The Los Medanos College football team’s offense has not been stellar this season, and against De Anza that point was dug in deeper.

During its 45-10 loss against De Anza College, none of its 10 points were scored by an offensive player. 

Kicker Javier Hernandez put three points up for the Mustangs with his 23-yard field goal in the first quarter. Hernandez leads the team in points so far with 36 points while the second most points on the team is tied with Tyrik Daniels and Josh Wishom with 12 each. 

The Mustangs were trailing 10-3 in the second quarter when Devonaye McClay stepped up during a kick return. McClay returned the kick 100 yards to the end zone which set the Mustangs up even at 10-10.

“I was excited knowing the last time we played them they called my 95-yard return kick return out at the 5-yard line, I had some revenge to get.” said McClay “I played well on defense, had some tackles and allowed no catches at [cornerback].”

Within the dying seconds of the second quarter De Anza was leading 24-10 and the game looked set to go into halftime with that scoreline, but the Dons had other ideas in mind.

LMC quarterback Zach Burke had two interceptions within the final two minutes of the second quarter, both of which ultimately resulted in touchdowns for De Anza.

The Dons’ Manu Turituri intercepted Burke’s pass, which he took back to the endzone. 

The second pick left De Anza with only 40 seconds to work with, but that was all they needed. Oliver Svirsky found his receiver Terrence Sakyi for a 50-yard touchdown which not only extended his team’s lead to 31-10, but also proved to be the turning point in the game according to LMC head coach Chris Shipe.

“I’m obviously disappointed, that first half pretty much lands on me,” said Burke. “It really just falls on me, going back and studying film and rallying up the guys against because I need to show a lot more leadership on the field.”

The second half resulted in Justin Boyd at quarterback, who brought a new dynamic to the game. Ultimately, the team was not able to put any more points in the second half. 

De Anza scored two more touchdowns in the second half to add to their lead with the Dons coming out eventual winners with a 45-10 score. 

The Mustangs had some notable players on the sideline due to injury. Heamasi Latu, Tyrik Daniels, Josh Wishom, and Jaiden Woodson were among those forced to stand in the sidelines. 

“You don’t replace Masi, the leading tackler in the state. Tyrik Daniels does a lot [for] us offensively. We lost Jaiden Woodson in the second quarter and he [didn’t] play at all in the second half.” said Shipe “ You just can’t place those guys.”