer 2-50, Carolina 8-40, Tyson 3-1, Edgar 1-(minus-7), Clark-(minus-17); Ramona: Tolbert 19-198, Acosta 6-109, Mesa 2-5, Mendoza 1-(minus-2).
Passing – San Gorgonio: Clark 9-25-3-127, Russell 0-1-0-0; Ramona: Acosta 11-22-1-229.
Receiving – San Gorgonio: Sawyer 4-95, Morales 4-20, Carolina 1-8, Edgar 1-1; Ramona: Valenzuela 5-132, Shinar 1-40, Bracamonte 1-21, Lerma 2-15, Ruiz 1-12, Mendoza 1-9.
Interceptions – San Gorgonio: Rubio 1-0; Ramona: Mendoza 1-22, Mesa 1-16, Daniel 1-8.