MJC sneaks past American River to set up NorCal showdown with San Mateo
When Modesto Junior College freshman running back Payton Bass (Pitman) struggled for playing time early in the season, he didn’t pout and instead worked harder in practice and asked questions, coach Rusty Stivers said.
“I know I am a good player but it was hard (adjusting to college football) at first,” Bass said.
Against American River in a CCCAA NorCal semifinal on Saturday night at MJC, Bass had a career-high 94 rushing yards and two touchdowns as the Pirates beat the Beavers, 35-28.
MJC (9-2) advanced to the NorCal championship game, where it will travel to face the College of San Mateo — a 21-0 winner over Fresno City College — at noon next Saturday. The winner will advance to the state title game against the Southern California champ on Dec. 14 in Bakersfield.
“Tonight was for my team and for the sophomores,” Bass said. “We had to work and it wasn’t an easy fight.”
Bass ran with power and bounced off defenders to gain extra yardage all night. One of his most important runs came on 3rd-and-1 with under one minute remaining when he ran for a first down.
MJC took a knee on the next play to end the game.
“He is a lot like his brother (former MJC running back Devan Bass),” sophomore quarterback Danny Velasquez said. “He is patient and gained confidence all year long.”
In the last five games, Bass has at least one rushing touchdown and 10 for the season.
Both offenses struggled through a scoreless first quarter before American River (8-3) scored on a 47-yard touchdown pass from Marco Baldacchino to Sivonte Jordan early in the second. However, Velasquez tied the game with an 8-yard touchdown run three minutes later. It was set up by a Kendrick Bond (Patterson) interception on American River’s 11-yard line.
“It took us a little time to figure them out and they brought something new on defense from the first meeting (MJC won 38-20 on Sept. 28),” Velasquez said.
Bass scored both of his rushing touchdowns in the second quarter on runs of 3 and 8 yards and MJC led 21-7 at halftime.
Each team had two touchdowns in the third quarter as Velasquez connected with Lucas Curtis (Turlock) and Jordan Porter (Turlock) on scoring plays. He finished 13-of-18 for 251 yards and two touchdowns and added 22 carries for 87 yards and a score.
After the Beavers scored a touchdown to cut the deficit to seven with 5:05 left, the Pirates had three third down conversions to close it out, setting up a rematch with San Mateo, which beat MJC 35-12 on Oct. 5.
“We are on to the next one!” Stivers told the team afterward during a celebration huddle.
This story was originally published November 23, 2019 at 10:13 PM.
