CALIFORNIA, Mo. - As they embark on Week 4 of the 2014 football season at 3-0 and ranked No. 4 in Class 3, the California Pintos are well aware of the tasks at hand as they prepare to host the Eldon Mustangs tonight - remain focused, keep their eyes on the prize and get better each week.
"The Eldon game is going to be a task for us," California head coach Marty Albertson said. "They're better this year."
In their last meeting in 2013, the Pintos defeated the Mustangs 38-0.
"Eldon is very tough physically," Albertson said. "They're big up front. They have a 6-4, 280-pound tackle, a 260-pound nose guard and a 250-pound tackle. Their running back Levi Shinn is fast, and he's a good athlete."
With that said, as the games get tougher each week, Albertson said as long as the Pintos continue to improve each week, he's confident they will be able to handle any challenge they're given.
California started the season off with a 44-0 win against Boonville, followed by a 21-0 win against Mexico. After the contest against the Bulldogs, the Pintos' plan was to put more points on the board, which they accomplished last Saturday in their 51-14 win at Versailles.
"Our guys were very focused and took care of business early in the game, which is always nice to see," Albertson said. "We worked the bugs from the week before out of our offensive line."
With a 51-0 lead at the half, Albertson said, "Our guys couldn't have executed any better. We essentially played the first half, then put our younger guys in to give them play time and experience."
The Pintos ended with 325 rushing yards and 130 passing for a total of 455 yards of offense against the Tigers, who had 225 yards of offense.
"We know California is strong and fast up front," Eldon head coach Shannon Jolley said. "It's going to be essential for us to be able to throw the ball."
Jolley said while Eldon's strength is in running the ball, it will be imperative for the Mustangs to secure the ball and use a nice mix of running and passing in their offensive game.
Eldon (1-2) opened this season with a 42-8 win against Madison College Prep, followed by a 55-33 loss to Hogan Prep, then a 28-6 loss to Blair Oaks last week.
"I was very disappointed with our performance in the first quarter against Blair Oaks," Jolley said. "But I was proud of how we played the rest of the game. To outscore Blair Oaks in the last three quarters was huge. Really good to see."
Now the Mustangs are focused on what lies ahead.
"California and Blair Oaks are the best teams in our conference," Jolley said. "Our goal is to be the best, so we have to match or exceed their play. Our goal is to reach their level of play, and the way we played Blair Oaks in the last three quarters shows we're headed in the right direction."
Kickoff for today's Tri-County Conference game is at 7 p.m. at Riley Field.
Read the latest issue of Goal Lines previewing this weekend's area high school football.