Olympians break down Brahmas for road shutout

By Nick Pellegrino
Special to East County SportsWOODLAND HILLS (9-16-2015) – DEJON SMITH collected a pair of touchdown passes from TREY COX in the first quarter, while the San Diego Mesa College defense limited L.A. Pierce College to just a pair of first downs in the first half, carrying the Olympians to an easy shutout of the host Brahmas, 29-0, at Shepard Stadium.

Smith, a sophomore from Downey, finished with a game-high six receptions for 64 yards, while KEVIN LEVESQUE (Morse) and ISAIAH WILLIAMS (Olympian) added TD catches from JAKE DUNNINWAY (St. Mary’s HS, Tracy).

Smith caught TD passes of 10 and 8 yards to mount a quick 13-0 cushion after just two possessions in Cox’s return from an injury. Cox missed a Week 2 start at Golden West but then left this contest with an undisclosed injury late in the first half.

The last three plays by Cox (No. Little Rock, Ark.) resulted in two quick, short passes and a handoff, with the QB not receiving contact on any of the plays from the Brahmas defense. Yet Cox did not return to the field.

“Trey suffered an injury and had to be removed from the game,” Mesa head coach GARY WATKINS said. “Jake did a really good job. He was ready. He wasn’t sure he was going to be the starter. But he was ready to step in and relieve Trey. He did a really good job of managing the team.”

Meanwhile, the Mesa defensive front of ISAIAH SAYLES (Wagner, Texas), HUGH ANTHONY (Mar Vista) and ALEX LEMON (Mount Miguel) which combined for 4.5 sacks in their previous start against Golden West, pressured a pair of Pierce quarterbacks all contest. Included were first-half sacks by Anthony and Lemon.

DEVIN SANDERS (Mira Mesa) also garnered a sack, part of 10 different Mesa defenders to be part of tackles for losses.

DAMURIER PALMER (Kearny) and HUNTER ALLEN (Cathedral Catholic) also registered interceptions, as the Mesa defense limited Pierce to a mere 117 yards in total offense. Mesa rolled up 326 yards, including 112 through the air by Dunnaway.

“Our defense played lights on tonight,” Watkins said. “Coach JOHN JENNINGS is doing a really great job of making the other team play left-handed.

“Our defense did a good job of pinning them back and forcing a big play in the backfield or break up a big pass. They were nails.”

It was a total upgrade for Mesa, which had gone just 5-for-33 on third-down conversions in the first two weeks of the season. This time, Cox found ANTWOINE WARE for 20 and 23 yards on Mesa’s first pair of third-down plays to key the opening drive.

Smith then caught his first scoring pass by being able to drag his foot just inside the left front pylon for a 7-0 lead. His second score saw him go in motion to the right side, catching the ball just inside the LAP-10 and sliding around a tackler for a 13-0 lead.

The second drive was sparked by a 22-yard rush by JOSE SANCHEZ, then a shoestring catch by Ware, also for 22 yards, to make it first-and-goal.

“We had different guys stepping up making the big plays,” Watkins said. “We have a younger team in the skill spots, so its exciting to see them grow and make plays.”

On the ensuing kickoff, Sayles drilled the return man with the open-field tackle of the game.

Pierce had two scoring chances, yet to no avail.

Following a muffed punt, the hosts needed to settle for a 40-yard field goal. However, they ran a trick play, faking that they had 12 men on the field. The “12th” man starting running off the field, but he was actually a motion man who went uncovered by Mesa. However, he turned up-field before the snap for a penalty.

Late in the second quarter, another punt muff by Mesa saw a Brahma pick up the loose ball and rumble 47 yards for a touchdown. However, the referees ruled that a muffed ball cannot be advanced to nullify the score, adding to a long evening for the Brahmas (1-2).

“It’s always great to get the ‘W’ so I’m super excited about the win,” Watkins said. “We talk to our boys about letting the score take care of itself. If we execute to our standard of performance, that should happen.”

For coach Watkins, he has two wins and a shutout in his first three games as a college head coach.

“We had some moments tonight offensively where we looked like we were gelling together and making plays, then the next player, we’re like, ‘we gotta fix that one,'” said the coach. “A cleaner game for us would go a long way right now but we’re starting to put it together with better execution and better focus.”

Mesa (2-1) returns home to Merrill Douglas Stadium next Saturday (Sept. 22), entertaining county rival Grossmont. It will be Homecoming for the Olympians.

“Whenever Grossmont comes in, it’s going to be an exciting game,” Watkins said. “That game is going to be a back alley fight. It is going to be hard-fought and the team that makes the fewest mistakes is probably going to be the one who wins, so we’re going to be preaching that to our boys.”

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