BRENTWOOD — Winning league games has been like clockwork for Pittsburg for the last 20 years.
Friday night’s matchup against Heritage was no different.
In a game that featured two of the hottest teams in the East Bay, Pittsburg’s talent proved to be too much as the Pirates shut out out the Patriots 45-0 on the road.
Pittsburg struggled with penalties throughout Friday’s game, accruing over 100 yards in infractions. But that didn’t matter as the vaunted Pittsburg defense picked off two passes, sacked the quarterback three times and held the usually high-powered Heritage attack to 123 of total offense.
Pittsburg coach Charlie Ramirez said despite the mistakes, he was proud of the way the team responded to adversity.
“We’re trying to avoid giving things away, whether it’s penalties or wasted opportunities,” Ramirez said. “We had to capitalize on the big plays, which we did. We buckled down, even in spite of all the penalties.
“Seeing that maturation process with this defense was great to see. It was definitely the type of learning we want to start seeing from not a young defense, but a defense that still has some room to grow.”
The win marked the 14th straight time Pittsburg has come out victorious against its Bay Valley Athletic League rival. Pittsburg has not lost a game to a BVAL opponent since 2018 and is 96-11 in league games since 2004.
Pittsburg is going to be heavy favorites in the rest of its league schedule going forward, but Ramirez is hoping to see the same level of competitiveness and focus throughout the rest of the season.
“It’s one of those things that you don’t want to have a drop off,” he said. “We don’t want to be playing against ourselves and losing track of assignments, losing track of scheme, losing track of competition and losing track of execution based on who we’re playing. Everybody in the BVAL is tough and we have to give it our best.”
Pittsburg got off to a fast start in its 45-0 league-opening win over Freedom last week and Friday’s game was no different.
Marley Alcantara’s 64-yard touchdown pass to Truly Bell gave Pittsburg a 14-0 lead seven minutes into the first quarter. Later in the first, Elijah Bow capped off a five-play, 90-yard drive with a bruising touchdown from four yards out.
Down 28-0 In the second quarter, Heritage strung together its best possession of the game in part due to some untimely plays from Pittsburg’s defense.
Backed up near their own end zone, Heritage was forced to go three-and-out, but a roughing the kicker penalty advanced the Patriots’ offense down the field. Later in the drive, Pittsburg got a stop on third-and-long, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty kept the Heritage drive alive.
“I was frustrated by that because those are learning moments because we’re gonna use that to be able to drive home that we gotta be focusing on us,” Ramirez said.
The yellow laundry continued throughout the possession to the tune of 66.5 of total yardage. But the Pirates made a goal-line stand and stopped the Patriots on the four-yard-line.
On the very next play, running back Jamar Searcy channeled his inner Beast Mode, breaking numerous tackles en route to a 96-yard rushing score to put Pittsburg up 35-0 at halftime.
“I saw my O-line blocking for me and the hole opened,” Searcy said. “I just had to burst through it, trust the process and use my ability to break tackles.”
Searcy finished the night with 139 yards rushing on six carries.
In an effort to keep the team and the crowd in the game, Heritage played the popular Journey song, “Don’t Stop Believin” at halftime, but Pittsburg closed the door on any big comeback early in the third quarter.
With most starters on the sideline, Pittsburg drove 72 yards in four plays, ending with a Carlos Torres to Makari Kenion 39-yard touchdown pass on the first possession of the second half that initiated the running clock rule and iced the game for Pittsburg.
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“We feel like we’re the best team in NorCal,” Searcy said. “We just had to treat the game like practice, don’t overlook our opponent and just play a physical game.”
The Patriots were heavy underdogs going into Friday’s game. Heritage was without senior starting quarterback Phillip Babbitt who was out with injury and was overmatched at almost every position.
Longtime Heritage coach Dave Fogelstrom knows all too well the challenges of playing Pittsburg – a team that is always loaded with college talent.
“Things happen faster against Pittsburg than they do in any other game,” he said. “It’s just something that until you experience it as a player, you just don’t know what you’re in for.”
Injury Updates
Both teams played a physical game, which led to some unfortunate injuries down the stretch.
Alcantara limped off the field early in the second quarter after what appeared to be a hamstring injury. He re-entered the game on Pittsburg’s final drive of the first half, but sat the second half with the rest of the starters when the game was out of reach for Heritage. Ramirez confirmed Alcantara is OK and the team was being precautious about his injury by keeping him on the sideline.
Pittsburg offensive lineman Jonah Leleasapai was carted off the field after rolling his ankle on the same play Alcantara had to leave the game. Ramirez said Leleasapai suffered a high ankle sprain – a re-aggravation of an ankle injury he suffered earlier this season – but said he doesn’t believe the injury is “anything serious.”