MODESTO — Central Catholic running back Isaiah Faagata scored from 8 yards out to tie the game at 7-7 with 6:53 left in the first quarter against the visiting Manteca Buffaloes Friday night at David Patton Field in Modesto.

Any rational observer of the contest would have thought the first five minutes of the game set the capacity crowd up to see another classic slugfest between two of the best teams in the Sac-Joaquin Section.

The Manteca Buffaloes (1-0, 5-0) had other ideas, answering the lone score from Central Catholic (1-1, 2-4) with 42 consecutive points of their own in a dominant 49-7 victory, its first on the road in the series between perennial Valley Oak League powers.

“We broke the curse last year, and everyone in our locker room knew that it wasn’t a fluke,” Manteca head coach Mark Varnum said. “We felt like we were the better team coming in to tonight, and our guys got it done on all three phases.”

Varnum’s defense controlled the line of scrimmage for much of the night, allowing under 100 yards on the ground to the Raiders vaunted running attack that featured Sacramento State commit Carter Meeks in the backfield. It was the defense that helped the Buffaloes answer the only touchdown by the Raiders, as back-to-back sacks by Robert Nelson stalled a Central Catholic drive at the 15-yard line of Manteca.

Junior running back Nikko Juarez dealt the counter punch to the Raiders, going 85 yards untouched on the very next play of the game to put the Buffaloes up for good, 14-7. It was his second of three scores on the night to go along with 288 yards on 19 carries.

“All week, we told our guys up front we can do it, we can do it,” Juarez said. “We haven’t run the ball as well as we know we are capable of in the past few weeks, and they really stepped up and opened some huge holes for us.”

Unable to find success on the ground, Central Catholic turned to the air. Consistent pressure from the Manteca front combined with stellar secondary play led by cornerbacks Quinn Martinez and Jayden Harris forced Raider quarterback Kayden McHenry to make rushed throws, finding his own receivers just five times in 19 attempts on the night.

Midway through the second quarter Harris intercepted a pass from McHenry on a slant route to standout receiver and Fresno State commit Chase Perino. Seven plays later, Manteca quarterback Owen Gully would find receiver Micah Cardoza from 34 yards out to go up 21-7.

“We knew coming into this game we had to shut down their No. 1 (Perino), “Harris said. “We knew if they could not get him the ball, it would be really hard for them to score on us.”

Perino finished with just three catches for 33 yards, well under his average of 113 yards per game coming into the matchup against the Buffaloes. Harris would add a second interception of McHenry in the third quarter, this time returning the McHenry pass intended to Perino 34 yards for a touchdown to put the game out of reach, 42-7.

“This defense wants to be considered one of the best defenses we’ve ever had here at Manteca,” Varnum said. “Tonight went a long way in them staking that claim — they stepped up to the challenge big time.”

The Manteca offense kept pace with the defense in the well-rounded performance, racking up 345 yards on the ground on 31 carries. Senior fullback Maava Tialavea helped open massive holes for Juarez all game long but found the end zone two times himself to go with 60 yards rushing.

“This offensive line is young, but they are talented,” Varnum said. “I can’t thank my staff enough for the way they coach these guys up and have them ready to play the way they did against a really good front seven.”

Friday night’s win will go a long way in helping the Buffaloes make a case for a No. 1 overall seed in the Division II Sac-Joaquin Section rankings. They came into the contest ranked third behind St. Mary’s of Stockton and Grant of Sacramento.

“Our effort can’t dip at all after a win like this,” Juarez said. “We have some good teams coming up on the schedule and some rivalry games that you can be sure we will be ready for.”

Next up for Manteca is the first of those rivalry games as they host Sierra at Guss Schmiedt Field next Friday.