MJC beats American River, but starting quarterback Perez could be out for the season
Modesto Junior College head coach Rusty Stivers said after Saturday’s 27-21 win over American River that he feels he has two starting quarterbacks.
Now he has one.
Midway through the fourth quarter, sophomore starter Jacob Perez (Pitman) went down while being tackled with what Stivers said Sunday afternoon was a fractured fibula. He’s likely out of the season.
Jack Weaver, an East Union High graduate, replaced Perez Saturday night and came up with a key third-down run that essentially clinched the game for the Pirates.
“It’s unfortunate for any of our players to have a potential season ending injury,” Stivers said Sunday. “Jacob is a team guy and held in high esteem from his teammates. It’s a big loss for our program but we will grind forward.”
The Pirates did that Saturday until Weaver’s run.
With his team leading by 6 on third-and-4 with a little over two minutes left, Weaver felt the pressure of the Beavers’ defense and evaded multiple defenders en route to a 12 yard gain. A few plays later, the Pirates took a knee and improved their record to 2-2.
“He (Weaver) has been with us since the spring,” Stivers said Saturday night. “I told both those guys they are 1A and 1B. The reason why Jacob got the nod at the beginning of the year is because he had experience playing against us at Fresno City last year. I felt good with Jack but I am just heartbroken for Jacob, he is such a pro.”
Perez, a Pitman High graduate, was carted off the field on a stretcher and was taken to a local hospital. Through nearly four games, Perez had completed 58 of 100 passes for 728 yards, six touchdowns and one interception.
After taking a knee, a Beaver defensive player attempted to dive at an MJC lineman’s knee which caused a little bit of a scrum but both teams were able to settle down and shake hands after the game.
The Pirates offense started the night with a six-play, 75-yard drive that culminated with a 17-yard touchdown run by freshman wide receiver Kane Rodgers. He lined up in the slot and took the pitch down the right sideline for the score. After a fumble recovery by sophomore linebacker Jason Foglia, freshman kicker Troy Dayak drilled a 42-yard field goal to give the Pirates a 10-0 lead with 6 minutes left in the first quarter.
American River would respond on its next drive as sophomore running back Evyn Holtz got a wide open hole from his offensive line and sprinted 69 yards to the end zone to cut the deficit to three with a little over four minutes left in the quarter.
With a little under 13 minutes left in the second quarter, Pirates sophomore running back Devan Bass (Pitman) took the hand off to the right side and ran 78 yards to the end zone. Bass also had a 10-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and finished with 17 carries for 142 yards and two touchdowns.
“My goal is to get every yard I can get so we can get first downs,” Bass said.
Bass has 291 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns in his last two games.
The Pirates controlled the ball for much of the fourth quarter until Perez’s injury. The Beavers cut the MJC lead to six with four minutes left after a 12-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Jacob Cruz to freshman receiver Naequan Parker.
MJC finished with over 500 total yards including 319 on the ground.
“We have been spending more time watching film on ourselves and less than on the other opponents so hopefully this is something we can build on,” Stivers said.
The Pirates are home again next week at will face San Mateo at 6 p.m.
“For us, with all the true freshmen it’s going to be about growing up and concentrating on getting better,” Stivers said. “It sure is fun to win.”
At halftime, there was a special ceremony for sophomore wide receiver Austin Denham, who enlisted into the U.S. Army as a special forces soldier. Denham is the son of current U.S. House of Representative member Jeff Denham.
This story was originally published September 22, 2018 at 10:39 PM.