RIVERSIDE — The Riverside Poly football team never found an true offensive rhythm Saturday night.
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Riverside Poly’s Jordan Martz avoids Rancho Christian defenders in a football game at Riverside City College on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
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Riverside Poly’s Jordan Martz avoids Rancho Christian defenders in a football game at Riverside City College on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
That usually would be a problem, but the defense and special teams delivered plays that gave the Bears plenty of momentum.
Riverside Poly forced six turnovers and also blocked a punt, and the Bears cashed in on all but one of those plays en route to a 42-6 homecoming win over Rancho Christian in a Sunbelt League game played at Riverside City College’s Wheelock Stadium
The Bears managed to post that lopsided score despite finishing with only 142 yards on the 35 plays they ran from scrimmage.
“It took a little while for us to get going offensively, but the defense and special teams stepped up and kept on giving us shots,” Bears coach Jarron Gilbert said. “We needed some kind of spark. That play on special teams got us going in the right direction.”
The play Gilbert was referring to was Nicolai Todorovski’s blocked punt that he picked up in the end zone for the first touchdown.
Both teams struggled to move the ball in the opening period. The game’s initial first down came with 1:30 left in the first quarter. That’s when the Bears recovered a muffed punt and Marjok Gustafson tossed an 8-yard touchdown pass to Michael Gaines Jr.
Todorovski, Benjie Mathews, Nasir Shahid and Devin Hardin provided constant pressure on Rancho Christian’s quarterback duo of Jaiden Thomas and Isaiah Sotelo. Poly’s fearsome foursome combined for four sacks and played a role in four interceptions. Chubbs Meacham had a pair of interceptions in the first half, and Gaines and Hardin each picked off passes in the second half.
Poly (4-3 overall, 2-0 in league) cashed in both Meacham picks during the final 3 minutes of the half. Gustafson connected with Matt Henry for a 49-yard touchdown and later with Shahid for a 19-yarder as the Bears extended their lead to 28-0 at halftime.
Rancho Christian (1-6, 0-2) forced a pair of turnovers in the first half — an interception by Knoxx Richie on Poly’s first play from scrimmage and a fumble recovery by Noah Sehi — and blocked a punt (also Sehi). But the Eagles could not capitalize on them.
Poly added to the lead midway through the third period, when Gustafson and Gaines connected again for a 7-yard scoring play. Gaines capped his big evening when he returned an interception 66 yards for a touchdown in the final minute of the third period.
“We’ve been preparing for this one, and it just comes down to everyone doing their job,” Gaines said of the number of turnovers the Bears forced Saturday night. “At practice, we do those pursuit drills with everyone following the ball. That worked well for us.”
Gustafson shook off the early interception and completed 11 of 16 passes for 114 yards and those four touchdown passes.
Rancho Christian avoided being shut out when Sotelo fired an 11-yard touchdown pass to Chase Perry with 8:56 left in the game. Sotelo and Thomas split snaps in the opening half, but Sotelo played the entire second half and finished the night with 144 yards.
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