An unproven Pierce Bears squad learned a few lessons last Friday night on the road in Orland as they fell 27-13 to the Trojans in the season opener.
It wasnt an altogether unexpected result, given that the Bears have only a handful of returners with any significant varsity experience. Despite the setback, there were positives to take away from the contest as Coach Anthony Tapia explained.
” Orland was more physical than we were. We also made some big mistakes and had a few guys go down early to injury, but we know what we have to work on and there were lots of good things as well,” said the Bears head coach.
One of those bright spots for Pierce was the run game, which rolled up 282 yards on the ground behind junior running back Manuel Lopez, who carried 18 times for 121 yards and a touchdown.
Also contributing to the ground attack was senior Iain Kalfsbeek, who rushed for 74 yards on 10 carries, in addition to accounting for the Bears only other score in the game.
Defensively, Pierce struggled to contain Orlands run-heavy offense, although a pair of junior linebackers turned in a solid effort, with Luke Myers and Joseph Saavedra each making eight tackles apiece.
Myers also intercepted a pass in the red zone to thwart a first half Trojan drive.
With one game under its belt, Pierce (0-1) is scheduled to return home to host Clear Lake on Friday night at Gregg LeMaster Field. –
