tool name

Wednesday, Sep. 23, 2009

Sean Lynch: No rest for weary Merced College defense

Jamicheal Turner thinks San Joaquin Delta's dismantling of the Merced College defense last weekend was a fluke.

Like a number of Blue Devils, the sophomore cornerback spent almost the entire game on the sideline after sitting out the majority of the week with the flu bug.

Delta (2-1) happily took advantage of the Blue Devils' patchwork defense, racking up 499 yards of total offense.

The second half -- a phase of the game MC dominated the first two weeks of the season -- was a particular struggle for the defense, as Delta scored on its first four possessions and ran out the clock with its fifth.

Turner believes if Merced College had its full complement of players, the result would have been different.

"The guys that played stepped in and did a good job for us," Turner said. "But I think if all of our regular guys are in there, it's a different story."

It's impossible to speculate how much of Delta's offensive dominance was because of MC being shorthanded or the Mustangs just exposing chinks in the Blue Devils' defensive armor.

Merced College head coach Mark Kaanapu said it came down to lack of execution.

"If you look at the game tape, guys knew what they were doing," Kaanapu said. "They were in good position and just didn't finish the play.

"When you're an athlete and you start to think, what happens is you hesitate. And that hesitation was all Delta needed.

"I will say this, though: one thing you could see in the tape is that all the guys were playing hard. We were right in that game until midway through the fourth quarter.

"If we don't turn the ball over and take advantage of some of our earlier opportunities it's a different game."

The Blue Devils won't have to wait long to get their chance at redemption.

NorCal No. 8 Reedley and its high-powered version of the Pistol offense is set to pay Don Odishoo Field a visit on Saturday afternoon.

The Tigers (1-2) are coming off their first victory of the season -- a 35-27 win over No. 7 Foothill.

Saturday's contest will likely be won in the trenches, as Reedley brings a power approach.

The Tigers pounded out 287 rushing yards to just 80 through the air against Foothill. On the season, Reedley has an almost 2-to-1 run-to-pass ratio.

"I don't know how much Delta and Reedley compare," Turner said. "Reedley loves to run the ball with (Avery Horn).

"They're a completely different kind of challenge."

After three weeks of facing teams that like to sling the ball around, Kaanapu said Reedley would present a good physical test.

"There's a reason these guys are ranked so high with two losses," Kaanapu said. "They have three gamebreaker-type guys. They have a huge offensive line.

"They have an excellent player at nose tackle.

"This is a program that routinely fields good teams, and we're going to have to come prepared to play."

This time at least, MC should have its full complement of defensive weapons.

Sean Lynch is a Sun-Star sports writer. He can be reached at 385-2476 or via e-mail at slynch@mercedsun-star.com.