MJC football, 0-4 at home, travels to Fresno

An hour-long downpour, the first major storm of the season, rendered the Modesto Junior College Stadium turf borderline unplayable last week.

The Pirates and Chabot slogged it out in the mud until the Gladiators survived in overtime 35-28. The poor conditions proved to be the latest indignity for an MJC football team (2-6, 1-2) that is a nightmarish 0-4 at home.

Modesto hits the road for the last time Saturday afternoon at Fresno, and any game away from MJC might be favorable at this point. There’s been no home-sweet-home for the Pirates this season.

“I’ve been coaching football for 40 years and I’ve never seen anything like this,” coach Sam Young said. “We’ve had teams without a lot of talent that have lost games, but this team has some talent and crazy stuff keeps happening to them.”

The home schedule has undercut MJC’s season. The 51-26 loss to San Mateo on Sept. 13 came as no surprise, but the last three easily could have been wins. The Pirates were stopped at the 1-yard line in the final moments of a 34-27 setback to Sacramento on Sept. 27.

Then it got worse as the Pirates limped into the Valley Conference race. Two weeks ago, a disputed Laney interception led to the decisive field goal of a 29-28 loss. Last week, Modesto blew a 21-0 halftime lead and missed a short, game-clinching field goal. Chabot recovered and won in overtime as the Pirates’ season continued its downward spin.

“Maybe I’ve been getting the breaks all these years and it’s just catching up with me,” Young said. “But you can’t go through life heartbroken. It’s like breaking up with a girlfriend. You have to find a new girl.”

The only uplifting moments for MJC have happened outside the city limits with wins at Diablo Valley and Sequoias. Yes, a trip to Fresno might prove beneficial.

That said, the Rams are the only team Modesto has not beaten since the Pirates rejoined the VC in 2010. Fortunately for MJC, Fresno (5-3, 2-1) – though square in the middle of the league title chase – is not its usual overpowering self. The Rams stopped a 1-7 Delta team on the goal line to save a 30-22 victory last week at Stockton.

The Modesto defense will devote most of its attention to running back Jeremy Smith, who gashed the Mustangs for 327 yards on 25 carries and two touchdowns.

“Fresno has played a rigorous schedule just like us,” Young said. “Their loss to Laney during the first week of league was the upset special. No one saw that coming. We’re not sure which Fresno team we’ll see.”

The Pirates will start Trey Cooper, their fourth quarterback to see action this season, for the second straight week. Cooper carried 28 times and broke through tackles of linebackers and linemen and also passed for 200 yards and three touchdowns. Spencer Thomas, the starter the week before, still is slowed by an injury to his right (throwing) shoulder.

One of the few bright spots for Modesto is tailback Anthony Cota, who has become the Pirates’ career-leading rusher. He’s totaled 2,156 yards the last two seasons to surpass Danny Carr (1,922). Cota, tops in the state with his 126.8 yards-per-game average, has gained 1,014 yards this season and is closing in on Bobby Wagner’s single-season record of 1,178.

The Pirates’ morale, now that they’ve dropped out of league and bowl-game contention, will be tested in their final games against Fresno and Delta.

“All the externals have been stripped away. We’re playing for ourselves right now,” Young said. “It’s been a cohesive group. We just haven’t been able to finish our games. I think we’re better than our record indicates, but we have to tend to a lot of little things.”

This story was originally published November 5, 2014 at 11:31 PM with the headline "MJC football, 0-4 at home, travels to Fresno."