After Friday's 21-0 win against Mexico, the California Pintos are setting their sights on a more productive four quarters that will result in more points on the board.
"They stopped our running game," California Head Coach Marty Albertson said of the contest against the Bulldogs. "I was impressed with their front seven kids on defense. It was frustrating for our offensive line to have more than we could block. With that said, we have to be able to run and move the ball no matter what."
California's points against Mexico were all scored in the first half, to which Albertson replied, "That had a lot to do with my conservative play-calling in the second half. Since we were up 21-0 at the half, we didn't throw as much. We wanted to get the ground game going, and the way the game was dictating, we needed to run the clock. Our guys were disappointed to only score 21 points, but I told them a win is a win. Also, that will make them want to work harder."
The Pintos ended up with 28 carries for a total of 197 yards in their win against Mexico, and Jaden Barr completed 7 of 12 passes for 111 yards. California held Mexico to 100 yards of total offense. (The Bulldogs had 44 carries for a total of 85 yards, and Spencer Thomas completed 3 of 12 passes for 15 yards.)
Looking ahead to this Friday's game at Versailles, Albertson said, "Versailles is better than they were last year, but they're still in transition with a coach who is in his second year. He's transforming them into a spread offense. They have a sophomore quarterback who can throw. They moved their previous quarterback to tight end. He's a big guy who is probably their best receiver. I think as long as we work hard to improve in practice this week, we'll be okay against Versailles."
After seeing how Mexico played against California, Albertson said, "I think Versailles will commit eight to nine guys to scrimmage. We can't take them lightly."
The Pintos are 2-0 and ranked #4 in Class 3. (California defeated Boonville 44-0 in the Pintos' opener Aug. 22.)
Versailles Head Coach Broc Silvers said, "Playing California is going to be a big test. Our game plan is to play well and to win. This will be sophomore quarterback Sean Varner's second varsity start. He's very athletic and adds dimension to our team."
When asked about any specific players Silvers will rely on Friday, he said, "Our key is our offensive line. California's defense is outstanding, so it will be a huge challenge, but hopefully we've improved from last week, because that's what got us beat against Fulton."
Versailles (1-1) lost 43-6 to Fulton Friday, and defeated Knob Noster 26-0 Aug. 22.
Silvers added, "Friday's game against California will be our home opener, so we will have a pretty good crowd. It should be an exciting time in mid-Missouri."
Albertson added, "Our strength right now is on the defensive side of the ball, but we're going to have to be able to move the ball when we need to. We will probably have five d-backs in there, which kind of plays to our strengths because we do have some pretty good d-backs."
Kickoff is at 7 p.m. Friday at Versailles.