Two costly turnovers returned for touchdowns in fourth quarter doom Modesto JC
For two quarters Saturday, it looked like the Modesto Junior College football team would avenge its 2019 loss to Fresno City College and propel itself into the Valley Conference’s top spot with two games left in the season.
MJC shut out Fresno for the first 35 minutes. However, when the Rams broke the seal, the points came in overwhelming fashion. They scored two defensive touchdowns in the fourth quarter en route to a 22-16 victory at MJC Stadium..
The matchup featured two of the top 10 teams JC programs in California, with Modesto ranked sixth and Fresno seventh in the recent JC Athletic Bureau Coaches Poll.
With the loss, the Pirates have likely fallen out of contention for one of the four Northern California playoff spots. They are still eligible for a bowl game.
MJC took control of the game early in the first half and it started with defense. Coming into the matchup, coach Rusty Stivers and his staff were focuses on versatile Fresno quarterback Justin Holaday. The Pirates forced three punts and three turnovers on downs in the first half, holding the Rams scoreless.
“We wanted to be the aggressors,” said Pirates defensive back and Central Catholic alum D’Angelo Bellamy. “We wanted to start off hitting (and) make sure they didn’t run the ball as much. We wanted to force him (Holaday) to be one-dimensional.”
Holaday came into the game averaging 157 passing yards and led the Rams with 71 rushing attempts but the Pirates allowed just 84 passing yards and 8 carries for 24 yards.
MJC quarterback Gino Campiotti connected with Lucas Curtis for a 22-yard touchdown to cap a seven-play, 88-yard drive and extended the lead to 16-7 with 10 minutes, 17 seconds left in the third quarter.
Those would be the Pirates’ final points..
On the Pirates’ first play of the fourth quarter, Fresno’s Caden Ochoa intercepted a Campiotti pass at midield and returned it 49 yards and a touchdown as the Rams cut MJC’s lead to 16-14 with 11:45 left in the game.
The Pirates then drove 77 yards on 10 plays, with nine of those running plays to Anthony Frias. Having burned nearly six minutes off the clock, the Pirates, who outgained Fresno 485-247 and had a 28-9 first down margin, appeared ready to put the game away.
However, Frias fumbled on his next attempt at the 2-yard line, Kiundre McDowell scooped up the loose ball and returned it 97 yards to put Fresno in front 22-16.
“The game was a grinder,” Stivers said. “But turnovers are a huge predictor of victory. We gave up some big plays offensively that they capitalized on.”
The Pirates would get the ball two more times, driving as close to Fresno’s 28 yard line. However, they lost both possessions on downs after both fourth-down passes by Campiotti fell incomplete.
The Pirates now focus on the final two games of the regular season – against Sacramento City on Nov. 6 and College of Sequoias on Nov. 13 – with the goal of reaching a bowl game.
“We’re trying to win out,” Bellamy said on the team’s mindset for the rest of the season. “We just gotta win out and keep playing.”
Stivers said this loss will be a good test for his team.
“Sometimes when you lose a heart-breaker like that really kills and then people get a little lax,” he said. “You get 24 hours to ... be upset about what happened. Then once those 24 hours happen, what you tried to do is turn your attention to the next opponent and start to get excited about prepping for the next opponent.”
