Los Medanos College’s homecoming football game was disastrous as the Mustangs were blown out at home last Saturday 49-7 by De Anza College.
“We just didn’t come out and play well,” LMC Head Football Coach Chris Shipe said after the Saturday afternoon loss. “They took momentum right from the start and we never gained it back. They were up 21-0 before you knew it and we could never get anything going offensively.”
De Anza’s offense had a slow and methodical approach against the Mustang defense. The Mountain Lion’s had only one drive that was under four minutes, and had an over 10-minute time of possession advantage over the Mustangs by game’s end.
The Mountain Lion offense revolved mostly around quick bubble screen passes that LMC defensive backs had difficulty defending. De Anza quarterback Antevious Jackson completed 35 of 40 passes for 396 yards and four touchdowns.
“It looked like we didn’t get off the ball and off the block to make a play, and they made plays,” Shipe said of the difficult defender the screen passes. “They came out and performed and executed their game plans on both sides and they played well.”
LMC’s offense sputtered all game long. They failed to tally 250 total offensive yards and quarterback Garrett Deatherage completed below 50% of his passes.
Midway through the second quarter, the Mustang’s had the ball looking to get on the board after De Anza took a 14-0 lead. Deatherage threw a pass that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown by Mountain Lion defensive back D’Andre Greeley. The Mustang drive was killed and their deficit grew to 21-0.
Following the interception returned for a touchdown, the Mustang offense drove down the field and had the ball at the Mountain Lion five yard line. However, LMC failed to get in the end zone after four tries and stayed scoreless all the way until there were under three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
“It wasn’t just some individual stuff, it was just a group effort,” Shipe said of the offensive struggles. “We just didn’t execute as much and as well as we should have for a big game. That was our emphasis all week. We knew [De Anza] was 4-0 and they were good and they were one of the top teams in defensive rankings in our conference and they performed.”
The blowout loss to De Anza was the second home game the Mustangs have lost in as many contests. LMC will have another chance to get their first win at home Saturday, Oct. 12 when they host the College of the Redwoods at 1 p.m. The Corsairs’ will enter Saturday’s contest at 4-1 after picking up a win most recently against Chabot College 54-35.
