The Santa Rosa Junior College football team returns to Bailey Field on Friday night to close out their non-conference schedule over a month since their last home game and three straight games on the road against tough opponents.
SRJC (2-2) fought through a stretch of challenging away games highlighted by a 49-21 win against San Joaquin Delta College on Sept. 28.
The other two contests did not go the Bear Cubs’ way as they lost 51-14 to No.11 Modesto Junior College and 27-9 to Laney College.
Coming off the loss to Laney on Oct. 4, SRJC head coach Lenny Wagner is optimistic about where his team is at.
“I feel really good. We have 16 starters that are freshmen so we’re getting better each week, we’re just not finishing games,” Wagner said. “It’s just a matter of time before these guys grow up and really take their understanding and abilities to the next level. There’s still a bit of a learning curve going on where they are figuring out ‘ok this is college football’.”
The team has been streaky at times, and the offense has had a boom or bust tendency.
In their win over San Joaquin Delta College the Bear Cubs offense put up 42 unanswered points during the second and third quarters, compared to 23 total points the team mustered in their two losses against stronger opponents.
Despite the inconsistencies, coach Wagner is confident in his team’s leadership going forward.
“We’re really strong at the leadership positions: quarterback, running back, inside linebacker, safety, and offensive line,” Wagner said. “The sophomores that are starting are all in those key positions and are doing a great job for us. They’ve really provided strong leadership for the team.”
Sophomore quarterback Chase Vehmeyer has completed 64% of his passing attempts for 802 yards with eight touchdown passes and three interceptions to start the season. He has also added 101 yards on the ground.
Sophomore running back Damien Escarcega leads the team in rushing with 253 yards on 48 attempts and two rushing touchdowns.
Freshman wide receiver Jovon Scott leads the Bear Cubs in receptions with 20 for 178 yards and two touchdowns,while freshman wide receiver Joseph Campbell leads SRJC in receiving yards with 183 on eight catches and one touchdown.
Sophomore linebacker Diego Davis has led the way on defense piling up 35 total tackles with six behind the line of scrimmage.
SRJC heads into their final non-conference game Friday against College of the Sequoias (3-2) who’s coming off of a close loss to No.2 Butte College.
“We’ve got some tough games coming up and we gotta get better at every spot and that’s what we’re working hard to do,” Wagner said. “Sequoias is a good team and we’re going to need to bring our A-game.”
