THE BITTER END: Rams' hopes vanquished in Visalia

BY DAN SANKEY
Contributing Writer

PHOTOS BY NATHAN WEYLAND

The Rams fought fog, Cougars, and suspect officiating to hold on to their undefeated season until the final seconds of the state championship game Saturday.

The undefeated Southern California champion, College of the Canyons Cougars, took an early lead and held it until the final whistle, breaking the Rams' 24-game winning streak and dashing their hopes for a fifth state title in six years.

The game was riddled with penalties from both teams but it was the final two calls that led many to blame bad officiating on keeping the Rams from forcing overtime.

On the Cougars' 22-yard line with 29 seconds left to play, Rams quarterback Joe Ayoob hit Maurice Purify with a pass in the end zone for the apparent tying score. But when the ball came loose after he hit the ground, it was ruled incomplete.

“It was bad officiating,” said Dave Cepeda, executive director of jucofootball.org who witnessed the play from behind the end zone. “Five other coaches saw it with me. Number 82 [Purify] caught the ball clearly in the end zone, landed on his back and they knocked it out of bounds.”

The call was protested, but play continued with nine seconds left. Ayoob's final pass was caught by wide receiver Chris Bryant, but it was clearly out of bounds.

As the clock ran out, there was still plenty of conten-tion on the field. Questions were rais-ed about whether or not time remained when Ayoob's pass went out of bounds. “The field judge and the line judge were the two worst officials we've had all year,” coach George Rush said.

He was adamant, however, of the strong play of the Cougars squad. “None of this should diminish the play of Canyons,” Rush said.

The players' reactions ranged from tears, shock and physical anger. “We had to play against two teams, Canyons and the refs,” receiver Ruben Jackson said, visibly shocked by the loss. “It's hard to play against two teams but I'm glad to make it this far though.”

The game was held at the College of the Sequoias in Visalia, Calif. under fog dense enough to obscure the scoreboard from midfield.

Despite a fog that should have made City College feel at home, the Cougars jumped to a 12-0 lead by the end of the first quarter.

On a punt return in the second quarter, Rams receiver Ruben Jackson let the ball slip off his hands and the Cougars pounced on it for a turnover and a touchdown two plays later for a 19-0 lead.

The Rams appeared to get back into the game in the second quarter but twice had touchdown receptions nullified by penalties, including a fourth down toss to Ruben Jackson. Ultimately, the Rams settled for a field goal.

Jackson made up for it with two touchdowns, including a fingertip grab across midfield after outrunning his defender by five yards.

The Cougars were able to come back and score to maintain a two-touchdown lead throughout most of the game, despite City College's persistent defensive play.

Inspired by the play of linebacker Desmond Bishop, who recorded 14 tackles and a sack, the Rams offense rallied with 3:36 left to play and down by 14 points.

Ayoob, the offensive player of the game, also threw for 386 yards and three touchdowns, including an 11-yard pass to receiver Maurice Purify with 2:33 left to play.

The Rams defense responded with a strong stand and forced the Cougars to punt the ball back to the Rams, with just seven points needed to get City College into overtime.

Despite a tough ending to the Rams winning streak, Rush focused on the positive aspects of the season.

“Winning streaks are pointless,” he said. “I would rather emphasize all the good things we've done for the last two years.”

Black Belts at City

BY RYAN PO
Contributing Writer

KEVIN WHITE/SPECIAL TO THE GUARDSMAN

For two days out of every semester the south gym at City College becomes the mecca for all judo practitioners in the Bay Area.

On Dec. 4 and 5 City College held its annual judo invitational, hosted by the City College judo club and instructor Mitchell Palacio.

On Saturday, nearly 100 martial artists from various California institutions, including Stanford University, San Jose State, San Francisco State, and several dojos around California arrived. College students from the different schools then competed against each other.

But Saturday’s festivities were only a warm-up to the main event that took place the following day.

For eight hours, Northern California judo clubs from everywhere between Salinas and the East Bay traveled to San Francisco, for what is now the second largest judo invitational in the state of California.

Now in its 19th year, the tournament boasts more than 400 contestants and is held in front of a crowd of over 1000 spectators. The participants come from all levels of martial arts from 5-year-old children to black belts who have studied judo their entire lives. In fact, it is now the second largest judo tournament in all of California.

Palacio believes the tour-nament is about much more than testing your judo skills against the competition. Palacio believes the tournament gives his pupils the chance to involve themselves in the administration, organization and comradery that comes with hosting such a large event. “You’re learning a lot of different cultures and working together for a common direction,” he said.

A participation award is given to every competitor with the courage to step onto the mat.

“You could get beat and they’re really willing to teach you,” judo student Claudia Ng said. “So you lose and it’s still really fun.”

It’s a community bond that Palacio takes extra effort to foster not only in the tournament, but also the classes he teaches at City College.

Every month, the club holds a social event for its members so that they can become acquainted with each other.

INSIDE THE UNIFORM: PART 8

BY MYLES HARWELL
Staff Writer

NATHAN WEYLAND/GUARDSMAN

As the crowd rushed onto the field after the Rams’ 42-21 pummeling of Fresno in the North-ern California Football Cham-pionship, the majority of the spectators and reporters made their way to Rams’ quarterback and First Team JC-Grid Wire All-American Joseph Ayoob.

Leading a Rams’ offense that racks up a gaudy 500 yards of offense per game, Ayoob understandably grabs most of the attention.

Just a few short yards away, another First Team JC-Grid Wire All-American, Desmond Bishop, posed for pictures with his family and signed autographs for a couple of fans whose heads barely rose above his waist.

Though his performance was less visible than the acrobatic catches of wide receivers Ruben Jackson, Maurice Purify and Lavelle Hawkins and the impressive throws of Ayoob, linebacker Desmond Bishop played an equally important role in the Rams’ second consecutive Nor Cal title.

As captain of the defense, Bishop takes responsibility not only for his own play, but also in making sure that his teammates are positioned to do their job as well. He stands a few steps behind the defensive line, giving him a good look at where the opposing team’s players are located.

Like a high-stakes poker game, he peers at the opposing team’s players looking for signs of what their actions might be once the ball is snapped. Combining all this information, he tries to decipher what play they will likely run.

The moment he figures out the best plan of attack, he yells to his teammates to make sure they know where they are supposed to be. All the while, Bishop stands ready to hold his position and tackle the ball carrier or sprint through the slightest crack in the offensive line to sack the quarterback.

As the game progresses, Bishop presses his will more and more on the opposing team’s offense, laying bone-crunching hits on receivers coming across the middle and on the quarterback when he flees the pocket formed by his offensive line. The crack that sounds when Bishop buries his helmet into the opposing players gut sounds as if its been amplified by microphone, but is created by the force of his 250-pound frame driving through an unfortunate opponent.

The most notable scene, however, takes place after the game’s outcome has already been decided. As Fresno drives down the field for a touchdown that only matters for the final score, Bishop helps a teammate push a Fresno player out of bounds.

A frustrated player on the Fresno sideline uses the opportunity to take a cheap shot and knock an unsuspecting Bishop to the field. He barely even touches the ground, before performing a back roll and leaping to his feet.

“Don’t get on the field again or I’m gonna blast you,” Bishop yells back at the player, while the officials attempt to separate the two teams.

Bishop and his defense remain unaffected by the incident, quickly ending the uproar with an interception.

“It’s hard to beat a team twice, but we worked hard and were able to win,” Bishop said
He smiles; knowing one more win means a second National Championship.