Unfamiliar territory: Wolverines football defeats Fresno City College at West Park High

Roughly 24 hours before the Sierra College football team was to play its home opener against Fresno City College, the game was moved 10 miles west to West Park High School due to fears of bad air quality from the Mosquito Fire. Despite playing on unfamiliar ground at a neutral site, the Wolverines handled their business and picked up their first win of the season in a 31-28 battle against the Rams. The game was free admission for all fans and had a great turnout. "We really want to thank West Park, their administration and the Roseville City School District for getting this done," Wolverines coach Ben Noonan said. "It was a great setting and an incredible place to play a game." It was a very defensive first half as only one touchdown was scored from a blocked punt returned for a touchdown by Wolverine sophomore Charron Thomas in the beginning of the second quarter. There were four punts and a missed field goal, along with a turnover on downs that was forced by the Wolverines with Whitney High alumnus Andre Nolan-White getting the stop on fourth down. "I'm really proud of our front and while they leaned on us a little bit early in the run game, we didn't give up any points," Noonan said. The second half was a totally different story as both offenses began to click. Vista Del Lago High alumnus Nik Goodwin connected with Oak Ridge High alumnus Dylan Warfield for a 25-yard touchdown to increase the Wolverines lead to 14-0. The Rams answered back with a 21-yard touchdown run by Nicholas Harper. Del Oro alumnus Logan Shepard hit a 38-yard field goal to make it a two-score game before Rams quarterback Isaiah Robles hit Aaron Blancas for a 73-yard score, making it 17-14 at the end of the third quarter. The Wolverines moved the ball to start the fourth quarter as quarterback Michael Wortham kept a drive alive with multiple first down runs and Warfield finished it with a three-yard score, putting Sierra College back up 10 points. "At halftime, we talked about the linemen and the linebackers coming to the front side and that the backdoor would be open," Warfield said. "While the pass wasn't really there, we kept running and it worked out for us." Wortham increased the Wolverines lead on the next drive, making it 31-14 with just over four minutes remaining. While it looked like the game was put to bed, the Rams kept fighting and Robles connected downfield with Darrien Gaines for a 63-yard touchdown, cutting the lead down to 10 points. The Wolverines punted on their next possession and with just under two minutes remaining, the Rams ran a trick play as Robles threw a lateral to Sean Kelly, who passed it to Timothy Conerly for a 69-yard score. Sierra College was able to recover the onside kick and set up in victory formation. The win moves the Wolverines to 1-1 on the season following last week's loss against the College of San Mateo and they will play their next game at Reedley College on Saturday. Volleyball The Lady Wolverines have bounced back from a rough 3-5 start and won their last three matches in the Delta Classic on Friday and Saturday. The Sierra College attack has been led by freshman Alexis Boccia and sophomore Veronika Tupy as the pair has combined for 115 kills. Alexis Adebodun has 42 kills and 62 digs while Hailey Mulic has 101 digs, leading the team defensively. Despite the rough start, the Wolverines also had a rocky start last season at 1-5 before bouncing back and making the playoffs after winning 19 straight matches. Sierra College will play its next match at home against Diablo Valley College on Friday for the Big 8 Conference opener. Soccer The Sierra College women's soccer team is off to a solid 3-0 start to the 2022 season. They have scored 22 goals in their first three matches and have been led by Charity Myers with five goals, Taylor Davis with four and Amber Pon with three goals and three assists. On the defensive side, the goalkeeper trio of Celeste Fernandez, Cadence Kim and Abigail Reuter have yet to allow a goal. The Lady Wolverines will face Hartnell on Tuesday and will travel to Taft College on Saturday. The Lady Wolverines were supposed to play Lake Tahoe Community College at home on Saturday but the game was postponed, due to poor air quality. Water polo The Wolverine men's water polo team won its first game of the season on Sept. 7 against Las Positas 21-13. Despite going down 6-3 in the first quarter, Sierra College bounced back, only allowing one goal in the second quarter while scoring six times. They would score 12 goals in the second half, three by freshman and Granite Bay High alumnus Chris Nihart. Nihart finished the game with five goals and currently leads the team with 11 in the first four matches. "It felt great to play at home, the energy was amazing and the teamwork was the highest it has been," Nihart said. "I'm always on the move and I've definitely gotten a lot bigger and stronger." Another player who came up big in the match was goalkeeper and Whitney High alumnus Brendan Craft, who totaled 15 saves. Other local talents who have played a big role so far this season include Filip Crnogoroc and Hank Wildenradt, both former talents from Rocklin High, who have combined for 15 goals. The Wolverines will travel to Mt. San Antonio College this weekend for a tournament. The women's water polo team lost its first two games of the season at the Orange Coast Invitational down in Costa Mesa against Long Beach and Riverside. They will play their next match on Thursday against Merced College at West Valley College in the Big 8/Coast Crossover. The Lady Wolverines have 11 freshmen and six sophomores on the team.