The Los Medanos College Mustangs saw their much-improved season come to an untimely and unfortunate halt in the final match-up against district rival Contra Costa College. The Comets defeated them at home in what was a tug o’ war contest for the first three quarters, then finally pulling away with the win in the fourth, 33-14.
During the seasonably cool yet sunny afternoon at Mustang Stadium, offensive line coach Dave Reinders discussed how he hoped that LMC could clinch this final victory over CCC and play in their first Bay Valley Championship in over 6 years. Unfortunately, the Mustangs could not out last the Comets, who retained their undefeated conference position and will be playing in the Living Breath Foundation Bowl later this month. It was a hard loss for the team.
“This is definitely tough. To be in a situation like this, to play for a conference championship on the last game of the season,” said head coach Chris Shipe. “There’s not very many teams in California to have week 11 mean something like this to them.”
The Mustangs started the first drive with an errant pass by quarterback Mike Behr intended for running back Shawn Vasquez was picked off by Comets’ defender Juawan Ferguson, which led to CCC scoring on their first drive after the turnover.
Down but certainly not out, LMC manufactured a beautiful scoring drive following the first attempt, which ended in a 6-yard run by Vasquez. The defense did its best to hold the line of the potent CCC offense led by quarterback Lamar McKnight and running back Rashad Hall, who saw both LMC defenders Charles Alexander and Greg Arroyos record big sacks against the Comets. However it wasn’t enough to fight off the loss entirely.
The game wasn’t the only loss for the Mustangs. Behr suffered a hand injury that removed him permanently from the game, which allowed back up Devyn Parsons to get his chance under center.
“They always say that everybody strived for the best on this team,” said Parsons. “But I wouldn’t have wanted to battle with anyone else on this team. We did our best.”
Aside from the loss of Behr, wide receiver Terrence Brooks took a nasty hit during a punt return in the fourth quarter that saw him leave the field by ambulance and spend some timeat Mt. Diablo Medical Center as a precautionary measure. Shipe confirmed that Brooks has no major damage and had checked out that night.
CCC head coach Alonzo Carter found himself on the wrong end of a Gatoraide tub, as his team soaked him down in victory over the Mustangs.
“We knew they were a good team coming in. They have some damn good receivers that can make some big plays,” said Carter. “We just wanted to make history.”
With the negative of the loss, it may be hard to see the statistical improvement that LMC showed this season. In just 10 short games, the Mustangs made last year’s record look like a distant memory, finishing with a strong 6-4 record (3-2 in the Bay Valley Conference) as opposed to the winless drought these players saw last year.
“From what we have been through last year and to be able to have an opportunity verses Contra Costa, we knew it was gonna be a quality team,” said Shipe. “Unfortunately we just made mistakes that we don’t usually make during the season.”
