Tyler Dudden isn’t bitter. In fact, he’s using every opportunity to get better.
The former Norco and Rancho Cucamonga High standout, now a freshman quarterback for Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, torched Riverside City College for three total touchdowns and more than 315 passing yards in a 40-34 double-overtime victory on Saturday.
But it could have just as easily gone the other way.
“I live right down the 91 (freeway) in Norco so I was like, ‘RCC is going to be my spot,’” Dudden said. “But the only JUCO that didn’t reach out to me was Riverside.”
Dudden passed for 1,786 yards and 23 touchdowns during his junior year at Norco, including the memorable 77-76 win over Murrieta Valley late in the 2022 season.
He transferred to Rancho Cucamonga ahead of his senior year only to split time while with the Cougars, completing 61.5 percent of his passes but with only six touchdowns.
He accepted an offer from Cal Poly and spent the 2024 season in San Luis Obispo as a redshirt on the Mustangs scout team.
“That didn’t end up panning out for me so I had to go the JUCO route,” he said.
After surveying his options, Dudden, listed as a 6-foot-4, 210-pound freshman, enrolled at Saddleback during the summer with the chance to compete for a starting spot.
“I ended up going to a team that wanted me, that appreciated me, and it ended up working out for me because we just beat RCC,” Dudden said.
His performance against RCC likely gives him the edge in an ongoing battle with freshman Nicky Johnson, but Dudden is not taking anything for granted. Johnson owns every major passing record at Northern California’s Morro Bay High.
“I rotated my senior year (at Rancho Cucamonga),” Dudden said. “I’ve had the mentality that I’m not good enough for a while.”
Can Saddleback’s win over Riverside also raise Dudden’s profile as he looks to return to playing at the NCAA level?
“I can only put in the work and an attempt to get the outcome I want,” Dudden said. “Hopefully, I’m here for one (season) because it’s a lot of money driving out to Mission Viejo everyday.”
PREVIEWING FRIDAY’S CROSSTOWN SHOWDOWN
For the ninth and final time as nonconference opponents, the UC Riverside and California Baptist University men’s soccer teams will face each other.
CBU (4-1-1 overall) is coming off a 2-0 win over UC Irvine on Monday, Sept. 22. Sophomore striker Blake D’Agostino scored from the penalty spot and is currently tied for ninth in the NCAA with six goals this season.
UCR (2-3-2) got a second-half goal from sophomore forward Wyatt Ponting (Claremont High) before going on to a 1-1 draw against Loyola Marymount at home on Monday night. The Highlanders have taken points from four of their last five matches.
Friday’s match at the UCR Soccer Stadium is set for 7 p.m.
UCR VOLLEYBALL GETS ROLLING
UC Riverside senior outside hitter Sophia Ewalefo was selected tournament MVP, and the Highlanders won back-to-back matches for the first time under Brendan Higa.
Ewalefo, who recorded a double-double with 17 kills and 12 digs, led a pivotal 4-0 scoring run that put Southern Utah on the ropes late in the second set before UCR went on a 23-25, 29-27, 25-23, 25-23 win at the Dig in the Desert tournament at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas on Friday, Sept. 19.
Junior outside hitter Andrea Brewer (Rancho Cucamonga High) set a career-high with 16 kills, and the Highlanders notched season highs in kills (67), assists (60), and blocks (11) to close their nonconference schedule at 4-6.
Late Tuesday night, UCR lost its Big West Conference opener against UC Davis, 3-0. Junior outside hitter Mia Delahousse had nine kills for the Highlanders, who travel to play Hawaii on Friday.
CMS SPLASHES REDLANDS
The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men’s water polo team made an early statement in its quest for a second Division III title in the last three years, after Redlands took the crown a year ago.
Thomas Walker had six goals for the second consecutive game to match his career high, and Luke “Bear” Weigle added five as CMS defeated Redlands 21-12 on the final day of the MPSF Invitational co-hosted by USC and UCLA.
CMS (5-4 overall) jumped out to an 8-0 lead, and Nick Kennedy added three goals while Jeffrey Koretz and Nelson Harris had two apiece.
Redlands (1-11) got three goals from Harrison DeCourcy, and Troy Barker and Nathan Gattorna combined for 10 saves.
ODDS & ENDS
CBU junior track and field standout Valentin Soca, representing Uruguay, placed 15th in 13 minutes, 34.35 seconds in the 5,000 final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, on Sunday, Sept. 21. … Sophomore midfielder Carlos Leon (Rancho Verde High) scored twice as the La Sierra University men’s soccer began its Golden State Athletic Conference schedule with a 4-0 victory over SOKA 4-0 Thursday, Sept. 18. … The Riverside City College men’s cross country team took second, and San Bernardino Valley College was fourth, at the Golden West Invitational on Friday, Sept. 19. … Freshman forward Eileen Vargas (Hillcrest High) scored her second goal of the season as the Mt. San Jacinto women’s soccer team beat El Camino 1-0 on Monday, Sept. 22.
