Broncos overpowered 75-0 at home in football opener

The raw inexperience of the Coast Union football team played perfectly into the hands of a bigger, faster, more talented team — the Hesperia Christian Patriots — Friday night, Aug. 26. In front of a home-opener audience, Coast Union was overpowered by the Patriots, 75-0.

The lopsided score might have been worse if the coaches hadn’t agreed to keep the clock running vis-à-vis the “mercy rule” early in the second half of play.

Head coach Thom Holt remarked in an email after the game that because the Patriots were such a “well polished team,” they made Broncos’ errors “look bigger than they were.”

It doesn’t get any easier for the Broncos this week: On Friday night, Sept. 2, Coast Union travels into the San Joaquin Valley to play the Fresno Christian Eagles, a team that won the Central Section CIF championship last year.

The Eagles’ roster has 34 players (including 12 seniors and a nose tackle who is 305 pounds and 6 feet, 1 inch); Coast Union has 17 players (including five seniors and seven freshmen). Holt understands that not everyone agrees with his strategy — playing a “tough pre-league schedule” helps the Broncos get ready for Coast Valley League (CVL) play, which begins Sept. 30 with a road game against Cuyama Valley.

On the other hand, Holt, also the athletic director, has to schedule games prior to the CVL schedule, and there aren’t many schools that play eight-man football — certainly very few the size of Coast Union.

The degree of the mismatch Friday night against the Patriots comes into focus when reviewing Coast’s weak offensive statistics. Senior quarterback Jack MacKinnon, a talented and experienced player, managed only 13 yards passing. He was hounded, harassed and chased all over the backfield as Patriot defenders consistently crashed through the Broncos’ line.

Bright spots

A bright spot for Coast was newcomer Anthony Stonehill — having recently moved to Cambria from Wyoming — who picked up 54 very tough yards on the ground filling in for injured running back Alam Ramirez. On defense, Stonehill, a senior, was credited with seven tackles and three assists; on one play, he saved a touchdown.

Freshman Emany Plasencia also played well for Coast, picking up 114 total return yards on kickoffs, and handling the punting chores with skill. And freshman center Spencer Magnuson “held his own,” according to Holt, and delivered every snap to MacKinnon, notwithstanding his anticipation that a fierce defensive rush would attack him on every offensive play.

Defensive stats

Senior lineman Warren Smith had four tackles and three assists, and sacked the Patriot quarterback (Coast’s lone sack). Junior Riley Kennedy had three tackles and two assists, and crashed through the line to block an extra point attempt by the Patriots.

Speaking of the Patriots’ extra point attempts: it seemed odd to see them use three or four trick 2-point plays after leading the Broncos by six or seven touchdowns; one could argue that it was poor sportsmanship, but Hesperia Christian could counter that they were simply rehearsing those trick plays for their next opponent, and not trying to show up Coast.

Other defensive statistics: Sophomore Gary Lyons had three tackles and an assist; MacKinnon had six tackles; and junior Eddie Camacho had a pair of tackles and two assists.

Plasencia, Magnuson, junior Diego Leonardo and freshman Damian Fernandez each chipped in with a tackle.

This story was originally published August 31, 2016 at 8:12 AM with the headline "Broncos overpowered 75-0 at home in football opener."