The sun was out in full force as Cabrillo College began the regular season last weekend in front of the home crowd at Carl Conelly Stadium in Aptos.
But several key missed tackles and costly penalties hurt the Seahawks in their 31-16 loss to Los Medrano on Sept. 7.
“Bad discipline hurt us today, we have to clean up the penalties. We can’t win games the way we played today” Cabrillo head Coach Justin Hansen said.
The Hawks started the game with a long seven minute drive on their first possession of the game. However, they came up empty after Martin Ramirez missed a 26-yard field goal attempt.
“We need to execute when we get our chances, we had our chances today and we didn’t get it done,” Hansen said.
Los Medanos got on the board late in the first quarter with a 28-yard catch and run by Marques Singleton that gave the Mustangs an early 7-0 lead.
Los Medanos extended their lead at 10-0 early in the second with a 32-yard field goal by Michael Guzman.
“Missed tackles hurt us today, we have to do our jobs and make our plays” Hansen said
One bright note in Saturday’s game was the running game was strong with Cabrillo as Peyton Hatton and Hunter Allen shared the workload in the backfield.
Hatton—a Rancho San Juan High alum—finished with 93 yards rushing on 15 carries, while Allen—a Seaside High alum—finished with 60 yards rushing on 16 carries.
“Hatton is a workhorse, he is ready to run through anyone in his way,” Hansen said.
The Seahawks crossed the pylons for their first score of the season late in the second with an 11-yard touchdown run by Jamari Vaughns, cutting their deficit to 10-7.
The Mustangs responded right away. It started with great field position at midfield following a 15-yard penalty committed by Cabrillo on the ensuing kick off.
Moments later, Garrett Deatherage hit Larenzo Mayfield for a 47-yard touchdown pass that gave Los Medanos a 17-7 lead at the half.
“I think we definitely beat ourselves today, bad discipline, bad penalties. We put ourselves in bad situations,” Hansen said.
The Mustangs continued to pile on the points with touchdown runs by Jordan Barbadillo and Zeke Barber late in the fourth that sealed the deal.
“We got to wrap up, we had too many mistakes and missed tackles that cost us points. We need to get better” Hansen said
Prior to that, Rio Cruz—an Aptos High alum—had brought some life back into Cabrillo with a 15-yard touchdown reception that cut the deficit at 24-13.
The Hawks’ defense then got the crowd roaring after a fumble recovery on the ensuing drive. The turnover set up a 32-yard field goal by Ramirez, making it just a one-score game midway through the final stanza.
Cabrillo won the possession game with more than 34 minutes on offense, yet Hansen said they couldn’t execute and it’ll be something they need to tackle this week in practice.
“We just have to learn from the loss and get back to work next week. New week and now we have our focus on De Anza,” Hansen said.
Cabrillo (0-1) is looking to bounce back next Saturday at De Anza (1-0) in Cupertino with kick off slated for 1pm. The Lions are coming off a dominating 49-14 crushing win over Gavilan in the teams’ season-opener.
