Pirates’ rally falls short against Sacramento City College
SACRAMENTO – Any momentum Modesto Junior College may have gathered by pulling to within a touchdown of Sacramento City on the first play of the fourth quarter was undone on the very next play, as the Panthers went on to defeat the Pirates 34-13 Saturday night at Hughes Stadium.
With the game tied 7-7 after one quarter – Modesto’s Trae Nichols returned an interception 33 yards for MJC’s score – the Panthers pulled ahead with touchdowns in the second and third quarters to make it 20-7. But on the last series of the third quarter, MJC marched 56 yards on five plays to the 5-yard line when the horn sounded to end the stanza. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Devan Bass punched it in to make it 20-13, and give the Pirates life.
But on the ensuing kickoff, Tayvian Cunningham went 96 yards for a touchdown, re-establishing a two-touchdown margin and wiping out any Modesto momentum.
On the Pirates’ next possession, facing third-and-1 from their own 40, Kameron Beamon was stripped of the ball and scooped up by Sacramento’s TJ TiaTia, who returned it to the 19 yards to Modesto’s 18.
Five plays later Jayden Machado hit Roy Sanders for a 4-yard strike to make it 34-13.
“I don’t think we were hanging our heads,” said MJC head coach Rusty Stivers. “We’re just not performing in any three phases of the game right now. We’re struggling.”
True freshman Dan Velasquez was pressed into his second start at quarterback. He completed 18 of 40 attempts for 194 yards, but threw three interceptions.
Running backs Kameron Beamon and Devan Bass split the workload effectively, combining for 103 yards on 19 carries. Beamon rushed for 52 yards on 10 attempts and Bass had 51 yards on nine carries.
The Pirates will be back in Modesto Sept. 23 to host Contra Costa College. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. and the gave will be streamed live by NorCalSportsTV.com.
Joe Cortez: 209-578-2380, @ModBeePreps
This story was originally published September 18, 2017 at 12:56 PM with the headline "Pirates’ rally falls short against Sacramento City College."