SAN JOSE – “Coach, did we win or lose?”
That was the question posed by a Del Mar player to coach Bryan Beacraft following a 52-7 drubbing of James Lick at home on Friday night. It may seem like an odd question considering the final score, but after hearing Beacraft’s speech to the team in the postgame huddle, it felt like Del Mar (3-3, 2-1 BVAL-West Valley) had been the team that was blown out.
The Dons dominated an injury-landed and last-place squad in James Lick (1-5, 0-3), but Beacraft was concerned about the simple errors his team committed – a missed interception here, a muffed catch on a punt there.
“You know, they’re up and they get complacent and let stupid things happen,” said Beacraft. “If this was a different [opponent], stupid things like that are going to cost them. They have to play every game like every play matters.”
Indeed, a better opponent might have given Del Mar more of a fight. Without at least 12 regulars injured and down to its backup quarterback – Jared Gonzalez, who had never appeared in a game before – James Lick did not look or play like a varsity football team.
It showed right out of the gate, as the Comets fumbled on each of their first three possessions, and each fumble was recovered by Del Mar. Twice, Gonzalez lost the ball handing it off to a running back, and the third time, he could not handle the snap.
“I have a lot of first-year players who are playing their hearts out, but it’s just not good enough at the caliber of varsity,” said James Lick coach Ray Jimenez. “But we’re doing our best. We’re battling.”
Del Mar made them pay, scoring touchdowns on all three turnovers; Aaron Couch ran in the first two on 28- and 7-yard runs, and Jack Tuatoo pounded in the third score on a second-and-goal play from the one-yard line.
In fact, Del Mar was able to capitalize on two more turnovers before the end of the first quarter – a botched punt led to a field goal and a failed fake punt led to a 30-yard touchdown reception by Jonathan Salcedo. The Dons led 38-7 after one quarter and then tacked on a couple more scores – courtesy of running back Corbin Fa’afiti and Tuatoo again – in the latter periods.
For Beacraft, though, the scoreboard did little to ease his concerns. When asked if he thought putting 52 points on the board was a reason to be satisfied, he responded, “You do, but I’m always looking at the other side – the little things. And the little things weren’t going exactly right.”
A little harsh? Maybe. But Beacraft knows “the little things” matter. They might have gotten away with some errors against the depleted James Lick, but against undefeated Branham (6-0, 3-0) and Mt. Pleasant (6-0, 3-0), teams that they are looking up at in the West Valley standings, they cannot afford to be complacent.
