When the California Trojans were hosted by Frazier Friday night, one word described the entire game. Mistakes.
"We can't make mistakes" said Lew Sweitzer, head coach of the Commodores, noting that mistakes were what cost Frazier in a last-minute 20-16 loss to the Trojans.
Despite what seemed to be an overall slow first half, the Commodores came out strong. In the first drive of the game, the Commodores scored after a 10-play drive that was all run based, mostly centering around running back Chase Kirmeyer.
Kirmeyer had 86 yards rushing for the game, half coming on the opening drive . Kirmeyer carried the ball 7 times in the drive, gaining four of the team's five first downs.
Frazier controlled the better part of the first half on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. Although the Commodores outgained the Trojans, it was mistakes that helped them keep control during the first half.
"We made a lot of mental mistakes" said Trojans head coach Brady Barbero. The Trojans committed six penalties in the first half, and at least one in each of their three first-half drives.
The mistakes for the Trojans continued into the second half with two crucial penalties on their opening drive. After that drive, the mistakes had turned from the Trojans to the Commodores.
After a long drive that the Trojans failed to score on, they managed to pin the Commodores inside their own 15 on a punt. The first of several Commodore mistakes occurred on a play that Barbero called "unbelievable" for the Trojans.
On a third and 15, quarterback Jim Kline looked to attempt a screen pass to Kirmeyer, but Wade Stinnett intercepted it on the 15-yard line and ran it in for a touchdown. Despite the Commodores countering the Trojans with a lengthy drive that ended in a field goal, it was the fourth quarter that made the game for the Trojans.
The Commodores' dominant defense in the first half was not the same in the second. The defensive would give up back-to-back 15-yard gains to the Trojans, then a 25-yard pass from quarterback D.J. Martinak to tight end Wade Stinnett. Following a missed extra point by Kyle Rodriguez, the Trojans had gained the lead from the Commodores for the first time in the game.
The Commodores continued to struggle offensively. The Commodores received several breaks in the fourth quarter, but didn't take advantage of any of them offensively. The Commodores managed to recover a fumbled punt, receive a holding call which took back a Trojans' touchdown and intercept a crucial pass. But the Commodores did not score on any of the mistakes made by the Trojans.
The final mistake by the Commodores was the one that cost them the game. With one minute to go, the Commodores surrendered a 65-yard punt return, which started a drive for the Trojans on the Commodores' 21-yard line. The Commodores' mistakes took a turn for the worse when they gave up the game-winning touchdown to the Trojans on another pass from Martinak to Stinnett.
