A message posted on the national JC scoreboard page of the JCFootball.com web site spoke volumes about College of the Siskiyous 35-25 victory over San Joaquin Delta Saturday in Weed:
Upset of the night? someone wondered.
Ranked among the top teams in northern California and throughout the state, Delta brought a well-oiled offensive machine to Weed's Herschel Meredith Stadium, in the words of Siskiyous coach Matt Sayre. "These Eagles, after a series of losing seasons, were up to the task. It was huge," Sayre said of the early season victory that improved the Eagles record to 1-1.
Heroes were easily found on the Eagles¹ roster, including a much improved offensive line, a defense that bent but refused to break, and impressive freshman running back Alex Gaston, who thrilled the crowd with his ball carrying skills. Then there was defensive player of the game James Carroway, a freshman defensive back from Texas City, TX, who scooped up a fumble and returned it 95 yards for a fourth quarter touchdown. A 50 yard touchdown run by freshman receiver Bobby Olive of Portland, OR, sealed the deal for the Eagles.
Gaston, at 5-foot-6, 177 pounds, comes to COS from Cheran, SC. He rushed for 158 yards on 21 carries, caught 2 passes for 55 yards, and scored two touchdowns. On his 11 yard touchdown run late in the first quarter, Gaston ran through a big hole in the middle of the line of scrimmage, leaped into the air to avoid a diving tackle attempt, and somersaulted into the end zone.Combined with Alper Keskin's PAT kick, that score gave the Eagles a 14-12 lead that carried into the half.
Penalties hurt the Eagles' efforts numerous times during the late afternoon contest, as was the case for Delta. Sayre, who coordinates the offense, noted the great strides made by the Eagle offensive line, including right tackle Garrett Butler (6-4, 260, sophomore, Fresno), right guard John Stephens (6-6, 300, sophomore, Fall Creek, OR), center Malakai Pekipaki (6-2, 320, sophomore, Portland, OR), left guard Darin Souza (6-2, 250, freshman, Williams, CA), left tackle Brandon Reynolds (6-5, 280, sophomore, Arlington, TX), and tight end Jason Zarate (6-3, 225, sophomore, Madras, OR). "They figured it out," Sayre said of the offensive line. "Zarate had a heck of a game."
Quarterback Travis Newman completed 19 of 27 attempts for 194 yards, including a 15 yard TD throw to Darius Williams for the Eagles' first score of the game. Newman was also intercepted twice. On the TD throw, Newman rolled to his left, then threw back across the field to Williams, who broke a tackle on his way to the end zone. Freshman Tay Proctor had 6 pass catches for 77 yards and 2 kickoff returns for 83 yards. Freshman Brandon Brammer caught 4 passes for 13 yards, Zarate caught 2 for 22 yards, and Olive caught 3 for 19 yards. Keskin, from Dunsmuir High School, was a perfect 5 for 5 on PAT kicks, and Zach Lampella of Fort Jones hit a couple of high spiralling punts that Delta could only fair catch. Scott Yerges added a pass interception for the Eagles.
Sayre called the Eagles' effort on defense "one of the gutsiest I've ever seen." Eagle defenders were on the field for 87 snaps in the game and gave up 361 yards passing. Playing a defensive scheme with just 3 linemen, which was put in specifically for the Delta game, they often responded with their backs to the wall. Sophomore Daniel Burnett (6-3, 240, Oregon City, OR) was the Eagles' defensive line player of the game, and sophomore Ryan Clark (6-0, 240, Poway, CA) was the linebacker of the game. Sayre praised the work of defensive coordinator Phil Maas and assistant coaches Eric Young and Gabe Raso for getting the team prepared. Next up for the Eagles' is Saturday's homecoming game against former conference rival Butte, a team Sayre described as "always physical and well-coached."
