SRJC football gets 1st win of season

Santa Rosa Junior College earned its first football win of the season behind a swarming defense that derailed Contra Costa College for a 10-0 Bear Cubs victory on the road Saturday.

The Bear Cubs’ (1-2) lone touchdown and solo field goal proved to be enough thanks to its sturdy defensive play. The Comets failed to penetrate the Bear Cubs’ red zone even once on the day.

“Our defense played really well. Our guys rose to the challenge. We did a good job of gang-tackling,” SRJC coach Lenny Wagner said. “We had a half-dozen sacks and numerous pressures on their quarterbacks. They had no big pass plays.”

Contra Costa (0-2) played four quarterbacks to no avail, and its vaunted heavy-package running game was stonewalled most of the day by the SRJC pressure and pursuit.

Wagner said the Bear Cubs’ front four on defense (Jack Brutus, Max Gonzalez, Shane Reilly and Josh Kauvesi) had a huge game dominating the line of scrimmage.

“They applied constant pressure on Contra Costa’s quarterbacks the whole game,” Wagner said. “We stymied their running game.”

SRJC scored with two minutes to play in the first half on a 25-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Santino Chavez to receiver Cody Davidson, who ran a wheel route and caught the ball at the 2-yard line, waltzing in for the score to give the Bear Cubs a 7-0 lead at the break.

The Bear Cubs added a 35-yard field goal by David Alvarez in the middle of the third quarter for a bit of insurance. While SRJC’s offense was certainly not world-beating, it did just enough to win.

“Contra Costa’s defensive line and linebackers played really well,” Wagner said. “Our running game wasn’t great. It was hard to get anything inside.”

Bear Cubs receiver Isaac Torres had a big day stretching the field, hauling down multiple deep balls for catches and drawing three pass-interference penalties from the Comets’ secondary personnel.

With a brisk breeze blowing during much of the contest, beginning offensive drives with favorable field position was at a premium and the Bear Cubs had an edge in this department. Additionally, Contra Costa turned the ball over three times while SRJC only lost the ball once (on a Chavez interception), giving SRJC a further advantage.

“The turnovers were a huge factor,” Wagner said. “Field position was really important, big time.”

Bear Cubs safety Zack Smith and cornerback Gyasi Mattison each had an interception.

“It feels good to see the smiles on our players’ faces,” Wagner said of getting the first win of the season. “It’s confirmation of all of the hard work they do during the week.”

SRJC hosts Chabot College (Hayward) at 5 p.m. Saturday at Bailey Field.