First-half deficit too much to overcome for West Hills in loss to Shasta

First-half deficit too much to overcome for West Hills in loss to Shasta

West Hills College Coalinga is still in search of its first win after suffering a 30-14 non-conference loss to visiting Shasta College on Saturday at Memorial Field.

Shasta (2-0) scored 16 unanswered points to open the contest before the Falcons finally got on the scoreboard late in the second quarter. Dwan James' five-yard touchdown run at the 4:15 mark capped a six-play, 77 yard drive for West Hills (0-2) that cut the Shasta lead to 16-7.

Shasta responded with a long drive of its own, going 83 yards over seven plays with Vinny Smith finding his way into the end zone from one yard out with 59 seconds left. The Falcons went into halftime trailing 23-7.

The Falcons' defense stepped up in the second half, holding Shasta to just a touchdown midway through the third quarter. Down 30-7, West Hills quarterback Tristan Eames connected with Jonathan Murphy for a 30-yard touchdown strike with 5:27 left in the fourth quarter to close out the scoring for both teams.

Eames completed 10-of-15 passes for 137 yards with a TD and also ran six time for team-best 40 yards. Murphy was the Falcons' leading receiver, catching five passes for 84 yards with a touchdown.

The West Hills defense came up with four takeaways in the contest. The Falcons got interceptions from Dashawn Holliman and Dillon Mccoy and also recovered a pair of fumbles. Trevon Hart led the defense with 12 tackles (six solo).

The Falcons hit the road next Saturday (Sept.21) looking to snap their winless streak at Sierra College. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Homer "Buzz" Ostrom Stadium in Rocklin.