MJC coach Stivers finds plenty of room for improvement after loss to Laney

You can learn a lot about your team playing good opponents.

Modesto Junior College coach Rusty Stivers knows this, and will use it after his Pirates fell to Laney 31-17 in Saturday’s season-opener at MJC.

“This is a process.,” he said. “You could start out the season with a team with lesser talent. (Laney) is the kind of team that really exposes you to the areas that you need to work on.”

Laney’s defense shut down the Pirates, tallying 10 sacks and allowing just 102 rushing yards on 42 carries (2.4 yards per carry).

“They have always been really good defensively,” Stivers said. “They were able to do a normal rush and play soft in the secondary. When you have to rush and you get to play soft, that’s really good defensively and it caused a lot of problems.”

There was no problem on the opening drive after the MJC defense stopped Laney on fourth-and-2 early.

The Pirates drove 90 yards in 11 plays on their first possession, culminating with a 19-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Jacob Perez (Pitman) to freshman wide receiver Kane Rodgers (Sonora).

On their next possession, the Eagles tied the game at 7 on a 38-yard pass from freshman quarterback Jordon Brookshire to sophomore wide receiver Angelo Garrett.

Laney got another touchdown and a field goal in the second quarter and led 17-7 at halftime. Freshman kicker Troy Dayak (Mountain House) made a 28-yard field goal early in the third quarter to cut the deficit to seven. Dayak would struggle later, though, missing two 36-yard attempts in the quarter.

Trailing 24-10 and needing a big play with a little over seven minutes left in the game, Perez and Rodgers connected on 53-yard pass for a touchdown on fourth down.

“He (Rodgers) got hurt in the Merced scrimmage,” Stivers said. “He was kind of in and out (at practice). We are just lacking a little experience in a lot of areas offensively. Hopefully, we can grow up because we are going to play some really good teams.”

Sophomore running back John McDonald scored on a 23-yard run with a little over four minutes left to put the game away for Laney.

“We had our opportunities,” said Stivers, whose travels to Rocklin next Saturday for a 1 p.m. game. “I told the guys the only thing we can do is watch film and its a long season and we are going to improve.”

This story was originally published September 2, 2018 at 7:34 AM.