OXNARD — You might see some San Marcos High football players holding onto a ball everywhere they go next week to remind themselves of what happened in their season-opening game Friday night.
The Royals committed six turnovers and snapped the ball out of the end zone on a punt for the go-ahead points in the last five minutes, and that all led to a 23-7 loss against Rio Mesa at Spartan Stadium.
“We just can’t afford to put the ball on the ground like we did and throw interceptions. That turned the tide,” said San Marcos coach Jeff Hesselmeyer, who was making his debut as the Royals’ head coach.
San Marcos lost three fumbles and threw three interceptions. But the play that ultimately turned game around was the safety.
With the score tied 7-7, the Royals were pinned back to their 9-yard line by a beautiful punt from Rio Mesa’s outstanding kicker Jamison Jordan.
“They got a good roll on that punt,” said Hesselmeyer.
The Royals went three and out and lined up for a Manny Hernandez punt. The long snap, however, sailed over Hernandez’s head, giving the Spartans two points and a 9-7 lead with 5:28 left in the game.
It was all downhill from there for San Marcos.
After Hernandez punted on the ensuing free kick, the Royals were hit with a personal foul penalty on the return. That put Rio Mesa in business at the 25-yard line. On first down, Spartans running back Jamaal Perkins broke through the line for a 25-yard touchdown.
Perkins scored his third touchdown of the game on a 5-yard run with 58 seconds left.
“Our speed at the end pushed us over the top,” said Rio Mesa coach Bob Gregorchuk.
It was disappointing finish for the Royals, who despite all of their mistakes were still in the ballgame.
“We’re proud of the effort,” Hesselmeyer said. “The guys played the whole way. They (Rio Mesa) have some good players. We’re disappointed to lose, but not discouraged by the effort.”
Running back Kyle Miller put in a solid effort as a replacement for starter Cody Clark, who suffered a knee injury in the second quarter. Miller rushed for a game-high 115 yards on 24 carries and scored the Royals’ touchdown on a 4-yard run in the third quarter.
“Our line did a good job opening up holes for the backs and all of our backs ran hard,” said Hesselmeyer.
San Marcos’ touchdown drive was set up by a Rio Mesa turnover. Jordan fumbled the ball and Trevor Garcia recovered for the Royals at their 39. Miller reeled off an 8-yard gain and a face-mask penalty put the ball at Spartans’ 37.
The Royals continued to pound away on the ground with Miller and Dillon Keefer. Miller bolted through the defense and cut to the outside for a 28-yard gain and then finished the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run. Efren Gutierrez kicked the point-after to tie the score at 7-7 with 4:07 left in the third quarter.
Rio Mesa’s first touchdown came after the Royals’ second fumble of the game. Free safety Lawrence Garcia recovered at the Rio Mesa 48. Four players later, Perkins took a handoff from quarterback Enrique Thomas and rambled 32 yards for the score.
Perkins rushed for 112 yards on 16 carries and Devon Hall gained 77 yards on 10 carries in the Spartans’ option attack.
San Marcos’ offense moved the ball well on the ground, but its passing game was spotty. And then there’s the turnover problem.
“We had some good drives when we got it going on offense,” Hesselmeyer said. “We seemed to shoot ourselves in the foot with a fumble or interception, so if we can get rid of that part of it, I think we’ll be a whole lot better next week.”
RIO MESA 23, SAN MARCOS 7
San Marcos…0 0 7 0 — 7
Rio Mesa…0 7 0 16 — 23
SCORING
Second quarter
RM — Perkins 32 run (Jamison kick), 7:22
Third quarter
SM — Miller 4 run (Gutierrez kick), 4:07
Fourth quarter
RM — Safety, ball snapped out of end zone, 5:28
RM — Perkins 25 run (Jamison kick), 5:11
RM — Perkins 5 run (Jamison kick), :58
TEAM TOTALS…..SM, RM
First Downs…16, 10
Rushes-yards…30-182, 36-213
Passing yards…100, 31
Total yards…282, 244
Passes (Comp-Att.-Int)…8-21-3, 2-4-0
Punts-Avg.…2-46.5, 5-35
Fumbles-Lost…3-3, 2-1
Penalties-Yards…2-20, 6-65
Individual Statistics
RUSHING—SM: Miller 24-115, Clark 9-36, Keefer 4-25, Crook 2-6. RM: Perkins 16-112, Hall 10-77, Garcia 8-21, Benado 2-3.
PASSING — SM: Crook 8-21-3, 100 yards. RM: Benchwick 2-4-0, 30 yards.
RECEIVING — SM: Kirkwood 6-70, Patolo 1-10, Harvey 1-8.
