Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Action from Saturday’s game at the Redwood Bowl.

College of the Redwoods is finding life difficult in the National Division, but there are some signs of improvement.

On Saturday afternoon, the local JC welcomed Diablo Valley College to the Redwood Bowl and lost a third straight game since making the jump from the American Division to the more competitive National Division this past offseason, falling 54-28.

The CR offense turned in by far its best performance of the season — albeit with three costly interceptions — but the team defense was unable to contain a Vikings offense that CR head coach Jason White described as the best his team has faced since the program was reinstated a few years ago.

“Offensively, we definitely played better than we have all year long,” White said. “(Diablo Valley) played extremely well against our defense. I never thought we would give up that many points. I don’t think we’ve played an offense like that in the last three years. They’re good.”

The Vikings feature three or four Division-I caliber receivers alone, remarkably including an Oregon Ducks kickback — Jurrion Dickey — who doesn’t even start.

With the win, the Vikings improved to 3-0, while CR dropped to 0-3.

The game, however, was still well in the balance late in the third quarter, when the home team trailed 28-21.

But four touchdowns in the final 22 minutes saw the visitors comfortably over the finish line.

The three interceptions thrown by quarterback Quinton Buckland — two of which led to scores — were too much to overcome for a CR team that would have to play far better than that to beat a team of the talent of Diablo Valley.

“You can’t do things like that against a team of that quality,” White said.

The CR coach went to back-up QB Bryton Livingston late in the game, and while the experienced sophomore — who started last year — provided a bit of a spark, it was too little too late.

Both CR quarterbacks threw TD passes to slot receiver Justice Anthony, with Buckland also finding the end zone on a QB sneak.

Freshman running back Alec Grant also ran in for a TD, as a CR offense that features just one returning starter this fall began to show some signs of life after struggling over the first two weeks and scoring just 16 points in those games.

“They had trouble stopping us, and I felt good about that,” White said.

But ultimately the CR defense was unable to stop a potent visiting offense, especially down the stretch when it mattered the most.

“They’re so athletic offensively,” White added. “They’re just loaded offensively and it’s tough to stop a team like that when they get going.”

After struggling to protect their quarterback through the opening two weeks of the new season, the CR offensive line did a much better job on Saturday, and that’s good news for a new-look unit that might be beginning to find its feet.

In large part because of that, CR also ran the ball better, with Hank Ollenberger gaining some tough yards with his physical play.

Anthony and Saul Reyes both also impressed at slot receiver.

Next up is a trip to play College of the Sequoias next Saturday at 11 a.m.

“We just have to keep trying to build on things,” White said. “We’ve got to bounce back. We’ll be okay if we get back to where we were on defense and continue to build on offense. 

“Going into week four, we’ve learned a lot from our first three games. We’ve got to keep our heads up and get better every week. And I’ll say this, our team never quit.”