MJC football gives up fourth-quarter lead in season opening loss to Laney College
In the opening game of the 2022 season, the Modesto Junior College football team needed to score. Its opponent, Laney College, just executed a methodical 10-play, 69-yard drive to perfection, tying the game at 18-18 in the fourth quarter.
The Pirates knew what they were looking for and executed, driving down to the Laney 22-yard line and setting up a third down and nine.
“We had a couple inside runs that went pretty big and then we thought Jacob (DeJesus) was going inside a lot, so we could make a move to the outside and he caught a nice pass.” said Pirates coach Rusty Stivers.
On the ninth play of the drive, quarterback Luke Weaver (East Union) scanned right, looked left and found DeJesus (Manteca) over the middle. The receiver caught the ball at the four-yard line and beat his defender into the end zone.
“Based upon how we lined up, we knew that they were probably going to go one-on-one on Jacob and so we looked the other way and then Jacob got himself open on the back side.” Stivers said.
Said DeJesus on the touchdown that gave his team the lead: “Luke said he knew that I was gonna beat (the defender) in the middle, so I kind of knew and he kind of knew. We both figured that he was gonna throw it.”
The crowd erupted as DeJesus crossed the goal line. He finished the game with nine catches for 158 yards and one touchdown. A Nathan Valdez (Ripon) field goal put the Pirates ahead 25-18.
Unfortunately, they left one minute, 15 seconds on the clock and that was all the time Laney needed.
The Eagles drove 75 yards in 55 seconds, scoring their second touchdown of the quarter. They converted the two-point conversion to take a 26-25 lead with 20 seconds left.
“When it was 18-10 in the fourth quarter, I’m like, ‘Man, that score is too close,’” said DeJesus. “Momentum is a big thing. If they got one play to go their way, it could change the whole game. Momentum is a game changer.”
Weaver had a great college debut, completing 18 of 31 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns, but his one mistake proved costly. His only interception came on the last drive, allowing Laney to seal the victory with a defensive stop.
Ultimately, momentum is what did the Pirates in. The Eagles struck when they needed to. Two touchdowns and two 2-point conversions in the final frame — outscoring MJC 16-7 — were enough to seal the victory.
“The last two years that we’ve played Laney, it’s been just like that, down to the last play,” Stivers said. “It went their way. There’s a lot of things that we can learn from this film. I’m excited to see it. We got a lot to work on, but I liked the way our guys competed.”
Aiden Taylor (Central Catholic) scored the season’s first touchdown and finished with 69 yards on 19 carries. Landen Ramos (Los Banos) caught a touchdown pass and had 74 receiving yards on four catches. Peyton Bradford (Oakdale) had an interception.
The Pirates are on the road for the next two weeks against Santa Rosa and San Mateo, respectively.
