Pirates receive bowl berth, travel to Santa Rosa

The Modesto Junior College Pirates, nursing their disappointment after three straight losses, received news Sunday that improved their mood.

Their season is not over.

The Pirates (5-5) received a bid to meet Santa Rosa (6-4) in the North State Bowl on Saturday. Kickoff time is 5 p.m. at the Bear Cubs’ Bailey Field for the teams’ second postseason meeting in the last three years.

“It’s an honor to be in the small percentage of teams going into the postseason,” MJC first-year coach Rusty Stivers said Sunday. “The guys will be excited to play in a bowl game. We’re cutting off everything that’s happened and starting from scratch. To me, it’s a one-game season.”

MJC placed fourth in the Valley Conference after falling, in order, to champion Chabot 60-53 in overtime, Fresno 55-42 and San Joaquin Delta in overtime 42-35 on Saturday.

The Football Bowl Game Selection Committee, which announced the bowl lineup on Sunday, recognized MJC’s No. 8 power ranking. Santa Rosa is ninth. In the final NorCal coaches poll, the Bear Cubs were eighth and Modesto 10th.

The Pirates, who played the region’s most rigorous schedule – a component in the power ranking – edged Diablo Valley for the bowl berth. The Vikings (5-5) knocked off Santa Rosa 35-32 in overtime last weekend and created a three-way tie for second place behind San Francisco in the Bay 6 League. The tiebreaker turned out to be Modesto’s 35-34 win over DVC on Sept. 19.

“I felt pretty good about our chances because of the teams we played,” Stivers said. “Our first goal was to become bowl eligible (by winning five games). We did that.”

Modesto no doubt will approach the week as an opportunity to salve recent wounds. Four turnovers doomed the Pirates’ chances at Delta, which scored the winning touchdown with 1:26 left.

Santa Rosa lost to Delta early in the season but also owns wins over Butte and San Mateo.

“We’re excited to be in a bowl game, which is what we wanted,” freshman linebacker Frankie Sanchez said. “Our team will be motivated to get the win. We should be better than 5-5. We want to prove that we’re still one of the best teams in the region. We’ll be ready.”

Notes: Teejay Gordon and Anthony Cota starred two years ago in Modesto’s 48-39 win at Santa Rosa, which was the Pirates’ first bowl win on the road since their unbeaten team in 1980. ... MJC requested an earlier kickoff Saturday, but other sports activities on campus forced the later start time.

This story was originally published November 15, 2015 at 7:08 PM with the headline "Pirates receive bowl berth, travel to Santa Rosa."