Alexander, Quarles romp

UKIAH -- Arena League Football came to Mendocino College on Saturday.

It was billed as the season opener for the Eagles against Santa Rosa JC, but by the time the final whistle sounded, the score was SRJC 70, Mendocino 40, and most stat keepers were working on their third or fourth pencils.

"That's a lot of points, but Mendocino did some things that confused us early," said SRJC coach Keith Simons. "They're going to score a lot of points this season."

They scored a lot Saturday, but this was a game in which 40 didn't get you much.

Mendocino coach Tom Gang was not thrilled with giving up 70 points but had some valid reasons to be encouraged about the season.

"I told our guys our goal is now to go 9-1," said Gang. "We hung with them, and I'm proud of how we played."

The Eagles actually took the first lead after stopping the Bear Cubs on downs. They moved 74 yards on 11 plays, utilizing a halfback option play that had the Cub defenders scrambling.

"They did some unorthodox stuff, and it worked at first," said SRJC defensive coordinator Lenny Wagner. "It was good for our defense to see things like that . . . but it wasn't good to see how well it worked."

Wagner indicated too many defensive starters were not "trusting our schemes," choosing to react instead of sticking to the game plan.

"Our guys need to realize that when they freelance, bad things can happen," said Simons. "Too many of our players were doing their own thing."

As high-scoring as Saturday's non-conference contest was, Simons has seen more points scored in a Bear Cub game.

"In 1999, we beat American River, 67-56," said Simons. "But this was definitely something else."

Greg Alexander led the SRJC offense with 314 yards, hitting on 31 of 48 passes. He was also the team's leading rusher with 63 yards on eight carries, some of them a result of his protection breaking down.

"I thought we did OK for the first time out," said Alexander, who connected on five TD passes. "I have a lot of confidence in my receivers . . . a lot of them are back from last season."

Eagle QB Cody Mancuso threw for 219 yards, hitting on 20 of 38 passes with two interceptions.

Santa Rosa scored two of its TDs on kickoff returns, with Clarence Ward going 86 yards in the second quarter after Mendocino had pulled within 14-13 with 11:26 left in the second period.

"That was a big play," said Gang. "We felt a lot better before that, but even when we were down at halftime (35-21), we felt we had a chance."

Aubrey Quarles led the Bear Cubs in receiving, catching 10 passes for 106 yards, including three TD catches. He also put the final scoring touch on the game when he ran a kickoff back 81 yards for a TD with time running out.

"We knew we had to pull out all the stops, try special things," said Gang, whose team takes on Shasta next week while SRJC travels to Eureka to play College of the Redwoods. "We had them going for a while."

Mendocino passed for a team total of 298 yards but was credited with minus-36 rushing. SRJC rushed for 185 yards and passed for 322, with backup QB Adam Froman looking good in the second half.

Evan Williams, projected as SRJC's top running back, left the game in the second half with an apparent ankle sprain, but he was up and walking at the end of the day.

SRJC kicker Scott McKeon set a school record by hitting 10 of 10 extra-point attempts.

You can reach Bruce Meadows at 521-5263 or bruce. meadows@pressdemocrat.com.