Things far from perfect for undefeated Bear Cubs

<p>Three weeks into the season, the Santa Rosa Junior College football team is unbeaten. Its defense, which is allowing 7.3 points a game, is ranked third in the state. And its passing attack, which is averaging 330 yards per game, is ranked fifth in the state.</p><p>So all’s good for the seventh-ranked Bear Cubs, right? Well, not exactly.</p><p>“We’re getting better every week,” SRJC coach Keith Simons said. “But we are still not where we need to be. We’re still making a lot of mistakes.”</p><p>The Bear Cubs will get their next chance to polish their attack tonight when they meet Fresno City College in Fresno. The Rams, a perennial power which entered the season with an 83-27 record in coach Tony Caviglia’s 10-year tenure, are 1-2 with losses against No. 4 City College of San Francisco (37-21) and No. 11 Bakersfield (33-14).</p><p>Simons says it will be the toughest test of the season for SRJC, which has beaten No. 20 Reedley, College of the Redwoods and Modesto, a trio which has a combined record of 2-7.</p><p>As the competition gets stiffer tonight, Simons says the Bear Cubs’ pass protection must get better.</p><p>SRJC has allowed 12 sacks in three games and will travel with just seven offensive linemen today because three backups are out with the flu.</p><p>“It’s hard to get an offensive rhythm going when your quarterback is constantly flushed out of the pocket,” Simons said. “That leads to bad things.”</p><p>Despite facing constant pressure, SRJC quarterback Grayson Galloway has bounced back from a four-interception performance in the season opener against Reedley. In his past two games, Galloway has thrown 10 touchdowns and one interception.</p><p>Galloway, however, did get in Simons’ doghouse last week by running out of bounds while SRJC was trying to run out the clock in 34-16 win against Modesto. Galloway was pulled with about five minutes left in the game, but his starting job is not in jeopardy.</p><p>You can reach Staff Writer Eric Branch at 521-5268 or eric.branch@pressdemocrat.com.</p>