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3-2 Win for Rams Baseball |
San Francisco Honors Football Team and Coach Rush
Mayor Willie Brown hosts ceremony at City Hall for the Rams' third consecutive national championship title
By Mauricio Matusiak
Sports Editor
City College football Head Coach George Rush was honored at the South Light Court of the City Hall of San Francisco on Feb. 25. Rush received from Mayor Willie Brown a plaque regarding the Rams National Championship title of 2001, the third consecutive triumph in three years.
 Photo by Mauricio Matusiak The national champions (above). Coach Rush (left) received his award from Mayor Willie Brown alongside College Board Vice-President Johnnie Carter. |
The Rams' overall record under Rush is 194 wins, 72 losses and four ties. Even more impressive is the fact that the Rams have lost only seven games in the last nine years. That makes Rush the winningest football coach in the nation in the last decade.
City College Chancellor Dr. Philip R. Day Jr. was present at the ceremony and spoke about the importance of the Rams' and Coach Rush for the college.
"I think the tradition has now been set with this football team and the commitment that we have to put together a very strong athletic program, along with a very strong program of scholarship. They are No. 1 in the country three years in a row, undefeated three years in a row. Our basketball team right now is No. 1 in the country and they are doing as great a job as a basketball team as the Rams have done on the football field."
Chancellor Day also said, "It represents and exemplifies the true spirit that we have at City College. I believe in excellence, I believe in achievement and I believe if you really want it, you can go out and get it. These folks have done it and I'm so proud of them, Coach Rush and his entire staff."
Every single player was called to receive a diploma from Rush commemorating another state and national championship for the Rams.
"I am really a lot happier for the team than I am for me. They are the ones who play, who work hard everyday. We have a great coaching staff that works hard, plans hard and prepares the players. But when the day is done, the players play the game and they win the games.
"I am a lot happier for the success they'll have when they leave City College with scholarships," Rush said.
When asked about the possibility of winning ano-ther National Champion-ship, Coach Rush appears to be aware of the Rams' potential.
"We just keep going. We've got some to come; let's see what happens.
We have a really good team coming back up; let's see how well they play,"
he said.
Rams Knock Mustangs Out of Playoffs in Easy Win
City's basketball team defeats Delta College, 74-68, keep rolling in the NorCal playoffs
By Mauricio Matusiak
Sports Editor
 Photo by Mauricio Matusiak Rams' Justin Hussel (25) pinned an attempted layup by Mustangs' Michael Ross. |
The Rams had no problems knocking the Mustangs out of the playoffs with a 74-68 win on Mar. 6, at the South Gym. Even though the final score does not show much superiority, the game was not very hard for the No. 1 team in the nation.
The Rams basically dominated the San Joaquin Delta Mustangs all game long. The visitors never had the lead and never trailed by less than four points. The Rams started off playing aggressive offense and set a five-point lead soon in the game. The Mustangs bounced back but never had the lead, because both teams scored on almost every single play.
At halftime, the score was Rams, 32, Mustangs, 26.
The Mustangs showed much better offense in the first part of the second half, closing the gap to four. However, Rams Coach Harry Pantazopulos figured out the Rams' main problem on defense. "They (Mustangs) are having too much penetration. We've got to stop them out there," he screamed by the sideline.
Thus, the Rams woke up and started to play well again. Three consecutive shots by Derrick Tarver gave the Rams a 10-point lead, 54-44, with 10:50 left in the game. The first-year cheerleaders were showing lots of energy as they danced by the court line. "Hey Rams, let's go," they chanted.
The Rams just kept on rolling, winning by six points, 74-68. They advanced to the next round of the Northern California playoffs.
Sports Bulletin
The City College Rams (32-1) advanced to the state finals on Mar. 9 after staving-off Fresno City College 96-88 in the last round of the Northern California playoffs held in the South Gym.
The Rams now face Riverside (28-8) on Mar. 15, at 7 p.m., at the Pacific Spanos Center in Stockton.
The other quarterfinal games include Chabot (24-9) vs LA City (28-8)
at 1 p.m., Cerritos (27-7) vs Skyline (26-9) at 3 p.m., and Columbia (27-6)
vs Saddle-back (30-4) at 7 p.m.
3-2 Win for Rams Baseball
Adrian D. Varnedoe
A&E Editor
Every baseball player wants to be at the plate with two outs, one on and the score tied in extra innings.
 Photo by Adrian D. Varnedoe Safe! City College Ram's infielder Joe Wong ran out a base hit in the last inning. The Rams beat the Colts, 3-2. |
That time was on Feb. 28 for City College outfielder Brandon Evens, during the first home game at Balboa Park. Facing Tony Cougoule, a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher for the Cañada Colts, added to the pressure Evens was under, especially since Cougule struck out Evens in the seventh inning. But Evens didn't disappoint this time.
With the Rams on their feet in the ninth and the count full, Evens bounced a blip over the pitcher's head, giving Brian Ghilarducci time to score the winning run for a 3-2 win over the Cañada Colts. The Rams improved their record to 7-10 overall, and 1-0 in Coast Conference play.
"I'm glad to have it now than never," Evens said after the game.
The Rams could say they won it with their speed, because that's what got Evens to first base before the ball, but it was City College starting pitcher Damon Shair who four times got out of jams that could have blown the game wide open for the Colts.
In the eighth inning, Shair, already having control trouble, walked a batter, filling the bases. But he got the next batter to pop fly to second.
"It was a battle the whole time," Shair said after the game. "I'm just glad we got the win."
But that win could have been a loss. Because Balboa Park doesn't have a fence, the outfielders have to play deep for players that have a strong bat.
In the fourth, Evens was playing deep when a Colts hitter hit the ball to shallow center. Evens ran and dove for the ball but was unable to get it.