Struggling to produce on offense, coach John Featherstone made a change in his five-receiver offense against Riverside City College Saturday in a loss, 63-35.
Quarterback Jesse Scroggins finally found out how to connect with his receivers and came out of the game midway through the third quarter with a pinched nerve in his shoulder after a touchdown pass to Luckner Brady, wide receiver.
“That was his (Scroggins) best game all year,” Featherstone said. “He went through his progression better, made better decisions; he ran it when he needed to and made some outstanding throws.”
Scroggins also converted on the big plays with Brady, who also had his best game, catching seven passes for 230 yards and three touchdowns.
“Luckner is one of the best receivers in the nation, and he hasn’t been able to show that because he hasn’t been healthy,” Featherstone said.
The defense gave up 733 yards and allowed Riverside to complete nine of its 14 third downs.
“For the most part, our defense has played very well this season,” Featherstone said. “We’ve had between 10 to 12 players out to injuries on defense, so we’re pretty much depleted now.”
Riverside ran a no-huddle offense, which wouldn’t allow some defensive players to substitute into their positions and know their responsibilities on that play.
“They got their plays in fast and we were actually substituting another defensive package and it took us some time to really get set,” Royshaun Lewis, defensive back, said.
“They run a fast offense, so once they call the play, they just snapped the ball and we were still trying to figure out where to line up at,” Lewis added.
Warriors’ defensive coordinator Matt Kirk had prepared his defense all week for an up-tempo offense and instructed his players on their alignments and assignments.
“There isn’t any formation that coach Kirk hasn’t prepared those guys for,” Featherstone said. “If there’s a problem during a timeout or when the offense is on the field, that’s when the defensive guys make their adjustments.”
The Warriors have been preparing for their next game Saturday against College of the Desert and are looking forward to getting their first win.
“We’re hoping our offense can continue to play this way and our defense can get a little healthier,” Featherstone said.
“Hopefully we can win these last three games so we can get a bowl game.”