No. 3 RCTC improves to 3-1 with road win over Mesabi Range
Sep. 17—VIRGINIA, Minn. — Devin Watson returned from a injury to throw for 208 yards and a touchdown and he also caught a touchdown pass as Rochester Community and Technical College defeated Minnesota North College-Mesabi Range 37-21 on Saturday.
Watson, who missed last week's game with a bad shoulder, completed 13 of 26 passes. He tossed a 3-yard scoring pass to Caleb Waldron to start the scoring in the first quarter.
The Yellowjackets, ranked No. 3 nationally among NJCAA Division III teams, ran a trick play in the third quarter and Watson caught a 13-yard TD pass from Jaylen Gardner to put RCTC up 30-7.
RCTC had 322 yards of offense, 221 passing and 101 rushing. Jairrus Nicholson had a big game receiving with seven catches for 140 yards.
The Yellowjackets had modest success on the ground after losing Christian Parrish to a season-ending knee injury last week. Brady Walsh had a 48-yard TD run on his lone carry in the fourth quarter.
RCTC kicker Rodrigo Castaneda had a big day as he went 3-for-4 on field goals, 4-for-4 on extra points and averaged 50.5 yards on two punts.
The Yellowjackets also used a very strong defensive effort as the unit held Mesabi to 239 yards, 166 passing and 73 rushing. Ira Tullous had the defensive play of the game as he returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown.
Mario Mendoza had seven tackles and 1.5 sacks. RCTC finished wth 6.5 sacks and Tyshawn Campbell forced and recovered a fumble.
The win was the second straight for the Yellowjackets as they improve to 3-1 overall. They play at Minnesota West Community and Technical College at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 23.
RCTC/Mesabi Range boxscore
