REDDING, Calif. – Shasta College's offense rebounded from its season-opening loss to run over visiting Feather River 31-21 Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
Sophomore running back Tyler Boston racked up a career-high 272 rushing yards on 20 carries to lead the Knights, who totaled 427 of its 524 total yards on the ground in the victory.
The Knights set the tone with their all-freshmen offensive line from the start, opening a hole for a 20-yard Boston run on the first play of the game. Shasta built a 17-0 lead by halftime, scoring on two of its first three drives capped by a 1-yard run from freshman Jayden Gordon and a 5-yard option keeper from freshman quarterback Toren Tuttle. A Dennis Perez 24-yard field goal put the Knights ahead three scores at intermission.
Boston did more damage in the second half, breaking free for a 67-yard touchdown run on the second play of the third quarter, putting Shasta in complete control.
Defensively, the Knights limited the Golden Eagles' spread offensive attack to 115 yards on their first eight drives before Feather River got on the board with a 34-yard pass from Jared Taylor to Sam Marshall.
Boston added a 50-yard touchdown run early in the fourth as part of his career day, recording the fifth-best single game rushing total in school history.
With backups in, Feather River managed two late touchdowns to bring it to a 10-point game. The first came on a quarterback rollout and broken assignment from a defensive back, allowing Taylor to find Nate Hutchings for a wide-open touchdown. Taylor later connected with Da'Jon Thomas on a 43-yard score, who did most of the damage after the catch.
Shasta had to punt on its final drive but the defense held, finishing with a sack from freshmen Keiton Spengler and Dermont Morgan as part of the Knights' four sacks on the day.
Behind Boston, Gordon tallied 74 yards and the score on 73 carries, adding 24 yards on two catches. Sophomore Vinny Smith ran for 54 yards on eight attempts. Tuttle chipped in with 37 rushing yards and a touchdown on seven carries and threw for 97 yards on 7 of 21 passing. Freshman Josiah Graham was the top receiver with 39 yards on two receptions.
The Knights' defense got eight tackles apiece from sophomore Tyrese Randall and Aiden Allsop with Randall totaling 0.5 sack. Three of freshman linebacker Jared Amasio's seven tackles were stopping Feather River for a loss and Larry Polk added seven tackles as well. Morgan paced the Knights with 1.5 sacks on the day while Isaiah Moore had one and RJ Bell had 0.5 sack.
Shasta has a bye on March 20 but goes to Quincy to take on the same Feather River team on March 27 before wrapping up the spring season April 3 at College of the Siskiyous.
Photo by: Mike Daly
