California's JV Pintos wrapped up the 2010 football season with a 21-14 loss to the North Callaway T-Birds at home Oct. 4, to end with an overall record of 3-2.
The Pintos opened the season with a 20-8 win at home against Versailles, followed by a 14-0 loss at Osage, then a 28-0 win at Eldon, followed by a 24-0 win against Blair Oaks at Wardsville, and lastly, a loss to North Callaway at home.
"The JV players got shuffled a lot this season, so we had kids playing positions they may not have practiced," California Coach Rick Edwards said. "These kids stepped it up and helped us achieve a winning record. Ethan Jones moved to quarterback after the second game and did an excellent job running our offense and taking care of the ball. We used Ethan to run mostly, but he also threw some key passes when we needed them. One that stands out in my mind the most was against Eldon. We were on the 5-yard line and he hit Garret Baquet with a 45-yard pass standing in our own endzone. This loosened Eldon's defense up and allowed us to run the ball more easily in the second half because they had the box stacked before that play."
Edwards added, "Seth Michael also moved into the fullback position for the last couple of games and ran the ball very hard. He took care of the ball and didn't fumble, which is key. We had several players move to the linebacker position, including Seth. Our offensive and defensive line improved greatly during the season. This is where it all happens. If they aren't making their blocks, we can't run our offense."
Edwards said the JV team moved the ball successfully the entire season. "This is the hardest position to play in football, because they have to work together and see so many defensive fronts throughout the course of a game. One of our JV team's strengths this year was our specialty players. Garret Baquet, Ethan Jones, Jacob Kueffer and Logan Rowles were all key players in our success. Logan did many things for us including punting. We gained field position on every team we played."
On a final note, Edwards said, "This group of kids was fun to watch on defense. They would flat out come up and pop you, which is exciting to watch. These guys had a lot of adversity thrown at them this season and I felt they stood up and met it all head on. I look forward to seeing them on the varsity next year."