California will try to balance its pass and run attacks tonight against Hallsville

Eldon quarterback Dawson Brandt (far left) throws a pass ahead of the rush of California's Jacob Adams (30) and other players on the Pintos' defense during last Friday's game in Eldon.
Eldon quarterback Dawson Brandt (far left) throws a pass ahead of the rush of California's Jacob Adams (30) and other players on the Pintos' defense during last Friday's game in Eldon.

CALIFORNIA, Mo. - For Homecoming week against the Hallsville Indians, the California Pintos are looking to rebound from a 55-14 loss to Eldon in Tri-County Conference play last Friday night.

A big step to coming back will be for the offensive line to improve. The line has struggled in the last couple of games, and against Eldon, the unit gave up four sacks and struggled open up lanes for the running game.

California head coach Mikel Gragg said the offensive line needs to get stronger in order to improve.

"We just need to get stronger in the weight room," Gragg said. "That's one of the things we can't fix now, it is going to take time. Right now we are weaker than we need to be."

California's offense has been struggling to get both the passing and running attacks working in the same game, and Gragg knows the team needs to be able to use both if it is going to improve.

"We are either really good at running the ball and can't throw the ball, or we are really good at throwing the ball and can't run the ball," Gragg said. "We haven't been able to mesh the two together and for us, as always, we are going to have to try to find the right balance."

Gragg said Hallsville (3-2, 1-2 Tri-County) has a very similar offensive attack to Versailles. California was able to shut down Versailles' passing attack but had a tough time trying to stop the run.

Hallsville's defense came up big last week against Blair Oaks - ranked No. 2 in Class 3 in the Missouri Media Rankings - but the offense couldn't match its counterpart's performance in an 18-6 home loss to the Falcons.

The Indians are led offensively by junior quarterback Zane Parnell, who was averaging more than 100 yards passing per game entering last week's contest. He completed just 4-of-20 passes for 63 yards against Blair Oaks, including one interception.

Sophomore running back Cooper Crane has powered the Indians' run game, getting some help from senior back DQ Smith.

Gragg noted California needs to improve its tackling to get back to the high level of defensive play it played earlier in the year.

"For us this week tackling has been one of the things we are hitting on a lot." Gragg said. "After two poor weeks of tackling we are definitely making that an emphasis this week."

The coaches are trying to ease the pressure on the players by making Homecoming seem like it is just another game. Gragg said the coaches are trying to make sure the team comes together, as there is some frustration that is setting in for the players.

"We are not going to win unless we play as a team and we need to come back together," Gragg said.

Related media:

California Pintos Football Podcast [Hallsville preview, Sept. 22, 2017]