Photo by Jim Spann
Photo: Junior Warrior quarterback Eric Stein gets by Morro Bay defender Kevin McCool in the Warriors season opener at Carpinteria Valley Memorial Stadium last Friday. The Warriors will look to rebound with an away game at Nipomo this Friday night at 7:30 p.m.

Warriors defense gives up 240 rushing yards
The Warriors did not start the 2006 football season as planned. Morro Bay tailback Kevin Scott amassed 220 rushing yards on 31 carries and lifted the visiting Pirates, 13-0, over the Warriors at Carpinteria Valley Memorial Stadium last Friday.

The Warriors produced just 124 yards of total offense and on the only drive they sustained ended with a turnover.

With a newly formed offensive line and alternating between two underclassmen quarterbacks, the Warrior offense had difficulty keeping drives alive.

“We came into this game with a plan,” said Warrior coach John Hazelton. “We have two underclassmen quarterbacks playing their first games and we alternated them because they need to play, they need to get experience and we need to learn from it.”

In the first half the Warriors had the ball for three possessions and they resulted in a fumble and two punts.

The Morro Bay offense didn’t fare any better against the Warrior defense as they had two turnover on downs and a punt in their three first half possessions.

The Pirates looked like they would strike first in the first quarter. Driving the ball to their own 23-yard line, Scott scored but a penalty brought the ball back. On fourth-and-17, the Pirates couldn’t get the first down and turned it over on downs.

Scott once against found the end zone in the second quarter, but another Morro Bay penalty nullified that score too. The Pirate drive continued with a 16-yard pass from quarterback Logan Budd to Scott to the 5-yard line.

But the Warrior defense held tough. Carson Kump and Eric Stein combined for a tackle for loss on second down, Budd slipped on third down and the Warriors forced an incomplete pass on fourth down for Morro Bay’s second consecutive turn over on downs.

Heading into halftime the Warriors, 110 total yards of offense, and Morro Bay, 137 totals yards of offense, were pretty evenly matched.

But in the second half, the Morro Bay offensive line kept pounding the smaller Warriors and Scott began carrying the ball nearly every play.

In the third quarter, Scott rushed the ball 10 of the 11 rushing plays and had 80 yards rushing. He rushed the ball nine consecutive times, including runs of 23 and 13 yards to get the ball to the 3-yard line.

On third-and-goal, the Warriors called a timeout and Morro Bay responded with a touchdown run by Budd on the left side to give the visitors a 6-0 lead with 4:17 left in the quarter. The kick was good, for a 7-0 lead.

The Warriors responded by putting together their best offensive series, beginning on the 33-yard line. Quarterback Maldonado ran for a first down, but he was then replaced by Stein when his leg cramped up. Stein responded with a first down run of his own, putting the Warriors on the 44-yard line with 1:30 left in the quarter.

J.P. Jimenez rushed for another first down to the 34-yard
line, but the next play the Warriors fumbled and Morro Bay recovered.

The momentum easily shifted to the Pirates and they put together a seven minute drive, cemented by another touchdown.

The Pirates found success with the run in the third and further used their star running back to keep the clock ticking and the ball in their possession.

Scott rushed 62 yards on 14 carries and setup Budd’s second touchdown.

The drive did include a questionable call on first-and-10 at the 35. Morro Bay’s quarterback looked to be sacked, but a flag was thrown for a 15-yard personal foul and the Pirates got the ball on the 29. Budd later scored from a yard out to solidify their 13-0 victory.

Despite the loss, Hazelton assured his team that this is the pre-season and they needed to work hard for the newly formed Tri-Valley League. Morro Bay may be the biggest team they’ll face in the regular season, with the exception of Oaks Christian.

“I don’t want to play (less caliber teams),” said Hazelton. “That’s why we play these guys, if we’re a playoff team in the TVL … (We play) against the Torrances and Pomonas and we have to get our feet wet … We have to tangle with guys.”

Next week…
The Warriors will travel to Nipomo on Friday night and look to get their first victory.

Nipomo defeated Bishop Diego, 12-0, in their first game but lost their second game to Lompoc, 26-14.

Nipomo got pounded on the ground for 353 yards, according to maxpreps.com. The top performances were Riley Wightman for 70 yards on 10 carries; Billy Chambers with 69 yards on eight carries and quarterback Steve Otto threw for two touchdowns.