DVC moves to 2-0

PLEASANT HILL -- This one was more about persistence than perfection. 
The Diablo Valley College football team won its home opener 26-10 over Chabot Friday night thanks to a dominant defense, an opportunistic offense and the mighty right leg of Brandon Brown.

Lasting visions from one of the state's marquee matchups took the form of Marc Anthony Hor's bull rushes, a young secondary's growing confidence and the resolve of quarterback Drew Anderson, who shook off some hits to complete 31 of 51 passes for 330 yards and two touchdowns.
"We've got some warriors that are playing really well right now,' coach Mike Darr said proudly. 

Next, the Vikings (2-0) will travel to Modesto Junior College (1-0) on Sept. 19, in another marquee matchup.

All Brown did was boot four field goals and thunder kickoffs deep into the end zone for touchbacks. Punter Jacob DeMaio delivered a texbook kick that pinned Chabot on its 1-yard line in the fourth quarter.

DVC entered Friday's game ranked No. 7 in the state by the JC Athletic Bureau's poll, two spots below Chabot, which walloped Butte 30-9 in its opener behind quarterback Jose Ferreira's throwing and running.

So Chabot brought a lot to Viking Stadium, but the DVC defense had the final say.

The Gladiators' only points came off turnovers, setting up short drives beginning inside the DVC 30-yard line. "It felt good to get the win,"

Anderson said. "The defense played really well, so it was good. We've still got a lot of stuff to work on. There's time, so we'll get it together." 

Darr saw his secondary come of age against a quality opponent. He observed only two or three coverage breakdowns overall. "I talked to the corners early in the week, and I said, 'Look guys, I'm putting the game plan on you,'" Darr said. "Chabot does what they do very, very well. They count on you to have less numbers in the box. They count on you to be undisciplined. If you don't have an extra guy in there, they gash you with it. So we had to take some chances and put (the defensive backs) out there on islands, and they really responded well." Marquis Davenport had an "excellent game," Darr said. True freshman safety Kyle Trego followed his stellar all-around effort in a 45-14 win over Feather River with another interception in the fourth quarter, setting up Brown's fourth field goal.  Marcus Armstrong-Brown and CJ Cornwell, the team's only two returners on offense, each had a touchdown catch and combined for 21 receptions and 195 receiving yards.

Moreover, defensive lineman Chris Mulumba of Finland, a transfer from Chabot, was a force to be reckoned with.  "The defense played better than we needed them to," Armstrong-Brown said. "On a couple of those three-and-outs, they came and got us the ball right back, and the offense just put together the drives that we needed, and our field goal-kicking was amazing." 
Armstrong-Brown added that the Vikings did what they expected to do -- win.