A road trip to Summerville for football on Friday night, Oct. 23 went in the loss column for the Riverbank Bruins. The host Bears roared out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter and led it 28-6 at the half. Riverbank battled back, scoring two touchdowns in the third quarter to Summerville’s one, but the Bears then added two more scores in the fourth for the final margin of victory in the 49-20 contest.
Scoring for the Bruins were Jamie Gabert, 13 carries for 39 yards and a touchdown; Alexander Rodriguez, eight carries for 122 yards and a touchdown. Adrian Fernandes added both extra points.
Daniel Orunja had 14 tackles, 10 solo and four assisted; Lucien Hodge had 10 tackles, seven solo and three assisted, while also recovering a fumble. He returned it 76 yards for a touchdown.
Adrian Jimenez had an interception.
Riverbank will be home to host Dougherty Valley of San Ramon in a non-league game on Friday, Oct. 30 and then host Bret Harte to close out the Mother Lode League season on Nov. 6.
GOLF
It was a tough season for the Lady Bruin golfers, though there was improvement from the first match to the last.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t win a league match this year but I’m still proud of our team. They have worked hard all year and did their best to persevere throughout the season,” said head coach Ismael Mercado. “I had the largest team since I started coaching. We had a total of 14 girls on the golf team. I had five seniors who participated in every match with one sophomore. It was promising to see a large group of girls interested in playing golf. We have a younger group of girls who will be looking forward to competing next season. I’m looking forward to next season.”
Leading the team was Klaritza Gonzalez, a senior who has been part of the team since her freshman year, Mercado said.
CROSS COUNTRY
Taking part in the Rough Rider Invitational at Woodward Park in Fresno on Oct. 16, the Riverbank frosh/soph girls took second as a team, with Zuri Golding placing second overall in the 3500-meter run in a personal best time of 13:31.0 Lesliee Valdez was fourth and Crystal Vigil placed 10th. The frosh/soph boys were paced by Aaron Gabrie, first overall in 11:10.0, a personal best; with Giancarlo Reyes second and Diego Garnica ninth. The Riverbank boys placed first as a team.
Armando Garcia placed 11th in the varsity boys race.
In the third Mother Lode League meet, the JV girls finished second and the JV boys were first. The varsity boys were first in the 5000-meter run, paced by Garcia in first place, Gabrie in fourth and Yael Montesinos fifth. The varsity girls finished first as well, with seven of the top 10 runners from Riverbank, paced by the first-second finish of Zuri Golding and Lesliee Valdez.
The Mother Lode League finals are set for Oct. 28 at the Calaveras County Fairgrounds.
