Patterson football explosive in victory over Ripon but far from perfect

The student section crowded the railing at Patterson Community Stadium, begging the Tigers for more.

More big plays.

More first downs.

More points.

The Red Sea shook and screamed as Patterson’s new-look offense obliged, stunning another Trans-Valley League title contender with its potency. Final: Patterson 36, Ripon 21.

On the sideline, tucked in amongst the players, coach Rob Cozart shook and screamed, too, but for a different reason.

“I was heated all first half,” he said. “It’s 20-0 and I see all the little details that aren’t happening. It’s attitude, effort and execution. If you don’t handle those things, it’s going to be a long night. It should have been 35-0 at the half.”

On paper, the Tigers (2-0) lived up to their large-school No. 8 ranking. With junior quarterback Kevin Todd piercing the sky with footballs, Patterson knocked off small-school No. 1 Ripon (1-1).

Todd threw for 338 yards and five touchdowns as the “Spread ’em and Shred ’em” offense leaned on his touch and decision-making. For the most part, Todd, the younger brother of former Patterson quarterback Bryan Todd (Class of 2012), passed the test. He completed 16 of 23 passes, including eight in a row in the second half.

His top three targets – Michael Lawson, Alec Espos and Pierre Williams (seven catches, 131 yards, touchdown) – helped the Tigers build a 20-0 cushion at halftime.

Lawson did his best work in the seam, reeling in scoring grabs of 16 and 33 yards.

Espos (five catches, 124 yards) turned a short emergency flip by Todd into a 47-yard touchdown. Running a crossing route, the lighting-quick slotback kept his momentum going toward the sideline and then stepped into a jet stream.

The home crowd, washed in red, went berserk, serenading the Tigers as they danced off the field with a three-score lead.

Cozart was going nuts, too.

The former Modesto Junior College linebackers coach wasn’t nearly as impressed with the Tigers’ focus on both sides of the ball. For each explosive effort, Cozart said he saw several plays that Patterson simply whiffed on, whether it was an ill-advised throw by Todd, poor tackling in the secondary or lackadaisical route running.

“Our guys need to understand the little details,” Cozart said. “Those little details that need to be fixed, you can’t mask them with ‘Hey, I made the play’ or ‘Hey, I made the catch anyways’ or ‘Hey, I got the sack.’ Well, yeah, you did, but against a really good team ...

“We may end up in Division II (for the playoffs) and those teams won’t be like this. Those little details will get exposed.”

Ripon helped dig its own hole.

The Indians drove the ball inside the Patterson 40-yard line six times in the first half, but had three turnovers, including two by third-year quarterback Nick Price (13 of 19, 148 yards). He threw an interception in the end zone and then was stripped by Lawson following a 20-yard scramble at the 18.

“We just made mistakes. We knew coming in if we were going to have a shot we had to be perfect, and it’s tough to be perfect in week two,” Ripon coach Chris Johnson said. “We were moving the ball. We had three possessions on this side of the field that we turn the ball over. You can’t do that.

“You can’t come down here, be inside the 30-yard line three times and come away with zero points. You’re not going to win against anybody.”

Like Cozart, Johnson could sense the game was far from over.

The Indians mounted a comeback on the shoulders of fullback Caleb McCusker, who rushed for 129 of his game-high 189 yards in the second half.

His 2-yard touchdown punctuated a 12-play, five-minute opening drive in the third quarter.

It also set the tone. Ripon outscored Patterson 21-16 over the final two quarters. Aaron Paschini (seven catches, 130 yards) raced untouched on a 37-yard touchdown reception after a Patterson safety tried to jump the route and missed.

Matthew Dedonatis made it 36-21 with 10:13 left on a 3-yard sweep.

“We wore them down a little bit. That kid (McCusker) runs the ball hard. He’s got a lot of heart and he’s got some skills, but you got to give credit to our guys up front,” Johnson said. “He’s getting to the second level and running over guys and making them miss, but he’s only getting second level because those guys are securing the first level.”

The Indians had a chance to make it a one-score game with 5 1/2 minutes left. A bull-dozing 36-yard run by McCusker positioned Ripon inside the red zone, but a penalty and sack by Jamal Broussard doomed the drive.

“We have a lot of work to do,” Cozart said.

This story was originally published September 4, 2015 at 11:43 PM with the headline "Patterson football explosive in victory over Ripon but far from perfect."