While Monterey Peninsula Colllege is undefeated in four games, challenges have come on the road, where they’ve battled back from halftime deficits to prevail, including last week’s 24-17 overtime win at Siskiyous.

On Saturday the 4-0 Lobos visit San Jose City College (3-1) for a 6 p.m. game.

San Jose is undefeated at home this year, including a 40-27 win over Siskiyous three weeks ago, in which it scored the game’s first 14 points and held as much as a 28-point lead in the fourth quarter.

Will Augenstein threw for 258 yards for the Jaguars in last week’s 32-13 win over Cabrillo, with receiver Jamir Shephard turning six catches into 138 yards and a touchdown.

San Jose has been balanced on offense with tailback Jesse R Lajes compiling 117 yards on the ground, with two touchdowns — the third time in four games he’s rushed for over 100 yards in a game.

An opportunistic Jaguar defense has forced eight turnovers and San Jose is undefeated when it creates a turnover.

For all the explosive weapons MPC has on the outside with its aerial game, tailback Kieryus Boone has rushed for 625 yards in four games, leading the state at 155.0 yards a game.

MPC remains fifth in the state in scoring a 40.3 points a game, with Devin Ellison and Nakoa Villanueva having combined for 534 receiving yards and six touchdowns — mostly from the arm of LSU transfer Eric Gibson.

A real strength for the Lobos has been their kicking game, where kickers Joey Fernandez and Isaac Mancera have combined to knock down 20-of-20 extra points and 5-of-7 field goal attempts, with 12 touchbacks on kickoffs.

Pacific Grove graduate Noah Garry is coming off a 12-tackle effort for MPC, while Andrew Allen finished with nine. Palma graduate Ryan Sanders’ interception in overtime last week sealed the win at Siskiyous.

Garry is sixth in the conference in tackles with 28 through four games, while sharing the team lead in interceptions with Jayden Friedt with two. Ben Limpin has three sacks.

The Lobos are 15-1 during their run of three straight American Golden Coast Conference titles, having beaten San Jose 21-17 last year for their seventh straight win over their conference rivals.

Hartnell visits Yuba

When Hartnell visits Yuba at 6 p.m. Saturday it will be a case of two teams still searching for a win as well as an identity.

Hartnell and Yuba have struggled offensively in identical 0-4 starts. Yuba is 1-28 since returning from the pandemic and has dropped 10 straight games.

The Panthers have held leads in each of their past two games, only to see the offense muster just seven points in the second half. On the season Hartnell has been outscored 48-0 in the third quarter.

Receiver-turned-quarterback Dominic Chavez continues to show improvement behind center, throwing for 119 yards in last week’s game, completing 60 percent of his passes.

Isaiah Durate is coming off a five-catch, 68-yard effort for Hartnell, while Justin Pascone rushed for 41 yards on just eight carries. Perhaps more touches are in store for the North Salinas graduate, who averaged 5.1 yards each time he touched the ball.

A pick-six by Alvarez alum Jacob Peinado was Hartnell’s first defensive touchdown of the year. Salinas’ Chris Phillips is coming off a 13 tackle, 1.5 sack effort, while Daymien Valencia collected nine tackles and Jonathan Gray eight tackles and two pass breakups.

A common opponent is Gavilan, which erased a 10-point deficit to beat Hartnell 21-17 last week, while Yuba was beaten 27-20 by the Rams in overtime on Sept. 21.

Look for the 49ers to air it out, as quarterback Tristian Molina threw for 285 yards and three touchdowns on 18 completions in a loss to Siskiyous two weeks ago, with Chuck Johnson catching seven passes for 108 yards.

While Yuba hasn’t abandoned the running game, it’s twice been held to negative yards on the ground and is minus 61 yards on the season. It’s turned the ball over eight times in four games and is minus-five in turnover ratio.

Hartnell held Gavilan to 2.1 yards per carry last week with nine tackles for losses, six coming on sacks. Greenfield alum Jonathan Anaya had two tackles for losses.

Despite its 0-4 start, Hartnell’s next three opponents are all still looking for their first wins of the season — including two conference opponents.