There was no victory parade scheduled for the California Pintos football team after their convincing 56-7 win over Versailles in a Class 3, District 6 opening round game last Friday at Riley Field.
Despite the lopsided affair against the Tigers, head coach Marty Albertson wasn't ready to praise his squad. Instead, he insisted his players need to work even harder in practice after playing "sloppy" in the first half against Versailles.
California (10-0), ranked No. 2 in Class 3 and the top seed in District 6, hosts fifth-seeded Southern Boone in a semifinal game at 7 p.m. Friday. The Pintos cruised past Southern Boone 48-7 during a regular-season tilt on Sept. 26.
"This time of year, even though you're playing a No. 8 seed, you can't come out and not be focused," Albertson said of the Versailles game. "We didn't play up to our capabilities in the first half. Win or lose, I want them to play their best. You have to play your best all four quarters.
"Hopefully, we'll learn something and practice a little bit harder. You practice like you play, and you have to practice hard and be focused all the time."
Coaching a team that has made back-to-back trips to the state semifinals, Albertson knows it will take nothing but perfection to get over the hump and advance to the state finals. However, he insists that nobody on the Pintos sidelines will be overlooking Southern Boone.
"We take it one step at a time," he said. "We're talking districts right now. We have two big games coming up, both of which will be very tough. We've got to win them before we can think about anything else.
"Southern Boone has gotten a lot better (since Sept. 26). They're on a two- or three-game win streak now. They've got confidence. When we played them up there, they probably hit as hard as anybody we've played all year. They're physical and they've got a little speed. They're capable of beating anybody on a given night."
Pintos senior quarterback Jaden Barr, who accounted for five touchdowns (three rushing and two passing) against Versailles, echoed his coach's sentiments. Southern Boone beat Owensville in its opening district game.
"Right now, we're just taking it one game at a time," Barr said. "We can't take anybody for granted. We have to play every down like it's our last. We're expecting to get better each week. As you move further in the playoffs, the teams get better.
"Southern Boone is physical and they're not afraid to hit. They're going to come out and expect to win. We have to come out on all cylinders and play our game."
Albertson is confident the Pintos won't come out sluggish again like they did against Versailles.
California appeared to be in control of the district opener after Barr's 76-yard touchdown run gave the Pintos a 14-0 advantage. But Versailles answered when quarterback Sean Varner scampered 42 yards for a score, cutting the deficit to 14-7 early in the second quarter.
"We had silly penalties, and defensively we weren't playing very well," Albertson said. "We were just sloppy and not focused."
Following a pep talk from their coach, the Pintos responded with a 62-yard scoring run by Walker Borghardt, a 25-yard touchdown jolt by Barr, and a 23-yard scoring pass from Barr to Drew Norton, extending their lead to 34-7 at the half.
"You have to approach each day of practice like it's your last. We learned our lesson (Friday night)," Barr said. "We let Versailles stay in the game, but ... we got our minds right, got a new attitude and came out on all cylinders."
Barr finished with 165 yards rushing and 78 yards passing. Borghardt added 152 rushing yards and two touchdowns, plus a 50-yard punt return for a score in the third quarter. Norton had four receptions for 78 yards and two touchdowns.
Senior Allan Burger led the Pintos defense with eight tackles. Borghardt and Burger each had an interception, and sophomore Brent Alber recovered a Versailles fumble.