Fresno overpowers MJC, sends Pirates to second consecutive loss

Modesto Junior College’s 55-42 loss Saturday afternoon to Fresno can be illustrated in painful word pictures for the home team:

Quarterback Trey Cooper sacked on successive plays and missing most of the second half; Fresno running back Nate Jones denting the MJC defense for 207 yards and four touchdowns; Rams tight end Bryan Hall snaring three passes but two for touchdowns; MJC’s offense standing helpless on the sideline, watching Fresno pound up and down the field.

Those painful calling cards finished off any Valley Conference or playoff hopes for Modesto (5-4, 2-2) after its second straight loss. The bowl-eligible Pirates may need a win next week at San Joaquin Delta to secure a bowl berth.

“I felt like we started flat, and part of my job is to have the team ready,” MJC coach Rusty Stivers said. “Fresno was the more alert team at the start.”

Modesto’s matchup issues with Fresno – read: physically superior up front – returned like a bad cough. Equally important, the Rams refused to let Cooper dominate the game as he did last year, when MJC recorded its first victory over the Rams since 1998.

“He (Cooper) is Tim Tebow,” Fresno coach Tony Caviglia said. “You have to stop the quarterback in that style of offense. Our eyes had to be right.”

Fresno (5-4, 2-2), loser of three games this season by a touchdown or less, delivered uncompromising terms from the opening kickoff. The Rams’ pro-set offense with its blocking tight ends and fullbacks, a rarity in today’s pinball JC attacks, blocked the Pirates off the line all day. The result was five touchdowns in six possessions before halftime.

Their opening 60-yard drive, capped by Jones’ first touchdown, was a harbinger. The Rams totaled 352 yards on the ground and produced a 13-minute time-of-possession edge. MJC’s defense, which produced seven touchdowns over the first seven games, has given up 115 points in the last two.

“We didn’t come out ready to play,” said linebacker Justin VanFleet, one of the 31 sophomores recognized before the kickoff. “The running back (Jones) was pretty good, but I put it more on us than them.”

To add to the indignity, Jones – a former Tracy High star – was recruited by both Modesto and San Joaquin Delta. Fresno held the trump card, however, in defensive line coach Lyndell Hawkins, formerly of Tracy and Fresno State and Jones’ uncle.

“We were aware of what Jones could do,” Stivers said. “He was the highest rated running back for us in the area.”

Jones, creasing the MJC defense on stretch plays, often spun away from first contact. He scored on runs of 5, 28, 2 and 17 yards. The 28-yarder, a tackle-breaking burst on 3rd-and-3, demonstrated the Rams’ overall strength.

Modesto added to its problems with a missed field goal, a blocked punt and a fumble, resulting in 14 Fresno points. Christian Rossi’s 69-yard pass to James Whitfield, alone after MJC blew the coverage, left MJC reeling 45-21 late in the third quarter. Conversely, the Rams recorded their first game devoid of turnovers.

For a few moments in the second half, MJC was down to third-string quarterback Wyatt Clapper. Cooper, saddled with several bumps and bruises, did not practice this week and absorbed several hard blows. Backup Tiki Tonga, after being temporarily sidelined with a shoulder stinger, eventually gave Modesto a lift.

Tonga moved the offense in the second half, in fact, and threw 33 yards to sophomore Tim Knuettel whose all-out drive in the end zone entertained a crowd of about 1,500 at MJC Stadium. It was the second TD catch of the day for Knuettel, who totaled eight receptions for 144 yards. It’s not by accident that he’s become the team’s most productive receiver.

“It started with a vision and an acknowledgment by coach Stivers who took me onto the team,” said Knuettel, a Peoria, Ill., product who sought a place to play. Injuries impeded his progress at MJC until this season.

“I don’t know of anyone who’s worked as hard as Tim on the field and in the classroom,” Stivers said. “He’s doing everything right.”

MJC struggled just to get through this one. Running backs Andre Edwards and Aden Ruiz both exited with injuries, leaving the Pirates with freshman Donald White, who scored two second-half touchdowns.

Knuettel’s acrobatic catch closed the Modesto deficit to 48-35 with 10:33 left, but – like Fresno did all day – the Rams countered with Jones’ 17-yarder.

“They just outnumbered us at the point of attack,” Stivers said.

Ron Agostini: 209-578-2302, @ModBeeSports

This story was originally published November 7, 2015 at 7:19 PM with the headline "Fresno overpowers MJC, sends Pirates to second consecutive loss."