QUINCY — Any hopes of entering conference play with momentum evaporated early Saturday as the Shasta College football team fell behind 23-0 in the first half and lost 32-12 to host Feather River 32-12.

The Knights (3-2) couldn’t get anything going offensively until the second half, when quarterback Will Camy connected with Ben Weaver on a pair of touchdown passes.

By then, Shasta was too far behind to catch up to the Golden Eagles (4-2).

“We didn’t really get off the bus ready to play a football game today,” Knights head coach Craig Thompson said.

“They basically kicked our butts; especially on the lines, simple as that.”

Known for its double-option attack, Feather River relentlessly barreled through the Shasta defense on the ground.

The Golden Eagles took the opening drive and went down for a score, then added in a field goal after a Shasta turnover.

Just like that, the Knights were down 9-0 and it kept getting worse.

By the time, Weaver hauled in a 50-yard touchdown pass on the second play of the third quarter, Shasta trailed 23-6.

Weaver also caught a 12-yard scoring pass in the fourth quarter.

Feather River didn’t break many runs, but constantly drove the ball down the field on long, sustained drives on the ground.

Shasta has gotten by defensively with a small 3-4 line, but that proved too tough a matchup against the Golden Eagles rushing attack.

“They are a very good, physical football team,” Thompson said. “They run that unique system, and they were quicker than us. We didn’t have the right mixture to stop them.”

As the home team, Feather River handled game statistics but won’t make them available until today.

Shasta’s next game is homecoming against Yuba at 7 p.m. Saturday, which signals the start of Bay Valley Conference play for the Knights.

“We have to bounce back from this,” Thompson said. “At times, we made silly mistakes.”