by Larry Ham

They’ve teased us with their potential. They’ve frustrated us with several last minute losses. But now I can officially say – the 2014 Reedley College football team is one of the most exciting and talented squads I’ve seen in the past twenty years.

The Tigers cemented their place in Tiger football lore and really came of age with an amazing come from behind 45-40 victory over Merced College Saturday afternoon in Merced.

It was the first road win of the season for Reedley, and they needed a preposterously great day from quarterback Joshua Allen, and wide receiver Raphael Aroujo-Lopes to pull out an improbable win.

This was pulling-a-win-from-the-jaws-of-failure stuff. The Tigers led early, fell behind at the half, trailed by two touchdowns, and then stormed back with four fourth quarter touchdowns. They actually gave up a late touchdown to fall behind by a point, 40-39, but scored with thirteen seconds left on a touchdown pass from Allen to Caleb Horton, who was wide open in the end zone.

Allen finished with 28 completions, for 470 yards and seven touchdowns. The yardage and the touchdowns are believed to be school records.

Aroujo-Lopes finished with twelve catches for 228 yards and an amazing five touchdowns. It was an offensive display that would make Tom Brady or Peyton Manning proud. The Blue Devils were no slouches offensively, either. They racked up 520 yards of total offense (Reedley had 554), including 153 yards by standout running back Josh Stevens.

But in the end, the Tigers had just enough defense, and a lot of amazing offense, and came away with an exciting, and well deserved win.

Reedley now has a good chance of playing in a post-season bowl. They will need at least one win, and possibly two, out of their two remaining games. They host a very good Hartnell team this Saturday night at six pm. Come out and enjoy one of the most exciting Tiger teams in a long time!

Check back every Monday evening during football season for the latest game recap and watch for some RC football interviews! And you can check out the webcasts here: www.meridix.com/everywhere.php?liveid=ReedleyCollege

Larry Ham is an ongoing contributor to our
Area Arts & Entertainment section where he covers local sports–something he has a great deal of experience in having covered many an area school game through the years for KRDU radio in Dinuba.