Reedley, ranked 26th in the preseason rankings, rolled up 418 yards against Shasta in a 35-21 win over the Knights Saturday at the Reedley High School Stadium and Sal Gonzalez Field.

DJ Stevenson passed for 240 yards and a touchdown in the Tiger victory. He also ran for 39 yards and the goahead touchdown.

The contest was still in doubt until early in the fourth quarter when C'ontae Cason (Tampa, Florida)  scored on a 14-yard run to increase the lead to 35-14. Cason finished with 69 yards on 10 carries.

Reedley was six of 11 on third and fourth down plays, converting both plays on fourth down.

The Tigers opened the scoring midway in the opening quarter on a 4-yard run by Nick Osho (British Columbia). Shasta tied the contest in the second quarter on a 66-yard scoring drive.

Reedley regained the lead with 57.6 seconds left in the first half as Stevenson scored from a yard out, capping a nine play, 71-yard drive. The Tigers got into the red zone on a 17-yard run by the sophomore on a quarterback draw by the sophomore.

In the second half, Shasta tied the contest on a 36-yard pass when Kyle Pennington caught the pass between three Tiger defenders.

It took five plays and less than three minutes for the Tigers to regain the lead on a 71-yard drive. Cason had a 35-yard to the two before Stevenson scored from a yard out with eight minutes left in the the third quarter.

Denon Fagan intercepted a Shasta pass at the Tiger 5. Eight plays later, Stevenson connected with Ron Vann (San Diego) for a 42-yard score. The play before, Stevenson fumbled the snap from center, recovered and found Osho for a 24-yard gain.

Shasta scored with 4.2 seconds remaining to create the final margin.

The 2023 Reedley College football team makes its first road-trip of the regular season Saturday when they travel to Hayward to face the Chabot College Gladiators at the changed time of 1pm.

Chabot opened the season with a road game at Feather River College. The Gladiators began 2023 with a 32-13 loss to Feather River.

By Will Goldbeck