DVC football ended up on the wrong side of its season opener, losing 41-9 to defending state champion City College of San Francisco.

City College buried DVC early. Their first touchdown came at the 7:29 mark on a 1-yard run. Quarterback Niko Fortino threw his first pick of the game on DVC’s ensuing possession. City College took advantage, getting a 38-yard run down the left sideline that set up another one-yard touchdown scamper.

After a DVC three and out, City College blew it open with a 59-yard touchdown reception, making it a 21-0 game. DVC’s next drive started inside its own 20. A 12-yard sack on 2nd and 10 pigeonholed DVC inside its own 5. On 3rd and 22, Fortino dropped back and was pressured into his own end zone. As he was being taken down he tried to throw the ball away, but he had already been ruled down, giving City College a safety.

City College’s drive following the safety was disrupted by a 19-yard sack by defensive end Tui Talia. On the punt attempt, the snap sailed over the punter’s head and out of the back of the end zone, giving DVC a safety for its first points of the game.

DVC looked like it was finally putting things together on offense after the safety, getting into the red zone for the first time. However, a botched shotgun snap cost the Vikings 24 yards, while also pushing them out of field goal range. The 1st quarter ended with City College up 23-2.

With 5:36 left in the second quarter, Fortino was intercepted for the second time. DVC’s defense looked to hold City College on the ensuing drive, but a questionable pass interference call on cornerback Na’im McGee kept the drive alive. But on the very next play McGee atoned for his error, intercepting a high, floating pass at the CC-47.

The Vikings didn’t have it for long. Two plays into their drive, Fortino threw his third pick of the night, which was returned to the DVC-19. On City College’s first play, they scored on a 19-yard touchdown catch, the receiver going up and over a DVC defensive back. DVC was unable to get anything going, but City College scored one more time before intermission on a 1-yard quarterback sneak. City College took a 35-2 lead into the half.

DVC had one of its best scoring opportunities midway through the 3rd quarter. Cornerback Derrick Johnson recovered a bad snap at the CC-11. Running back Joe Te’o was dropped for a 3-yard loss on 3rd down and Fortino was sacked on 4th down, giving the ball back to City College.

Even though the Vikings offense was a non-factor, the defense continued to wreak havoc. On a City College drive late in the 3rd, Talia laid a huge hit on the CC running back, forcing a fumble which was recovered by defensive end Sione Tupouata at the CC-32. But as the rest of the game had gone, DVC’s offense sputtered without scoring any points.

City College scored its final touchdown of the game on an 8-yard reception over the middle at the 12:53 mark of the 4th quarter, ballooning the lead to 41-2.

DVC had pulled Fortino in the 4th in favor of backup Adam Wood, who seemed to calm things down a bit. He led DVC on its only scoring drive, completing a 13-yard pass to Efrain Montalvo with 4:24 left in the game.

City College took the game by a score of 41-9.

Defensive line coach Vince Bordelon didn’t make excuses for the lopsided loss, but he did address the indisputable. “We have a lot of young guys out there. And we also played the state champion,” he said.

The score didn’t tell the whole story, as DVC’s defense was put in short field situations on several occasions, and forced to be on the field a lot because of the ineffective offense. Bordelon was very proud of his guys, all things considered. “The defense that Coach Darr calls is very complex. There are a lot of plays to learn. For the first game, with so many young guys, we executed pretty well.”

Tupouata’s demeanor differed from Bordelon’s, as he was visibly and audibly frustrated. “It was a rude awakening. We weren’t quite prepared for this game.”

Defensive lineman Siua Taufa acknowledged the poor play in the first half, but saw a silver lining from the second half. “We came back well in the second half. We came out harder. We need to build off that second half resilience.” When questioned on his expectations for the season, Taufa didn’t hesitate. “This is only the first game. I truly believe we’ll be very successful this season.”

DVC’s next game is at Santa Rosa JC on Friday, Sept. 13. Their next home game is Friday, Sept. 20 versus College of San Mateo.

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Backup quarterback Adam Wood locks in on his target, leading the Vikings on their only scoring drive of the game. (Andrew Barber/ The Inquirer)