MCC Vs Eastern Arizona
James Mello
The Thunderbirds traveled to Thatcher, Ariz., to face Eastern Arizona and attempt to end a three-game losing streak.
But, it turned out to be much of the same for Mesa, as the T-Birds lost a blowout 0-44, dropping the T-Birds to 1-4 on the season with four consecutive losses following their victory in their season opener.
In the last three games combined, Mesa has been outscored 3-130. In the last 12 quarters of play, the team has not been able to register a touchdown on either side of the ball.
Eastern Arizona was able to run the football well against the T-Birds, and the defense was on the field most of the game.
The Mesa offense was able to move the ball at times.
They drove inside Eastern Arizona’s red zone before a miscommunication between quarterback Justin Sieczkowski and one of his receivers led to an interception in the end zone.
The offense also turned the ball over on a fumble.
“I think it’s just mistakes. On every play we mess up in some aspect of the game and it ruins our chances of moving the ball,” Sieczkowski said about the offensive struggles. “We see it all on film and we are doing all we can to correct it. And I feel like we can and are going to get better and start putting more points on the board.”
Three blowout losses in a row put the morale of the team into question, the one that the T-Birds will have to glare at it moving forward.
A week earlier, the Scottsdale Artichokes paid a visit to John D. Riggs Stadium as the T-Birds tried to defend their home turf against their crosstown foe.
The home stands were packed for Mesa and the atmosphere was great on the warm summer night, perfect for some college football.
The game started off slowly with a back-and-forth scoreless first quarter that included 115 yards in penalties between the two teams.
However, the second quarter brought scoring and plenty of it for Scottsdale.
Three touchdowns of 40 yards or more, highlighted by a 48-yard touchdown reception by Blake Jackson, turned the tides in Scottsdale’s favor.
Mesa was able to move the ball at times offensively, but continuously shot themselves in the foot, tallying up 100 yards worth of penalties in the second quarter alone.
The half ended with the Artichokes coming out on top with 22-0.
“We have to get some points on the board and move the football,” coach Greg Croshaw said at halftime. “We did some good things on defense, but they can’t be on the field the whole time.”
The T-Birds came out in the second half riding on the legs of running back Michael Allen.
Allen had seven rushes on the team’s first drive of the half, getting them to the 9-yard line before they were forced to kick a field goal, which would be their only points of the night.
Allen ran his heart out in the game as he was the lone bright spot for the T-Birds offense.
Two touchdown receptions by Scottsdale’s Jesse Brantley, an interception return for a touchdown, and a two- point conversion made the final score 44-3 for Scottsdale.
“It’s fairly obvious it’s a work in progress. It’s not an overnight fix. I thought I could come here and fix it pretty quick but it turned out to be a bigger challenge then I thought,” Croshaw said after the game. “We have to get over the mental obstacles, and that is a large part of what’s holding us back.”
