PITTSBURG — Jaden Rashada stood in the pocket until pressure made it impossible to stay there any longer. So he broke to his left and spotted open space in front of him. The Miami commit accelerated forward and skipped into the endzone right before two defenders could sandwich him.
It was just one of four first-quarter touchdowns Pittsburg scored in their 59-0 season-opening rout against Jesse Bethel High School.
“We just wanted to go out there, playing like us and not overthinking so we could get into a rhythm,” said Rashada, who threw for 122 yards and two touchdowns too. “We’re gonna stay focused and not pay any attention to the cameras or the talk, just the game.”
With head coach Vic Galli missing the game for what Pittsburg athletic director Greg Strom called “personal reasons,” the coaching duties were handed to defensive coordinator Charlie Ramirez. Despite having more responsibility than usual, Ramirez still made sure his defense was focused on stopping the Jaguars.
Led by lineman Odera Okaka and Emeril Bridges, the Pitt defensive line completely shut down the Jaguar running game, aside from a few nifty runs by running back Jose Espinoza. Of particular note was Okaka, who set the edge in the running game, caught a two-point conversion, and also took down the quarterback when they tried to pass.
“Odera has put in so much work in the offseason and his body has started to fill in,” Ramirez said. “He’s turning into a legitimate D-I prospect, and I think he’s one of the top edges in Northern California.”
Bethel did not get their initial first down until the second quarter, and that gave the Pitt offense plenty of chances to put up points. Rashada spread the ball around to six receivers in the first half, with Washington commit Rashid Williams catching three of those passes for 48 yards and a touchdown.
On the rare occasion the Pirates decided to run the ball, they made the most of it. Halfback Elijah Bow scored a couple of touchdowns on his two carries, and of course Rashada ran for a touchdown on his lone rushing attempt, at least the only one that counted. He had another score called back when he hurdled a defender to get over the goal line.
The game included a running clock before the second half even ended, thus signaling that the home team had no intention of running up the score. The Pirates had reserves get playing time in the second half and ran a conservative playbook after halftime. But with a steady stream of short fields, second-string quarterback Marley Alcantara threw a pair of touchdowns and halfback Cameron Clanton ran for a 30-yard run in a short second half.
“I’m glad that Marley was able to get reps and get time in with the rest of the team,” Rashada said, while coach Ramirez said he was glad the team’s reserve players continued to look sharp.
The Pirates now look ahead to a game against Liberty (from Nevada) next week in San Diego as part of the Honor Bowl. During the postgame speech, Ramirez emphasized that the journey south was a “business trip” and would be taken more seriously than last year’s NCS playoff game.
“This isn’t a trip to San Diego where we’re on vacation,” Ramirez said. “Let’s keep working toward that state championship. That’s priority number one.”
Source: www.mercurynews.com