QB Cochise Ryan powers California past Monessen

By: Jeremy Sellew
Friday, August 30, 2019 | 11:51 PM

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California’s Cochise Ryan had a little motivation heading into the Trojans’ important Tri-County South battle at Monessen on Friday night.

So he went out and helped his team to a 42-7 win over the Greyhounds at Memorial Stadium.

“I got a text message this morning and I saw (Monessen coach Mike Blainefield) say he thought they had better athletes on their team,” Ryan said. “So, I came out here to show them that I was the best athlete out here.”

While the Trojans’ offense was balanced statistically, Ryan took care of most of the scoring by running for three touchdowns and throwing for another.

“It’s amazing to watch because he’s only been a quarterback for a month,” California coach Ed Woods said. “He’s been a quarterback in pads for three weeks. He’s a great athlete and he just continues to get better every day.”

The game and momentum tilted in Monessen’s favor early as the Greyhounds wasted no time driving down the field and putting the ball in the end zone.

On a fourth-and-9, quarterback Jalen Brice found Isaiah Beltram on a slant pattern. Beltram took care of the rest, racing 57 yards for the score.

From that point on, it was all California.

“I think it was a matter of us just settling in and just tightening things up a bit defensively,” Woods said.

Ryan and the Trojans marched 42 yards on nine plays, with the drive ending on Ryan’s 3-yard touchdown. Five different players carried the ball for California (2-0, 1-0) on the drive.

“That’s the nice thing. I can hand the ball off to Lucas or Malik can run or I can throw it to him,” Ryan said. “We have athletes all over the field.”

After Damani Stafford’s sack killed Monessen’s next drive, Ryan needed only two plays to find Nathan O’Savage all alone for a 36-yard touchdown strike.

After losing Brice to a shoulder injury, Dawayne Howell entered the game and immediately fumbled after a strip sack by Seth Rerricha.

Two plays later, Ryan rolled 20 yards and found Ramsey for a 2-point conversion to give the Trojans a 21-7 lead.

Qualk ended the first half scoring with a 25-yard run, plowing over and spinning away from a number of Monessen tacklers to give his team a 29-7 lead.

“Definitely seen better days,” Blainefield said. “We had all the motivation in the world and the momentum early, then we just made some mistakes and they hit some big plays. It’s really frustrating.”

In the second half, the Trojans invoked the mercy rule, adding a pair of third quarter touchdowns.

Damani Stafford capped off a nine-play, 61-yard drive to open the third quarter with a 4-yard run.

The Greyhounds (0-2, 0-1) dug themselves a deep hole on the ensuing drive, being hit with 35 yards of penalties on one play on a hold and two unsportsmanlike calls.

“We can’t get into those situations,” Blainefield said. “We have to be smarter than that. One of those was on the sideline.”

Ryan finished off the scoring with a 2-yard run with 12 seconds to go in the third.

“This win is huge for us,” the senior quarterback said. “We definitely made a statement. We came out here and wanted to show the conference how bad we want it, how bad I want it.

“We wouldn’t have been able to come in here like this without the way our line played tonight. All of my teammates were big tonight.”

Monessen leaves conference play next week on the road at Springdale. The Trojans host Avella in a Tri-County South matchup.

“Even when I was at Beth-Center, I loved coming here to play. I know how many great players played on this field. It’s really nostalgic for me,” Woods said. “This was a big conference win for us, but there is still a lot of room for improvement. I’m happy for the kids but we still have work to do.”

Tags: California, Monessen