MC football looking to accomplish rare feat

The last time the Merced College football team opened a season 3-0, Justin Aguilar had barely entered this world.

The bulk of the defensive end’s teammates weren’t born yet.

The year was 1995. Starbucks released a Frappuccino for the first time, ESPN hosted the first X Games and the original “Toy Story” was the nation’s top movie at the box office. The Blue Devils were also the No. 1 team in the nation, opening up 4-0 before suffering a 20-17 loss to City College of San Francisco put a wrench in their state-title hopes.

“That’s crazy to think about,” said Aguilar, who has eight tackles and two sacks through two games. “At the same time, it’s pretty cool we have a chance to match that. We just need to continue building on the things we’ve done the first two weeks.”

Standing in MC’s way is Shasta and the team’s longest trip of the season. The Blue Devils will head out at 9 a.m. on Saturday, making the almost five-hour trek for the 5 p.m. kickoff. Coach Bob Casey doesn’t need to look far to see the potential pitfalls of such a long trip as Shasta was upset on its longest trip of the season last week.

“We’ve already started talking about it,” Aguilar said during Wednesday’s practice. “You have to step off of the bus mentally prepared to play. At the same time, you can’t maintain that focus for five hours on a bus.

“It’s never an easy situation, but there’s something also satisfying about going all that way and beating someone in their own house.”

Shasta enters the contest 1-1 and averaging 527 yards of offense per game. The Knights’ will likely be MC’s most talented opponent to date. Throw in the fact that they’re playing at home, and Blue Devils coach Bob Casey knows he’s in for a fight.

“They’re definitely a good team,” Casey said. “They had four turnovers and a blocked punt for a touchdown against Cabrillo and still only lost the game by three points. They’re a tough team to play at their home no matter what, but add the long road trip for us and it could be a real challenge.”

It should be strength vs. strength, as MC’s highly recruited secondary is tasked with slowing down Shasta quarterback Ryan Pollard, who ranks third in the state at 342 passing yards per game.

The Blue Devils will have their complete unit, which has forced four interceptions in two games, as Devron Davis’ targeting call and subsequent ejection was overturned for the second straight week.

The MC offense will try to keep its 214 rushing yards per game going against a Knight defense yielding just 80.5 yards per game.

This story was originally published September 18, 2015 at 5:44 PM with the headline "MC football looking to accomplish rare feat."