Penalties continue to plague the Eureka Loggers at Shasta

By barstoolfanatics on September 7, 2024 • ( Leave a comment )

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Mistakes plagued the Eureka Loggers for the second straight week on Friday night, as they dropped to 0-2 on the season with a 35-12 loss at Shasta.

The Loggers were called for eight unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in the loss on what was another difficult night for the players and new head coach Sam Edmonds.

Most of them were on the defensive side of the ball.

“It was pretty bad,” admitted Edmonds, who added “in the second half we came out flat and kind of self-destructed.”

There were, however, some bright sports despite the loss.

Tau Ou and Michael Jewell each found the end zone for the team’s first two touchdowns of the season.

Defensively, the Eureka players also did a good job for the most part containing a dangerous Shasta quarterback.

“Our defensive line did play really well this week,” the head coach said. “The Shasta quarterback is similar to (Arcata’s) Luke Lemke, and I feel they did an amazing job against him. He’s a heck of an athlete.”

Eureka quarterback Kyle Johnston also continues to show some promise, according to his coach.

“Kyle has worked his ass off, and I feel like given the opportunity he can be one of the best in league,” Edmonds said. “He can drop back and he can fire the ball, and he’s not afraid to lower his shoulder.

“I feel like between last year and this year, it’s night and day. He’s taking control of running the offense and I feel like each week he’s getting better and better.”

The coach and his players will try to take the positives into their preparation for next week’s game at Newark Memorial.

And despite the plethora of penalties early in the season, Edmonds is seeing improvement from his players.

“Even though we have two losses, we’re getting better and better each week,” he said.

With the win, Shasta improved to 2-0.

The Eureka JVs also were in action at Shasta on Friday night and tied 7-7 while playing in 103 degree heat.

“Despite the heat, the JVs played their butts off,” Edmonds said of the team, which is now 1-0-1 on the season. “I’m really proud of how they played.”