Butte hits the road, will take on CSM
Roadrunners try to stay unbeaten against top-rated Bulldogs
After the Butte College football team opened its season with a road win, it will attempt to stay undefeated Saturday.
BUTTE VALLEY » After the Butte College football team opened its season with a road win against College of the Sequoias, it will attempt to stay undefeated Saturday following last week’s victory over Laney College on the 20th anniversary of 9/11.
The Roadrunners will take on College of San Mateo in San Mateo at 2 p.m. Saturday after a 2310 win in Butte’s home opener last week. It will be the first home matchup of the season for the Bulldogs.
“It was a great feeling, nothing like it. It was a big rivalry game too,” said Butte freshman and Pleasant Valley alumnus Austin York. “Laney College never beat Butte and we didn’t let it happen, but it was a great atmosphere out here on that day.”
After last week’s win Butte College (2-0) moved up two spots to No. 9 in the Junior College Athletic Bureau poll. Butte’s opponent this week College of San Mateo (2-0) currently sits at No. 1 after a 45-5 win against American River College in week one and a 41-0 win over Santa Rosa Junior College in week two.
In the California Community College Sports Information Association poll Butte ranks No. 10, with San Mateo coming in at No. 2 behind Riverside City College.
Butte coach Robby Snelling said defensively San Mateo shows multiple looks and multiple fronts similar to that of the Roadrun
ners. The Bulldogs’ offense is centered around the run and their speed.
“They have great team speed on both sides of the ball and I think they’re going to come out and establish the run,” Snelling said Thursday. “They’ve done a great job running the ball their first two games and then they take some shots after that. We’re going to have to hold off on those shots and get to the quarterback and put some pressure on him.”
The coach said against Laney he believed his team left at least 20 points off the board. Snelling added that offensively he is emphasizing to his team that it needs to play with all 11 guys each play.
“I feel like there’s a lot plays we have nine or 10 guys doing their job and there’s that one or two that’s just off a little bit,” Snelling said. “Whether that’s a technique thing or a mental thing, that shows up a lot on offense.”
This week Butte’s focus has been on cleaning up things coaches have seen in the first two games and trying to stress the importance
of each and every play.
For Butte College freshman defensive back Jabari Murray, the game will be played just one hour away from where he went to high school at Oakland Tech. Murray said he’s excited to be close to home and hear his friends support and cheer for him. Murray said playing against Laney College, an Oakland-based team, was special as well.
Saturday’s game will be a tough matchup for Butte, and Murray said he is being sure to stay focused and emphasize to his team it must execute their plays 100% on every play Saturday.
He said coming to Butte the skill level has been different and teammates are extremely competitive with each other in practice, which has inspired him.
“We live with each other. We’ll be in practice, oneon-one going crazy at each other and talking so much smack after we’re watching film,” Murray said. “If it’s like that in practice what do you think it’s going to be like in games? If we’re that competitive in practice I can trust these guys in games. These are people I want to fight for and these are people I want fighting for me.”