Coming off a big win on the road to open the season, the varsity Bruin football team came up short at home this past week.

The JV Bruins also faced disappointment in what was the first game of their short season. They did not play the week before since Western Sierra has no JV team.

That’s a common problem for the junior varsity team this year. Since Riverbank has an un-affiliated, non-league season in football, many of the teams they will be playing don’t field a junior varsity team. Some of Riverbank’s JV games are against different teams than those playing the varsity.

And the junior varsity only gets to play four games in their short season, just two of them home games, including last Friday’s against Bret Harte of Angels Camp. They won’t play again until a scheduled home game on Sept. 16 against Big Valley Christian.

That same Friday, the varsity Bruins are scheduled to host California School of the Deaf.

This Friday, Sept. 9, the Lions of Valley Christian Academy come to town. Game time is set for 7 p.m., since there will be no JV game.

The JV Bruins took a loss to the visitors this week, while the varsity Bruins had just a few high points in their game against the Bullfrogs of Bret Harte High School in Angels Camp.

Riverbank junior Gerardo Pantoja racked up an impressive run in the first quarter, one of a few turned in during the game.

Also impressive were pass receptions by Allen Brown and a fumble recovery by Kevin Alcantara.

After falling behind to Bret Harte 27-0 in the first quarter, the Bruins held the Bullfrogs to just 7 points in each of the second and third quarters, blanking them altogether in the fourth quarter.

But still, they came away with a 41-0 loss, as the Bruins were unable to find the end zone themselves.