Redskins struggle against Bret Harte – Gustine Press-Standard

Gustine’s Hector Haro closes in on a Bret Harte ball carrier in non-league play Friday evening. Bret Harte came away with a 34-12 win.

A week off might be just what the doctor ordered for Gustine High’s varsity Redskins.

Gustine lost its second game of the season Friday at Bret Harte, where the Bullfrogs pulled away to a 34-12 decision, and for the second straight week the Redskins limped home with a long list of injuries.

At 0-2 on the season, rival Orestimba next up on the schedule Sept. 20, and nursing a string of injuries which left few available reserves on the sidelines Friday, the Redskins will use their bye week to regroup and heal.

For all their injury challenges, the Redskins turned in an improved effort Friday in Angels Camp, staying with the Bullfrogs until the third quarter.

Isaiah Figueroa, stepping in for injured quarterback Robert Mello, accounted for both Redskins’ touchdowns and most of the Gustine offense on the night.

After Bret Harte had taken a 14-0 lead with touchdowns four minutes apart late in the first quarter and early in the second, Gustine answered with a scoring drive capped by Figueroa’s 6-yard touchdown run.

Bret Harte stretched its halftime lead to 21-6, but the Redskins made a game of it when Figueroa broke free on a 70-yard touchdown run a minute into the second half.

Gustine threatened to pull closer late in the third with a drive to the Bret Harte 25, but was unable to capitalize.

Bret Harte took control from that point, tacking on two more touchdowns to account for the final difference.

On the bright side, head coach Russell McWilliams said, Gustine avoided many of the miscues which doomed the Redskins in their season opener against Linden.

And while they had little success on the ground other than Figueroa’s run, Gustine passed for 118 yards on the night.

Andrew Serrano hauled in three passes for 76 yards, and Kolton Christenson had three catches for 41 yards to lead Gustine receivers. Figueroa completed seven passes on the night.

Defensively, McWilliams said, the Redskins showed improvement in tackling and had threw the Bullfrogs for losses on several plays.

Iancarlo Morales was in on 17 tackles, Serrano was involved in 14 and Josh Laupua had a hand in 13. Mello, who played defensive end but was held out of the quarterback spot, turned in a strong effort as well, McWilliams noted.

But as the game wore on, Gustine’s injury list grew.

Serrano and Spencer Nunes each left the game with injuries that will sideline them indefinitely, McWilliams said, and Figueroa was injured as well.

“This is going to be a great time for us to have a week off,” he acknowledged.

In addition to getting players healthy, the Redskins will work on shoring up areas of their game that need improvement – with the offensive line being a focal point.

“We need to work on blocking. Our defense is starting to look pretty good, and if we can run the ball we’ll be okay,” McWilliams commented. “We are also going to have to really develop our second- and third-string players, because everybody is going to be playing. We were pretty thin by the end of the night Friday.”