Although he has been battling the flu, Sierra College football coach Jeff Tisdel sat in his office smiling ear-to-ear after his team made a clear statement with its play Saturday.
The host Wolverines (3-0) won a revenge game against defending national champion City College of San Francisco 27-17 at Homer "Buzz" Ostron Stadium on the Rocklin campus. The Rams (1-2) beat Sierra by a touchdown last year in a game in which the Wolverines squandered several chances.
"Last year was a fluke," Sierra running back Lamon Muldrow said. "We redeemed ourselves this time around."
The Rams were fed a steady diet of "Mojo," the sophomore who prepped at Cordova High School, as he ran for 146 yards on 44 carries and all three Sierra touchdowns.
After leading 17-14 at halftime, the Wolverines opened the third quarter with a 14-play meat grinder that took 6:53 off the clock and culminated in a one-yard Muldrow plunge. Muldrow carried the ball on 12 of those plays and nearly matched his first-half rushing total of 46 yards, racking up 40 yards on the drive.
"It usually doesn't take that long for me to get going," Muldrow said. "But San Francisco is a good team, and it's not hard to tell where we're going sometimes."
Following a Rams punt, Sierra began another lengthy drive, starting on its 20 and reaching the Rams' 29 before a CJ Woodbury fumble gave the ball back to CCSF.
"I thought (the Rams) were a little worn down, and I wanted to use as much clock as I could," Tisdel said. "We were in much better cardio shape than them, and that showed a lot in the second half."
The Rams took advantage of the fumble, marching to the Wolverines' 8 before the drive stalled and they had to settle for a 25-yard Jens Alvernik field goal.
The Wolverines answered with a 19-yard Scotty Enos field goal on the ensuing possession, riding carries from Muldrow and a fine 36-yard Alex Rump-to-Brandon Michalkiewicz connection.
The Rams' final two drives were stifled by Sierra's front seven, led by Paul Vassallo. The freshman buried CCSF quarterback Chris Forni on second and 10 from the Rams' 39 on a drive that ended in a punt. Even when Jarrell Harrison picked off a Rump pass on the ensuing possession, Sitani Tupou got an eight-yard sack, and Vassallo followed with two in a row resulting in losses of 10 and eight yards. Combined with a CCSF holding penalty on first down, the Rams had fourth and 41 at their 1.
"Paul just outmuscled their right tackle today," Tisdel said. "He changed the momentum … and was unstoppable."
The Rams were penalized 16 times for 120 yards and gave Sierra 14 points off turnovers.
CCSF's David Henderson fumbled at his own 16 on the game's first play from scrimmage, and the Wolverines' Bryson Littlejohn scooped it up, returning it to the 1. Muldrow punched it in on the next play.
"Today was a great win for our program on a national and state level," Tisdel said. "Now we just need to keep rallying every week."
Added Muldrow: "This shows that we're not the ones to mess with."
Call The Bee's John Parker, (916) 326-5519.
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