Butte looks to snap losing skid
Roadrunners look to get back to winning ways at Santa Rosa
BUTTE VALLEY » The Butte College football team won back-to-back games to open its season, and has now lost three straight games to College of San Mateo, Modesto Junior College and last week to Fresno City College.
Each week there has been a key turning point. Against San Mateo, trailing 21-14 with 2 minutes and 11 seconds left on the clock, Butte attempted to run its two-minute drill but failed after an interception with under a minute to go. Against Modesto a plethora of what coach Robby Snelling called “totally avoidable” penalties and a 97-yard interception for a touchdown by the Pirates with Butte down one score changed the game’s momentum. Last week Butte played to its game plan, leading at halftime and driving the ball down the field with the fourth quarter clock nearing its end, but the Roadrunners lost on a missed field goal as time expired.
Coming off a bye week, Butte will look to get back to winning ways Saturday when it travels to Santa Rosa to take on a winless Bear Cubs team to open NorCal Conference play. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. in Santa Rosa. After the road matchup with Santa Rosa, Butte will return home to host back-to-back home games against Sierra College and American River College.
Snelling said in able to do this he and his coaching staff has emphasized to the team the importance of all 11 guys on the field doing their jobs at all times. He said one man not doing his job on just a few plays has resulted in the three consecutive losses.
“We’ve continued to stress to our guys is that really within any football game there’s three or four plays that can change a whole game you just don’t know what they are,” Snelling said. “That’s really where you got to play every play like it’s going to be
that play that’s going to change the game.”
In Butte’s loss to Fresno City College, the Roadrunners leaned on running back Johnny Williams who found the end zone for his first two touchdowns of the season while recording 201 yards on 45 carries. Butte College racked up 371 yards of total offense compared to Fresno City’s 365.
Snelling said Williams was gaining positive yards every time he touched the ball and did a great job finishing his runs. He said that in goal line and short yardage situations the sophomore Williams did a great job fighting for extra yards and fighting through tackles.
“Every game kind of has its own thing within the game that happens and so you go in every single game with a plan, but as the game progresses if you get into a situation where you’re having success you’re going to continue to do those things so that’s kind of where we were with it,” Snelling said Thursday.
After last week’s game Williams is now second in rushing yards in the NorCal conference with 429, trailing only Shasta’s Tyler Boston’s 545. Butte quarterback Brian Harper is second in the conference in yards with 815, passing touchdowns with seven and a completion percentage of 56%. Roadrunner’s kicker Gabe Estabrook has not missed an extra point attempt, converting on 11 straight.
While Butte’s offense has converted consistently all season, its defense has allowed 20 or more points in four of five games this season, including 30 or more the last two weeks. Snelling again attributed that to all 11 players doing their job at all times. He said sometimes players overthink plays and try to cover for teammates, and that is when they come up short on their own end.
The Junior College Athletic Bureau Coaches and the California Community College Sports Information Association polls have not been updated prior to this week’s matchups. In the latest rankings, released Oct. 5, Butte ranked No. 18 in the JC Athletic Bureau Coaches poll and tied for 21 in the CCCSIA poll.