WEED >> A bye week provided time for healing. Yet, it also created some rust for a football program that is off to its best start since the return from the pandemic.

A seven-hour bus ride home was one to savor Saturday for Monterey Peninsula College, as it persevered under adversity with a 24-17 overtime win at Siskiyous, capping an undefeated nonconference season.

The defending three-time American Golden Coast Conference champion Lobos are one of eight community college teams in California still undefeated at 4-0.

“We might have underestimated them as a whole,” MPC coach Ronnie Palmer said. “Siskiyous made some huge changes that forced us to make adjustments. We’ll have to look at the tape to see what we can get better at.”

The Lobos, who open conference play next Saturday at San Jose City, have gone 15-1 over the past three years in conference play. Siskiyous’ only setback coming into its meeting with MPC came against San Jose.

“We didn’t travel well,” Palmer said. “Some of that was playing on grass for the first time. Some of it was the opponent. I’ll have to reevaluate that.”

MPC came into the game ranked No. 3 in the state in scoring — thanks in large part to a 72-point uprising in a season-opening win over Chabot of Hayward.

Yet, somewhat overshadowed has been a Lobos defense that held 3-1 Redwoods to seven points two weeks ago, and held a high-scoring Siskiyous offense to their second-lowest point total in five games.

That unit rose to the occasion in overtime when Palma graduate Ryan Sanders intercepted a pass to end the game and create a jubilant celebration on the MPC sidelines.

“That was a good team we faced,” Palmer said. “Give them credit. That’s a well-coached team that had a game plan. We had to make adjustments in the second half to give ourselves a chance.”

The Lobos have actually trailed in both of their road games this season at halftime, as a safety and gadget play staked Siskiyous to a 9-7 halftime advantage.

Part of MPC’s offensive struggles were due to the Eagles’ ability to control the first 20 minutes of the game with a pair of time-consuming drives.

“We looked up at the clock and there was one minute left in the first quarter and we had one possession,” Palmer said. “I think we ran four or five plays in the first 20 minutes of the game.”

That changed in the second half when MPC turned to its ground game and quarterback Eric Gibson, whose 1-yard touchdown run in overtime put them up for good.

“Our ground game showed up in the second half,” Palmer said. “We had some nice catches, converted in key situational plays. We took care of our business in the second half. We had a better spark.”

Gibson, who transferred from LSU two years ago, connected with Devin Ellison on a touchdown pass. That coupled with a field goal from Joey Fernandez put MPC up by eight before the Eagles (3-2) tied the game with a minute left in regulation.

“We just struggled as a whole today,” Palmer said. “We had some penalties that ruined drives and put us in bad field position. Our turnovers led to points each time for them. It took us a while to get some rhythm on offense.”

MPC had only played one other overtime game in the Palmer era, that occurring in his first season in 2021, when it blocked the extra point in OT in a 27-26 win over De Anza, triggering a run of five straight wins and the first of three conference titles.

The Lobos do have some familiarity with San Jose next week, having seen them on film from having played Siskiyous in Week 3 of the season.

“It’s a big team as always, with talented receivers, an all-conference running back and an aggressive defense,” Palmer said. “We have to get home and get a few kids back. It’s the biggest game of the year because it’s the next game.”

Gavilan 21, Hartnell 17

The growing pains continue for the Panthers, who squandered an early 10-point lead in falling to 0-4.

Hartnell came into the game having won its last 11 meetings against their conference rival, with the Rams (2-3) last win coming in 2011.

The Panthers, who started last season 6-0, have failed to hold first-half leads in their past two games, as 45 freshmen continue to go through growing pains.

The loss of starting quarterback Adam Shaffer to a season-ending knee injury has been felt since his departure in the first half of the team’s season opener, as Hartnell’s offense has scored just 35 points in their past 14 quarters.

Points came from the defensive side when Alvarez alum Jacob Pienado intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown in the first quarter to give Hartnell a 10-0 lead.

Held scoreless in the second half of last week’s loss to Los Medanos, the Panthers didn’t get into the end zone offensively until 11:43 left in the fourth quarter when North Salinas graduate Justin Pascone scored from 2 yards out.

The touchdown snapped a string of five quarters without an offensive touchdown, and halted Gavilan’s run of 21 unanswered points.

Diego Mora added a 28-yard field goal for Hartnell, who visits winless Yuba next Saturday in a nonconference game.