The Bruins might have had that familiar sinking feeling Friday night, after a disappointing 23-7 loss to the Pacifica Mariners at Bolsa Grande High School. Wilson’s 2007 and 2008 seasons opened with wins over Crenshaw, and both followed immediately by a loss to Pacifica. Last season, the loss was followed by seven more. That game was so close to being a victory the Bruins could taste it—Jemari Roberts scored the go-ahead TD on a kickoff return, only to watch his defense allow a long scoring drive, and a game-winning 2-point conversion.

This year, the Bruins struggled to get the ball into Roberts’ hands at all, getting their best player only four touches all game. There were two problems: the first, a surprisingly strong performance from Pacifica kicker/tight end/linebacker Seth Trader, whose strong boot kept Roberts safely in touchback territory (Trader also had two catches for two touchdowns). The one time he did get his hands on a kickoff, late in the game, Roberts took it back 51 yards to midfield—more yards than Wilson’s offense totaled during the entire second half.

The other problem was Bruin quarterback Stephen Barrett’s struggles under center. Barrett started out strong, but went 1/15 in the second half, with an interception. It didn’t help matters that he also shanked two crucial punts, sailing them out of bounds after traveling just 16 and 15 yards; he finished 10/29 for 137 yards with a touchdown and the pick. Barrett, and the rest of the offense, really only gelled on one drive, a one-minute, 5 play, 80-yard scoring effort at the tail end of the first half. The touchdown was a circus catch by—you guessed it—Roberts in the corner of the end zone. Wilson Coach Mario Morales didn’t seem too worried about Barrett after the game, attributing his quarterback’s struggles to his youth. “It’s only his second game playing quarterback at the varsity level—he’s going to struggle, but he’s going to get better.”

The Bruins’ struggles weren’t contained to the offensive side of the ball, though. Their defense struggled to overtake the much smaller Mariners, who rushed for 249 yards, 124 of those coming from senior Josh Brannon, a slippery back who broke two tackles on nearly every rush. “They played a better game up front than we did,” Morales said afterward. “We thought we’d be able to get some pressure inside and we just couldn’t. We’ve got to do a better job up front on both sides of the ball.”

Wilson, sparked by a defensive stand or a play by Roberts, often grasped at momentum, but never took hold of it. They went three and out—then when a Mariner muffed the punt, they recovered, only to promptly go three and out again. After the Roberts return, they went three and out. Their most sustained drive of the game, down by only 7 at the time, stalled out (on the fifteenth play) after they failed to convert on fourth down. The Bruins will have to tool around in practice this week and try to get their offense back on track; perhaps keeping Barrett in the no-huddle two-minute offense he ran effectively at the end of the first half is the answer. One way or another, they’ll need to get the ball into Roberts’ hands more often.

Morales said the other focus of practice will be to make sure his team doesn’t start to feel the 2007 blues. Right now they’re 1-1 after two games on the road; how they fare next week against Ganesha (on the road again) may determine whether it’s a brand new day for the Bruins, or just a little bit of history repeating…