Pirates force five turnovers, shock fourth-ranked American River

Rusty Stivers will not sweat the fact that, in his first game as Modesto Junior College’s coach, his bells-and-whistles NASCAR offense was outshined by the defense.

In fact, he loved the look.

“The difference in tonight’s game definitely was our defense,” said Stivers, who would get no argument after the Pirates forced five turnovers – four of them second-half interceptions – and scored twice on defense Saturday to dominate fourth-ranked American River College 41-10.

“When you score two touchdowns on defense, I call that free money,” Stivers said. “That was a defensive show.”

It seemed like a game-long celebration for MJC and a crowd of about 3,000, including a reunion of the Pirates’ best-ever defense, the 11-0 shutdown gang of 1980. Like everyone else, they raved about MJC’s ball-hawking defenders.

“Very quick, lots of hats on the ball,” said Tom Santos, an outside linebacker 35 years ago. “You gotta have wheels today.”

Modesto, unranked in the preseason, flashed those wheels at exactly the right times in its best season-opening performance in many years. Of the four interceptions, none was more important than cornerback Bryan Pascual’s leaping pick in the end zone erly in the second half. A Beavers touchdown would have made it 20-17 and the outcome a virtual coin flip.

“I jumped the out-route,” Pascual said. “We had a chip on our shoulder this week in that we were supposed to lose by so much. We contributed together.”

Modesto then scored two touchdowns in 19 seconds to ice it – a nine-play, 67-yard march ended by Aden Ruiz’s 1-yard dive and a defensive back’s dream touchdown by sophomore Herman Harris.

The blitzing Harris sacked ARC quarterback Jihad Vercher, forced a fumble, scooped up the ball and ran 20 yards to the end zone.

“They were running an option. He (Vercher) kept it, and I aimed for his back shoulder,” said Harris, a returning starter. “I hit him as he tried to pass. The rest just happened.”

Additional interceptions by Lesean Collins, DeWayne Finney and Frankie Sanchez blunted any thoughts of an ARC comeback. Sanchez’s 78-yard return down the MJC sideline with 2:17 left triggered the postgame celebration.

Count on American River not to send the Pirates a Christmas card. Besides the latest shocker, a 7-0 ARC team ranked third in the state was humbled by Modesto in 2013.

This time, Modesto unveiled new all-blue uniforms with a blue “M” decorating the helmet. The Pirates also unleashed early energy that caught American River off guard.

Sophomore quarterback Trey Cooper launched his 223-pound frame more than once into the teeth of the ARC defense. First-quarter drives of 60 and 58 yards resulted in touchdowns – Cooper’s 5-yard pass to Tiki Tonga and Andre Edwards’ 5-yard burst.

Stivers’ high-tempo offense, accelerating after each gain, rolled during the first half. Cooper’s 16-yard scoring pass to Justice Jordan increased the Modesto lead to 20-3. American River stabilized only once via a 97-yard drive late in the half, capped by Vercher’s short toss to Zack Suarez.

That said, the American River defense hardly backed off the Pirates. The Beavers even outgained Modesto 415-395, but those numbers were irrelevant after Modesto won the turnover battle 5-0.

“The offense got its inspiration from the defense,” Cooper said. “I got my butt kicked all night long, but I kept getting up.”

Modesto also flashed offense via Ruiz, a hard-running sophomore (18 carries, 93 yards), and fleet Ravon Alexander. His 46-yard catch returned the second-half momentum to the Pirates.

Stivers even found time, before the second-half kickoff, to pose for a vintage photograh of all four MJC head coaches spanning the last 36 years, joining Dick Loyd, Steve Da Prato and Sam Young. The Pirates’ new boss played for all three of his predecessors on the same field.

“Basically, we’re chasing 1980,” Stivers said. “Why not? You should have high goals.”

He and the Pirates met all the goals on opening night.

This story was originally published September 6, 2015 at 6:44 AM with the headline "Pirates force five turnovers, shock fourth-ranked American River."