Rams still undefeated but Bulldogs put up a good fight

October 23, 2012February 25, 2020 The Guardsman

6_sports_footbal_sanmateo_mejia_03 — Ram’s quarterback, #9 Andrew Spivey, completes a pass to sophomore running-back, #21 Kristoffer Olugbode, before being tackled by Bulldog’s defensive lineman Valentino Coleman at Ram Stadium on Oct. 20. Photo by Santiago Mejia/The Guardsman

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By Ivan Huang

The Guardsman

City College’s football team delivered another comeback victory on Oct. 20, after nearly losing to the College of San Mateo due to an interception thrown by sophomore quarterback Andrew Spivey.

The Rams came back from a 28-24 deficit late in the 4th quarter to pull off the 31-28 victory, improving to 7-0 this season.

Spivey faced pressure from the Bulldog defense and was unable to establish a pace for the Rams’ offense. The Bulldogs outscored the Rams 21-14 in the first half.

“In the first half, we didn’t have much of a rhythm running the ball,” said sophomore running back Kristoffer Oglubode, who rushed for 123 yards and a touchdown.

The Rams got the ball to open the second half and then tied the game at 21 after Spivey threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Dezmon Epps.

The Rams pace and momentum picked up as they went ahead 24-21 in the third quarter after freshman kicker Matthew Vultaggio kicked a 23-yard field goal.

But the Bulldogs would not let the Rams just cruise.

The Bulldogs showed some fight when sophomore quarterback Blake Plattsmier fired a rocket to Levi Wilson, who then scored an 84-yard touchdown, going up by four with 8:54 left in the game.

Late in the fourth quarter, the Rams turned to the player they’ve trusted to deliver all season—Spivey.

“He’s our leader,” Oglubode said. “He just comes through in the clutch all the time.”

In the middle of a drive that seemed destined for another Ram’s touchdown, Spivey’s pass was intercepted with 3:45 left in the game.

“That was a terrible mistake,” Spivey said.

6_sports_football_sanmateo_mejia_01 — City College Ram’s sophomore wide-receiver, #15 J.J. Hudson, eludes San Mateo Bulldog’s defensive-back, #2 Chris Jones, and makes a spectacular catch for a gain of 12 yards and a first down at Ram Stadium on Oct. 20. The Rams continued on to score their first touchdown. The conversion was good but the rams were still trailing 7-14. Photo by Santiago Mejia/The Guardsman

The late game interception did not deter the Rams.

The Rams defense stepped up at a crucial time, forcing the Bulldogs into a three and out, which got the ball back into Spivey’s hands.

“I was just glad we got enough time,” Spivey said. “We probably had three minutes left when we got the ball back, which was a surprise to me. I didn’t think we would get that much time but that was awesome, and we owe it to the defense.”

Spivey took control of the game and didn’t let the moment slip away.

He led the Rams into the end zone with a 6-yard touchdown to sophomore wide receiver J.J. Hudson with one minute left in the game.

With only a few seconds on the clock, the Rams defensive back Broughan Jantz intercepted the ball to seal the victory for the Rams.

“I thought it was a good team win,” Rams head coach George Rush said. “We had some foolish penalties that hurt us, but we’ll continue to work on those things, and we’ll hopefully eliminate them.”

The undefeated Rams travel south to face Foothill College at Los Altos Hills Saturday Oct. 27. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.

Follow Ivan on Twitter: @ivanreports