Sports
Football: Alameda Dominates Richmond 71-46
Ruck leads the Hornets through the air and on the ground.
Alameda 71, Richmond 46
The Star: Hornets' quarterback John Ruck threw for four touchdowns and rushed for two more.
The Turning Point: Alameda took a 49-26 lead in the third, but a big kickoff return by the Oilers led to a Daniel Esparaza touchdown pass that shortened that the deficit to just 17 points. A turnover resulted in an 83-yard bomb from Esparaza on Richmond's next offensive play, cutting the lead to 49-40 at the end of three. But the Hornets would outscore Richmond 22-6 in the final quarter to seal the win.
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The Quote: "Ruck is going to keep this up and he's going to be good in college," Alameda coach Steve Rochlin said.
What's next? The Hornets finish the regular season with a visit to El Cerrito on Friday at 7 p.m.
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Bottom Line: Alameda became postseason eligible with the win because it is guaranteed to finish with at least a .500 winning percentage in league play.
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football coach Steve Rochlin called it a modern-day record.
Although he didn't immediately know the mark for most points scored in a game by the Hornets, it's safe to say that it was broken Friday night at Richmond High School.
The Hornets dropped 71 points on the Oilers, and survived a late rally by Richmond, rolling to a victory that featured 873 yards of total offense between the two teams.
"I've never seen a Richmond team play so well. They took advantage of our mistakes," Rochlin said.
Alameda seemed poised to run away with the game in third quarter.
The Hornets held a 49-26 after a Donte Cullin six-yard touchdown run, but Oilers' kick returner Danny Mclane returned the ensuing kickoff 39 yards to the Hornets' 39-yard line.
Richmond quarterback Daniel Esparaza led a four-play drive, and capped it with a 30-yard strike to Mclane down the middle of the field to make it a 49-32 game.
The first play of the Hornets' next drive saw an over-thrown pass by John Ruck get picked off by Mclane at the Alameda 17-yard line.
The Oilers instantly took advantage.
Esparaza found a wide-open Demariye Williams down the right sideline to cut the gap to 49-40 at the end of three.
But the Hornets would slowly burn any chance for Richmond to make a comeback.
They marched 49 yards on their next drive, burning six minutes off the clock, and pushing the lead to 17 on Ruck's three-yard touchdown run.
Ruck would close the game out after the Oilers turned the ball over on downs with five minutes left in the game.
The senior found Zac Alfers on a 54-yard strike to make it 64-46, and would add a 45-yard run for the final score.
"It's a highlight film for both teams, but it really shows that (Richmond) improved a lot," Rochlin said.
Ruck finished with 251 yards passing and 93 yards rushing. He led the team in touchdowns with six — four passing and two on the ground.
"He stepped in for our other quarterback (Tom Ruckman, who was hurt earlier this season)," Rochlin said. "He's going to keep this up and he's going to be good in college."
Cullin led Alameda with 95 rushing yards and two touchdowns, and started the barrage of points with an 11-yard touchdown run early in the first quarter for a 6-0 lead.
Ruck found Safi Hasseeb for a 15-yard touchdown not long after to make it a 13-point advantage to start the game and would find Ryan Carlson for a 43-yard strike to make 19-6 with eight minutes left in the first quarter.
Alameda averaged almost 18 points per quarter, and used an effective rushing attack to open passing lanes for Ruck.
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Alameda 71, Richmond 46
Alameda 19 16 14 22 — 71
Richmond 6 8 26 6 — 46
Scoring summary
1st: A — Cullin 11 run (kick fail)
1st: A — Hasseb 15 pass from Ruck (Leon kick)
1st: R — Williams 49 run (run fail)
1st: A — Carlson 43 pass from Ruck (Leon kick)
11:07, 2nd: A —Alfers 23 run (Ruck run)
9:10, 2nd: R — Mclane 4 run (Mclane run)
2:30, 2nd: A — Manibusan 48 pass from Ruck (Alfers pass from Ruck)
0:06, 2nd: R — Bridgett 8 pass from Esperaza (run fail)
5:07, 3rd: A — Manibusan 19 run (Leon kick)
4:00, 3rd: R — Brown 69 pass from Esparaza (pass failed)
2:09, 3rd: A —Cullin 6 run (Leon kick)
1:04, 3rd: R — Mclane 30 pass from Esparaza (run failed)
0:29, 3rd: R — Williams 83 pass from Esparaza (Bridgett pass from Esparaza)
6:43, 4th: A — Ruck 3 run (Alfers run)
3:10, 4th: A — Alfers 54 pass from Ruck (Leon kick)
2:50, 4th: R — Brown 53 pass from Esparaza (kick fail)
1:52, 4th: A — Ruck 45 run (Leon kick)
Individual Statistics
Rushing (car-yards): A — Mesui 1-(-3), Ruck 12-93, Cullin 12-95, Manibusan 5-56, Alfers 4-42, Lewis 1-19. R — Williams 9-7, Esperaza 4-3, Mclane 12-24, Brown 3-54.
Passing (comp-att-yards-ints): A — Ruck 8-12-1-251. R— Esparaza 14-28-2-333.
Receiving (rec-yards): A — Cullin 1-24, Manibusan 1-48, Carlson 2-60, Hasseeb 2-65, Alfers 1-54. R — Mclane 4-68, Bridgett 3-25, Williams 4-116, Brown 3-122.
Team offense (rush-pass-total)
Alameda — 302-251-553
Richmond — 88-232-320
Fumbles/lost: A — 3/1; R — 1/0.
Records: Alameda 4-5, 3-2; Richmond 3-5, 1-4
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East Bay Football Coverage
Alameda Contra Costa Athletic League
Alameda 71, Richmond 46 — Alameda — By Peter Fournier
Berkeley 33, Hercules 0 — Hercules — By Richard Paolinelli
Pinole Valley 49, El Cerrito 13 — El Cerrito / Pinole — By Jordan Conn
Bay Football League
Valley Christian 55, St. Elizabeth 6 — Dublin — By Joey Brownlee
Bay Shore Athletic League
Encinal 47, Kennedy 12 — Alameda — By Chris Nguon
Moreau Catholic 28, Piedmont 13 — Piedmont — By Mustafa Shaikh
St. Patrick/St. Vincent 63, John Swett 13
Diablo Foothill Athletic League
Alhambra 27, Dougherty Valley 14 — San Ramon — By Chuck Nan
Miramonte 26, Dublin 17 — Dublin / Lamorinda — By Bill Soliday
Las Lomas 30, Campolindo 28 — Lamorinda / Walnut Creek — By Eric Gilmore
Diablo Valley Athletic League
Concord 78, Northgate 12 — Walnut Creek — By Jim Mannion
East Bay Athletic League
Amador Valley 24, San Ramon Valley 21 — / — By Trevor Murphy
California 49, Foothill 7 — Pleasanton / San Ramon — By Kyle Bonagura
De La Salle 49, Livermore 0 — Livermore — By Kyle Yamamoto
Monte Vista 37, Granada 22 — / Livermore — By Brandon Nicholson
Hayward Area Athletic League
Arroyo 28, Tennyson 27
Bishop O'Dowd 29, San Leandro 20
Castro Valley 29, Hayward 26 — Castro Valley — By Matt Rempel
Mission Valley Athletic League
James Logan 32, Newark Memorial 6 — Union City — By Pierre Bautista
Washington 73, Mission San Jose 0
