Following a slow start Friday night, top-seeded Manteca picked things up in the second quarter with Owen Gully directing the offense and Nikko Juarez running wild in a 43-8 win over visiting No. 8 Tracy to open the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II football playoffs at Guss Schmiedt Field.

The Buffaloes host No. 4 St Mary’s of Stockton next Friday at 7 p.m. in a semifinal tilt.

“We have to start faster next week,” Manteca coach Mark Varnum said. “Owen (Gully) is playing great football, especially the second half of the season. He is taking charge and playing great. We’re gonna ride him a long way

“He gets the ball to our dudes, and they make stuff happen.”

Only seeing action in the first half, Juarez gained 161 yards on 14 carries, scoring the game’s first three touchdowns on runs of 21, 40 and 69 yards.

“Our energy eventually got us going,” Juarez said. “We started out slow, didn’t come out fast and then we picked up our energy. The line did its job and we executed — the scoreboard shows that.”

Gully (8-of-19 passing, 136 yards, two touchdowns, interception) added touchdown passes of 10 yards to Jaylin Harris and 28 yards to Quinn Martinez (four receptions, 56 yards).

“The linemen gave a beautiful pocket every single time,” Gully said. “They blocked their butts off, and the receivers got open and did their jobs with Jaylin (Harris) making a heck of a play and Quinn (Martinez) making a heck of a play. All the receivers, as well as the linemen, make my job easier.”

Maava Tialavea capped the scoring for the Buffaloes (11-0) with a 3-yard touchdown plunge in the fourth quarter.

Manteca’s Kyrin Barajas made eight tackles, Carson Sablan seven, Mateo Esparza six with four each for Gael Juarez, Michael Smith and Mathieu Evans. Martinez snagged an interception, and Xyloh Kuresa recovered a fumble.

“My D-line kind of got me where I needed to be,” Barajas said. “I can’t make my plays without them, so I just thank my D-line for setting me up to make plays.”

The Bulldogs got on the board in the third quarter on a 39-yard pass from Brady Brown (6 of 9 passing, 84 yards, touchdown, interception) to David Goularte.