Pirates dispute Laney catch, fall in final minutes

The Modesto Junior College football team may be tempted to think it lost to Laney on Saturday night because there’s no instant replay.

They might be right, and another thing: It doesn’t matter.

The record will show a 29-28 Laney victory, thanks to a 29-yard field-goal by Francisco Mendoza with 3:38 left. It was set up by a one-handed catch – or was it? – by Laney freshman Austin Conway in front of the MJC bench, a fake-punt gambit which worked for a 15-yard gain to the Modesto 35-yard line.

The MJC bench insisted it wasn’t caught. But after a few seconds of uncertainty, the officials called it good. The eventual winning kick came six plays later. And that’s the buzzard’s luck that burned the Pirates at MJC Stadium.

“I tipped it with my right hand and trapped it to my facemask with my left,” Conway said. “As I went down, I pulled it onto my chest.”

What would a replay have shown, Austin?

“First down, Laney!” he said with a wide grin.

The Pirates, stung by a painful loss, did not buy Conway’s version.

“I was about 10 yards away. It hit the ground and popped up,” said MJC receiver Ronnie Holley (5 catches for 100 yards, TD). “He tucked it underneath him to make it look like he caught it.”

Head coach Sam Young, whose team approached an important second straight Valley Conference win, refused to jump into the cauldron.

“Circus catch. Judgment call,” he conceded. “Nothing you can do about it.”

A spasm of controversy figured to decide this one. The game was punctuated by a lot of weirdness, including 2-pointers scored by both teams – the return of a blocked PAT by Laney (4-3, 2-0) and a safety by the Pirates. Laney somehow dodged 15 penalties for 131 yards.

Modesto (2-5, 1-1) did not mount a counter-attack after the decisive field goal. Quarterback Spencer Thomas missed the final series due to an injury incurred early in the fourth quarter, and backup Trey Cooper and the Pirates lost the ball on downs.

Young lamented another series of special teams blunders, including two blocked PATs. All the little things crystalize after a 1-point loss, and Modesto hoped for a better result on the night it honored ex-Pirate and former Kansas City Chiefs and Stanford coach Paul Wiggin.

“Two even-steven teams battled it out,” Young concluded. “The team which made the fewest mistakes won.”

Modesto took a 28-22 lead with 13 minutes left on the second of two short touchdown bursts by Anthony Cota (25 attempts, 115 yards). Two plays before, the Pirates’ determination was demonstrated on a 32-yard run by Chris Souza to the Laney 2. The 160-pound Souza pushed for the final 10 yards as he carried several Laney defenders.

The touchdown marked the third time Modesto vaulted into the lead. The Pirates rallied from an early 10-0 deficit and even played through a deflating Laney deuce when Bo Banks collected a blocked conversion and went the distance.

The Pirates’ first lead (13-12) was staked by Holley, who caught Thomas’ pass over the middle and sprinted the final 45 yards to complete the 69-yard TD.

Five minutes later, the MJC defense trapped running back Keith Anthony (23 carries, 103 yards) in the end zone for the safety that gave Modesto a 15-12 lead at halftime.

The Pirates will enjoy that part of the post-game tape. The final minutes, however, won’t be much fun.

This story was originally published October 25, 2014 at 11:19 PM with the headline "Pirates dispute Laney catch, fall in final minutes."