Modesto JC wins in Fresno for 2nd time in 3 years

Before Modesto Junior College’s 2014 victory over Fresno City, the Pirates’ football team hadn’t beaten the Rams since the last century.

After Saturday’s 28-27 Houdini job at Ratcliffe Stadium, MJC has now won two of the past three against the Rams.

“It’s tough to play Fresno on the road,” said Modesto coach Rusty Stivers, whose team improved to 5-2 overall and 2-0 in the Valley Conference. “We don’t usually fare too well against Fresno.

“If you go by the last three years, we’ve done pretty well. It’s all outlook. I’ve got the wrong perspective.”

The Rams lined up for a potential game-winning 29-yard field goal with 10 seconds on the clock. Erik Zamora’s attempt sailed wide left and the Pirates escaped with the victory.

Former Beyer High running back Jay Green rushed for 121 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries, scoring on runs of 1, 6 and 2 yards.

“Jay got stuffed quite a few times at line of scrimmage,” Stivers said. “He had to grind out some tough yards.”

Quarterback Wyatt Clapper was 23 of 26 for 287 yards and had a 12-yard touchdown pass to Blake Smallie with 3:10 remaining that tied the score 27-27.

Julio Gonzalez’s PAT gave the Pirates a one-point cushion.

“Wyatt didn’t have a lot of time to throw, but he took care of the ball,” Stivers said. “The one interception he had, it was a very short throw and a mistake by us. It wasn’t really his fault. Overall, he took care of the ball really well.”

After Green gave MJC the early lead with a 1-yard run just over a minute in the contest, the Rams knotted the score 12 seconds later when Jamal Pickett returned the kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown.

Green’s second touchdown put the Pirates ahead 14-7, but again the Rams wasted little time drawing even, making it 14-14 when Nate Jones hauled in a 65-yard scoring pass from Andrew Zimmerman.

Fresno City scored the next two touchdowns – a 7-yard run by Khai Williams and a 47-yard run by the explosive Jones – but Zamora missed the PAT attempt after Williams’ touchdown.

Green’s third touchdown of the game, plus Gonzalez’s PAT, cut the Pirates’ deficit to 27-20, setting the stage for the Clapper-to-Smallie connection.

Modesto will host Chabot (Hayward) at Saturday at 6 p.m.

This story was originally published October 22, 2016 at 7:25 PM with the headline "Modesto JC wins in Fresno for 2nd time in 3 years."