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Monday, Oct. 19, 2009

Merced College football picks up GGC victory against Chabot

Even Mark Kaanapu got caught up in the excitement for a moment.

The big play capabilities the Merced College football coach had been waiting to see from his defense showed up in abundance on Saturday afternoon against Chabot.

The Blue Devils scored three defensive touchdowns and took its first lead, 28-13, into intermission this season.

But the only thing on Kaanapu's mind at the half was the 14-play, 80-yard scoring drive that MC surrendered to close out the second quarter.

"As a coach, it's tough to not get caught up in the excitement when you see your team making plays, but you know that team on the other sideline has pride," Kaanapu said. "This is college football. Your opponent is not just going to roll over for you, so you can't let up.

"I talked to the kids at halftime about finishing. It's what teams that know how to win do."

Kaanapu's defense appeared to take the message to heart.

The Blue Devils opened the second half with a goal-line stand and allowed Chabot just 10 total yards in the final 30 minutes as MC opened Golden Gate Conference play with a 42-20 victory at Don Odishoo Field.

The bulk of the credit for this one belongs to the Blue Devil defense.

MC (1-0 GGC, 3-3) turned the ball over on its first three offensive possessions. After the Blue Devils fumbled their opening possession at the Chabot (0-1, 2-4) 8-yard line, the Gladiators marched 92 yards for the game's first score.

The Gladiators appeared to be back in business when the ensuing kickoff struck one of MC's up-men and was recovered by Chabot at its own 43.

Darrius Pierce, however, swung momentum back to the Blue Devils on the very next play.

The MC cornerback broke at the perfect time on an Antoine Young pass to the sideline, tipping the pass and hauling it in for a 45-yard interception return for a score.

It was the Blue Devils' first defensive touchdown of the season, but wouldn't be the last.

MC broke the game open in the second quarter with three touchdowns in a 1-minute, 10-second span.

Wide receiver Will Stewart hauled in an 8-yard Brendan Crawford pass for a touchdown to give MC a 14-7 lead.

The Blue Devil defense doubled its point total in the span of five plays.

Outside linebacker Tim Tisdale recovered a fumble and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown. Two plays later, safety Dion Bland scooped up a fumble and returned it 24 yards for a score.

"We played a hell of a game," Bland said. "I think the credit for that has to go to our practice. We had a great week and our coaches really had us prepared to play."

MC's only second-quarter blemish was a Chabot touchdown on the final series of the half, but after Kaanapu's halftime speech, the group quickly atoned.

After an Emmanuel Brooks (104 yards) 6-yard touchdown run pushed the Blue Devils' lead to 35-13 in third quarter, a blocked punt handed Chabot a first-and-goal at the MC 3-yard line.

The Gladiators lined up for four consecutive rushing attempts and each time the MC defense turned them away.

It was the start of a dominating second-half effort in which Chabot gained just 10 total yards on 17 plays. The Blue Devils finished with five takeaways and two sacks.

"Coach was real mad at halftime," Tisdale said. "He said we needed to go out and finish them off and that's what we did."