The performance the Pintos gave Friday at Riley Field was similar to last week's in that they wasted no time marking their territory and setting the tone of the game; they were focused right out of the gate and scored on each series on their way to a 55-0 conference win against the Eldon Mustangs.
"We were ready to go in the first quarter," California Head Coach Marty Albertson said. "I was very pleased. We came out focused and efficient, blocked well and executed well. When we get on them early in the game, it makes us hard to beat."
The Pintos led 12-0 after one quarter, 34-0 at the half, and 48-0 after three quarters.
California quarterback Jaden Barr was on fire as he scored touchdowns on three runs, for 12 yards, 72 yards and two yards. He also teamed up with Drew Norton on three pass plays for TDs, for 18 yards, 15 yards and 13 yards.
Barr had two touchdown runs negated by penalties, including one that capped an interception. No worries though, the Pintos were able to follow each negated TD with another.
California's AJ Kendrick scored a 23-yard TD, and Dylan Kramel ran in a 1-yard TD. Jose Magano kicked five extra points, and Barr hit Drew Norton with a pass to score a two-point conversion.
"Both Jaden and Drew had a great game," Albertson said.
The Mustangs' most productive series of the night was their last of the second quarter, which consisted of 10 plays and 37 yards. It ended when Eldon went for it on the fourth down, and Hendrix was sacked for a 5-yard loss.
California's starters got a break in the second half as the younger players saw more play time.
"Our JV came in and played pretty well," Albertson said. "They were moving the ball pretty good against Eldon's starters in the third quarter. They're getting better every week."
The Pintos (4-0 and state-ranked #3 in Class 3) had 34 carries for a total of 247 yards, and completed 8 of 9 passes for 134 yards (Barr, 7 of 8 passes for 106 yards; and Dylan Kramel, 1 of 1 for 28 yards), for a total of 381 yards of offense.
Norton racked up four receptions for 53 yards, three touchdowns and a two-point conversion.
Barr led California rushes with five carries for 95 yards and three TDs. Kendrick had six carries for 62 yards and one TD, and Sam Kirby had five carries for 27 yards.
"We had nine kids carrying the ball," Albertson said. "Our field position was excellent all night long."
Nathan Squires led California tackles with 12. Hunter Heimericks had nine tackles and one sack for a 4-yard loss. Allan Burger also had nine tackles, and Brandan Gump had six. Garrett Imhoff had a sack for a 5-yard loss.
Eldon (1-3) had 38 carries for 111 yards, and Hendrix completed 2 of 5 passes for 3 yards, for a total of 114 yards of offense.
Looking ahead to California's next game at Hallsville Friday night, Albertson said, "They're better this year. They had a lot of juniors last year who are seniors now. They've gotten better each year, they have a new coach this year, and they just had their biggest win of the season Friday against Blair Oaks."
The Indians defeated the Falcons 42-28.
Albertson added, "We expect it to be a tough game, but it's going to be a good week for us. We hope everyone comes out to support us Friday night because we're going to be in hostile territory."
Kickoff will be at 7 p.m. at Hallsville.