Jamon Chambers, a freshman running back from Federal Way, WA, had an afternoon to remember in Reedley on Saturday afternoon.
Chambers ran for 159 yards and three touchdowns to lead Reedley to a 35-12 non- conference win over Foothill College.
The Tigers, ranked first in the state's American Division, improved to 4-0 on the season with the win. Foothill dropped to 2-2.
It didn't take long for the Reedley offense to get going. On the Tigers' second possession, a 51-yard pass play from quarterback Randall Johnson to Chambers put the ball at the Foothill 1. Three plays later, Johnson the end zone.
The Tiger defense came through with the next score as Isaiah Tigler recorded his second pick-six of the season. Tigler intercepted a Steven Mueller pass and sped 26 yards for a touchdown.
Early in the second quarter, Chambers scored his first touchdown by capping a 68-yard drive with an 8-yard touchdown run to make it 21-0.
Foothill got on the board on the first of two touchdown passes from backup quarterback A.J. Mintz.
"We were ready to play," said Reedley Head Coach Eric Marty. "The guys were excited. We had a good game plan and we executed."
The third-year Head Coach said Foothill was the Tigers' toughest opponent of the season. "We just had to find a way to chip and build that lead. The defense came through. They (Foothill) just couldn't get anything going." The Tigers held the Owls to 263 net yards compared to 420 yards for Reedley (300 on the ground).
Earlier this season, Hartnell managed only 27 net rushing yards against the Foothill defense, which was led by huge defensive tackle Levi Johnson, who led Foothill with eight tackles. Two and a half of those tackles resulted in a loss of yards.
The Reedley defense was led by Lazavier Moore, who was one of three Tigers to record 1.5 tackles for a loss. James Carradine and Lawrence Brown were the others.
Chambers finished with 227 all-purpose yards. "He's a special back," said the coach of the freshman, who had touchdown runs of 94 and 51 yards in the second half.
Next up for Reedley will be a 1 pm home matchup with the 2-1 Cabrillo College Seahawks. Cabrillo is coming off a wild 50-44 double-overtime loss to a 4-0 Hartnell College squad in Aptos. The Seahawks had two running backs run for more than 100 yards in a contest that featured 1,071 yards of total offense.
By Will Goldbeck
