By Rick Martin

Mt. Shasta’s 2009 football homecoming was a festive affair all week for the student body, but it was the visiting Live Oak Lions who did the celebrating on the field Friday night. The Lions (4-1) took the Sacramento Valley League opener handily, 34-13, taking advantage of a half-dozen Bear fumbles along the way.

Live Oak got off to a fast start when leading scorer Tony Montes took the opening kickoff back 87-yards for a touchdown just 13 seconds into the game. The Lions would eventually lead 21-0 at the half, but the Bears were lucky it wasn’t 21-0 in this first 10 minutes.

On Mt. Shasta’s first possession, they drove across midfield, only to fumble the ball away at the Lions’ 47. But the Bear defense stiffened and denied Live Oak a chance to capitalize.

(At this point, refer you to the instructions on the back of your shampoo bottle: Lather. Rinse. Repeat.)

Live Oak punted the ball away, the Bears got a nice return, ran it a couple of times and then put it on the ground at their own 40, with Live Oak recovering. The Lions drove into the red zone, but the Bear defense stiffened again, forcing a 4th and 5 at the 10-yard-line and then holding to get the ball back. And on the very first play – they fumbled again, with the Lions taking over at the 15. Again the Lions drove inside the 10, this time coming up with a first and goal at the 5. But the Bear defense would get a big surge on the first down play, stopping the runner and forcing – what else? – a fumble, which they recovered at the 10.

This time, the Bears (1-4, 0-1) would actually run a few plays before giving the ball back, but eventually punted it away. The teams traded punts again, but then midway through the second quarter, The Lions would get a couple of big plays. Quarterback Miguel Alejo found a wide open Patrick Smith streaking down the sideline for a 50-yard gain that set up first and goal at the 3. Big Jarred Colvin took it in from there, and Xavier Lopez’ extra point kick made it 14-0 with 6:17 remaining in the half.

Later in the quarter, the Bears would cough it up again, this time at their own 35. And Live Oak would not be denied this time around. On the first play after the turnover, Alejo connected with Ish Gardon for the score, to make it 20-0 Live Oak. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty would force Lopez to try a 35-yard extra point, but he nailed it with 15-yards to spare, making it 21-0.

After halftime, the Bears got on track a little bit, as sophomore Jordan Hannah returned the kick to midfield to set up a short field. Mt. Shasta’s best drive of the night got them to the 3, and Homecoming King Mark Maumasi would take it in from there, making it 21-7 after Cesar Rocha’s extra point.

Live Oak went to a wildcat style offense on their first two series of the half, and while they moved the ball well, they were also careless with it, fumbling it away twice. The first turnover, the Bears could do nothing with. Live Oak got it back and was moving deep into Bear territory again, when Montes coughed it up, and kicked it downfield in the process. The loose ball bounced right into the hands of Tim Jaegel at the Mt. Shasta 20, who broke out of a pack of players to return it 80-yards for a score. And suddenly – despite the myriad mistakes to that point – the Bears were within a single score at 21-13, heading to the 4th quarter.

But Live Oak would put some distance between themselves and the Bears on their next series, as Alejo shredded the Mt. Shasta secondary for a 58-yard TD strike to Gardon. Then – after the Bears’ 6th fumble of the night later in the fourth – he would throw a long pass to Patrick Smith to put them deep in Bear territory. Montes’ 24-yard run capped the scoring with just over a minute remaining, and the Lions went home winners.

Junior Varsity

Live Oak’s JV team smoked the Bears 47-7 in a somewhat classless display. Late in the game, the Bears’ Keegan Snure was pulled down by his face mask – one of five such penalties called on the Lions’ JV squad. Medical personnel attended to Snure on the field, immobilizing him and carrying him from the field to a waiting ambulance. After a lengthy delay, Live Oak’s defense picked off a pass, and got a return to the Bear one yard line. Already up by four TD’s, the Lions punched it in from there and punctuated the score with excessive celebration as they left the field, with one player even doing cartwheels and somersaults. When they got the ball back later in the period, the Lions elected to go for another quick score, running up the final margin, displeasing just about everyone in attendance except the Lions and their coaching staff, who exchanged shouts and high fives with their players as they came off the field.

Snure, by the way, was checked out at the hospital, and all the test results were as they should be, with no serious injury.

Notes: Mt. Shasta travels to Rio Vista next Friday night…Live Oak came into the game having forced 17 turnovers in four games. That total is now up to 23. Their players are actively looking to strip the ball on almost every play, and it’s an effective tactic…Maumasi was named the homecoming King, while Kendra Woodglass was named the homecoming Queen…The junior team upset the seniors in the Powderpuff Bowl played Friday afternoon. It was 13-12 in OT. We heard that neither side was pleased with the faculty’s officiating of the title game. One of the faculty told me that when he got back to class, there was a note on his computer, advising him to stick to teaching. Good natured stuff…The freshman class won the float contest. No one we talked to could ever remember the freshmen ever winning ANYTHING during homecoming before. No one is sure yet whether this qualifies as progress.

OPINION: The facemask penalty which injured Snure was only flagged as a five yard infraction, which is supposed to be for incidental contact – or grazing – of the face mask. The Bear coaches pleaded their case to the officials, but to no avail, explaining that Snure’s head was jerked sideways, and there’s simply no way that happens with incidental contact. This is a rule that needs a serious look in future seasons. Five facemask violations against one team in a game is not incidental. It’s not intentional, either, but it is reckless and unsafe, and someone is eventually going to be even more seriously injured than Snure was last night. Perhaps we in Mt, Shasta are overly sensitive to neck injuries in the wake of Corben Brooks’ injury last season, but it probably would be a wise thing to revisit the grazing rule. A suggestion: the first incidental facemask against a team can be applied as a 5-yard penalty, but the team is then given a warning that any future facemasks in that game will be assessed at 15-yards each. Officials could also note the players responsible. A first violation is treated like a yellow card in soccer, meaning it’s a warning. A second facemask violation by the same player in the same game could warrant an automatic ejection. It sounds harsh, but it would make defenders in particular more aware of what their hands are doing. It wouldn’t take more than one ejection for the players – and the coaches – to get the message and change both how they play and how they teach.