California looks to get back on track against Eldon

California running back Cory Friedmeyer races into the end zone for a touchdown during the first half of last Friday's game against Versailles in California.

CALIFORNIA, Mo. - The California Pintos offense struggled in the second half last Friday during their 13-6 loss to the Versailles Tigers.

California coach Mikel Gragg said California is going to mix things up for tonight's road game against the Eldon Mustangs.

"We are a very option-based team," Gragg said. "We are going to move some people around to give us a better look at running the option more effectively. We figured out what the identity of our offense is going to be."

Gragg thinks using the option will help the team's offense, especially when the Pintos play against aggressive defenses.

"Running the option for us gives us the advantage of being able to read certain people and be able to use their over aggressiveness against them."

Eldon, ranked No. 10 in Class 3 in the Missouri Media Rankings, suffered its first loss of the season 32-12 last Friday against the No. 2 Blair Oaks Falcons.

Gragg knows Eldon will be a tough matchup, thanks to the Mustangs' size, but he noted their style of running the ball is similar to how Mexico and Monett schemed their run games.

Eldon's wing-T offense is powered by a trio of running backs. Senior Isaiah Merida leads the Mustangs with 650 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns. Merida had 337 yards rushing and seven touchdowns in Week 2, leading Eldon to a 72-69 win against Owensville.

Junior Isaiah Parson has 369 yards rushing and eight touchdowns, leading the Mustangs with 76 yards rushing and one touchdown last week. Senior Trenton Dillon has 199 yards rushing for Eldon, which is averaging better than 330 yards on the ground.

Eldon junior quarterback Dawson Brandt has completed just 5-of-19 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns. More than half of his attempts came last week against the Falcons, who held the Mustangs to 150 yards rushing as a team.

California's defense is going to play a big role in keeping the Pintos in the game, just like it did when they played Mexico and Monett earlier this season.

"Eldon is a big team and they are physical and they are going to run the ball right at you like Mexico and Monett," Gragg said. "We are going to rely on our defense a lot this week."

Eldon has allowed 30.8 points per game, but more than half of those points were scored in the Owensville contest. The Mustangs held future Tri-County Conference foe Boonville to 15 points in the season opener and kept Southern Boone to just seven points in a Week 3 win.

In last week's loss, Eldon allowed 390 yards to Blair Oaks, but close to half those yards came on touchdown passes going for 71 and 97 yards.

The Mustangs are 2-0 at home this season, while the Pintos have lost their only road game of the season against Mexico.