MJC football returns home after key wins atop Valley Conference
After three weeks without a home game, the Modesto Junior College football team returns Saturday.
The Pirates, fresh off the toughest stretch of games they will play during the 2024 regular season, had a pair of home conference games before the end of the season.
This Saturday at 1 p.m. they host Sacramento City College (3-4, 0-2 Valley Conference) for homecoming and their third Valley Conference game of the season.
“We’ve played such a brutal schedule, and learning about the team and improving in all aspects, that’s what makes it fun,” Pirates head coach Rusty Stivers said. “The guys are excited to go out there and continue to get better and compete. I think that’s fun.”
The Pirates (5-2, 2-0 Valley Conference) once again played a tough nonconference schedule that finished off with games against San Mateo, Butte and American River College.
After playing a gantlet of a preseason and earning key conference wins, MJC enters the weekend the No. 8-ranked team in the state and the No. 3 team in Northern California, according to the most recent JCAB Coaches Poll.
The Pirates have just two conference games remaining, and they’re taking things one game at a time.
Saturday, they host Sacramento City College, which poses a unique challenge for the offensive line.
“Overall, we’re healthy,” Stivers said of anticipation heading into this week’s game. “On defense, they’re (Sacramento City) usually really big and they have a great scheme. … They play an unusual front from what we see each week. Usually, there is an even or an odd front. Theirs is a little bit of both.”
Last season, MJC beat Sac City 27-14, and the Pirates are hoping for more success this weekend. They have a bye next week before hosting College of the Sequoias on Nov. 16.
“It’s cliche,” Stivers said, “but we’ve been really good at not even talking or looking at anything ahead as coaches and players. It’s just all been about the next team, which is Sac City.”
The Pirates enter Saturday’s contest with a 2-0 conference record after earning big wins over Fresno City College and Reedley.
For the past few years, the Pirates’ game against Fresno has determined the Valley Conference champion. If MJC won, it held an advantage in the league standings and had an inside track to a Northern California postseason berth. The Pirates entered the season looking to four-peat as conference champions and knew the Oct. 19 matchup would go a long way in determining if that was possible.
In a back and forth game, the Pirates came away with key plays to earn the gritty 31-27 road victory.
Their second conference road game against Reedley, Stivers says, was the team’s most complete game of the season.
Quarterback Luke Weaver completed 12 of 20 passes for 235 yards and 3 touchdowns. Lyon Colon, Anthony Grady and Joey Stout each had rushing touchdowns and Aiden Muhammad finished with a team high 72 rushing yards. Trace Hernandez led the team with three catches for 62 yards and a score. Malachi Butler and Larkin Meyer also had receiving touchdowns. Defensively, Roland Brown had a pick-six.
The Pirates held Reedley scoreless in the first half en route to a 52-10 win.
“Fresno is one of the best teams in the state and we were able to get the job done,” Stivers said. “Reedley might have been our best overall game.”
Their only losses have come to Butte and American River College, which are both in the top 15 in the JCAB Coaches Poll state rankings.
The Pirates have just two conference games remaining on their schedule before they travel to Foothill College in Los Altos. MJC usually plays five Valley Conference games, but this season will play just four.
The change in their schedule comes after Valley Conference opponent Contra Costa dropped its football program this season due to lack of players. According to KTUV FOX 2 San Francisco, Contra Costa aims each season for a roster of 60-100 players, but prior to the 2024 season, they had fewer than 50.
The Owls have for the past few seasons competed in the 3C2A’s American Division. Last season, they went a perfect 11-0 overall and 5-0 in the American Division’s Pacific 7 Conference. They were promoted this season to the tougher, more competitive National Division, the same division the Pirates have played in for years. Foothill currently has a 4-2 overall record and will play Diablo Valley, San Francisco City College and San Joaquin Delta College before the season finale Saturday, Nov. 23.
They will have a pretty good idea of their postseason fate after their conference finale against College of the Sequoias but they will embrace one final tune-up before making a push in the state playoffs.
