MEXICO - Just glancing at the final score and the stats, it might not seem California made strides in the right direction. Even while gaining less yards on offense, and allowing more points on defense, the Pintos showed some flashes of success.
Now they have to finish.
"I thought if we would have played on this level last week, we would have won," head coach Marty Albertson said. "But there's no do-overs. This was a lot tougher team. Again, we made a few mistakes early that got us in the hole. Other than that, I thought we played OK."
The Pintos found themselves deep in Mexico territory twice in the first half and once in the third quarter, and got as close as the 1-yard line. But, they couldn't find a way to get in paydirt on that drive due to a penalty, then sophomore Jacob Wolken was sacked on fourth down to end the scoring chance.
"We had a chance to score, and didn't get it in the end zone because the receiver wasn't up on the line like he was suppose to be," Albertson said. "That's just a mental mistake that we have to correct."
Two of those scoring opportunities ended on fourth down, the other ended with an interception that led to a Mexico touchdown.
Wolken started the game under center, improving from his week one debut.
"I thought he was a little jittery early, but he settled down," Albertson said. "He's a sophomore, and you're going to have to live and die with the mistakes once in a while. He's going to be OK."
After a nonexistent passing game against Boonville, Albertson made it a point of emphasis to improve on that against Mexico. Wolken was 7-for-11 with 33 yards and two interceptions. While he had a couple of timely pass completions, including two third down passes to keep a drive alive in the second quarter, he let a couple get away from him which led to the two interceptions.
"Yeah, he was (better)," Albertson said of Wolken's improvement. "Passes were there that we should have completed. One was a little high and tipped for their interception. That's just a bad break. (Mouse) was wide open. We just didn't get it done."
The offensive line has been an area Albertson has been concerned with since summer practices. This week, Albertson made a few changes that he thinks will help the unit improve as the season progresses.
"We switched around a little bit, and I think maybe it'll help us," he said. "We got to keep improving every week. We knew we were young. We knew we were going to make mistakes. We got to hopefully get better from now until districts."
Special teams kept California in the game, setting up the would-be scoring chances.
Sophomore Kyle Hofstetter gained 21 yards on a kickoff in the first quarter, setting up a drive on the California 45-yard line. That ended with a sack-fumble two plays later.
After Mexico jumped up 22-0 in the second quarter, Hofstetter fielded a short kickoff and ran up the right side for 66 yards. That set up a first-and-goal from the 8-yard line. That drive ended on a fourth down sack.
Josh Woodruff gained 43 yards on his three kickoff returns, including a 23-yarder that gave the Pintos the ball near midfield.
Defensively, California gave up ill-timed long runs that allowed Mexico to extend a lot of drives.
Holding a 6-0 lead, the Bulldogs faced a third-and-23 on the California 46-yard line. Mexico's quarterback Spencer Thomas ran for a 9-yard gain, which seemingly put the Bulldogs in a punting situation. But facing a fourth-and-14, Karsten Ekern, Mexico's leading rusher, broke a 16-yard run for a first down.
In the third quarter, the Pintos' defense allowed Thomas to scramble for an 11-yard gain on third-and-7, then during another drive later in the quarter, California allowed Avion Williams to brake free for a 42-yard gain on third-and-18.
"I think it's a lot of assignment mistakes," Albertson said. "(Defensive coordinator Jason Becker) had a good game plan. But if the kids don't execute all of the time, they'll break a long one."
Senior Landon Mouse, who's been dealing with a knee injury, saw a lot of time as receiver against Mexico, a position he's very familiar with playing.
"Landon isn't full-speed yet, so that hurts us a little bit. He played but he's still not full-speed," Albertson said
Senior running back A.J. Kendrick will miss some time due to a shoulder injury, and senior receiver Ethan Hodges missed the Mexico game with a shoulder bruise, but is expected to play Friday.
California (0-2) will host Versailles (1-1) at 7 p.m. in its home and Tri-County Conference opener Friday tonight.