Manteca High coach Eric Reis put the headphones away at the half.

Ahead 49-0, his starters weren’t too far behind.

After slugging it out with Wilcox of Santa Clara in their highly-anticipated season opener, the Buffaloes’ first-stringers enjoyed the down time on Friday evening.

Senior cornerback Luis Reyes hammed it up with teammates, bouncing between their barbs in the third and fourth quarters.

Juniors Dakarai Charles and Darrion Kitson cheered on the reserves, while plotting out their post-game meals.

“I’m trying to eat,” Charles bellowed from the sidelines.

The hungry Buffaloes chewed right through Valley Christian and its paper-thin roster.

Charles and the offense found the end zone on their first seven possessions and the defense forced three turnovers as Manteca overwhelmed the Vikings of Dublin in its home opener, 49-7.

“We were trying to clean things up and get better,” Reis said, referring to the season opener against Wilcox. “Obviously, we’re happy that we won, but there were areas we wanted to clean up. We got some guys that are young players.”

New faces and names abound for the Buffaloes, but all eyes were on the kid calling shots under center.

Charles is replacing Joe Menzel, a pass-first quarterback whose leadership sparked Manteca’s run to the regional bowl game appearance last fall.

On Friday, Charles stepped into those big shoes – and proved that he’s not only capable of wearing them, but dancing in them too.

“I thought he took some steps forward for us. I thought he threw the ball really well and on time,” Reis said of his electric junior. “Plus, you got to see a little bit of what we see with is feet. He’s a unique athlete at that quarterback position, so I thought it was a really good night for him to get better.”

Charles highlighted Manteca’s touchdown bonanza with a pair of runs that saw him reverse field, side-step tacklers and outrun defensive backs.

He hit pay dirt on a 15-yard scamper to cap the first-half scoring and also took a 28-yard spin around the Vikings’ secondary.

But it was his arm that impressed Reis.

Charles was 6 of 9 for 96 yards and one touchdown, a 12-yard flip to junior Ronaldo Tijero in the second quarter.

“A lot of people think I can’t throw. They think I’m just a running quarterback,” Charles said. “But it feels good to show them I can throw. I welcome the opportunity to use my arm.”

Charles was 5 of 10 with one touchdown and an interception in his varsity debut last week. Reis was hoping to see better decision-making and a higher completion percentage.

The kid delivered.

His first pass was an arcing, 30-yard strike to Dominic Pisano in between two defenders and the sideline barrier. Charles completed his last four passes.

“That was something we wanted to do. We wanted to get that rhythm and that timing. I thought we saw that tonight,” Reis said. “We know we have to be a balanced football team to beat the teams we need to.”

Six different players scored for Manteca (2-0).

Lechi Nkwocha rushed for two touchdowns and led all players with 69 rushing yards on just three touches. He started the scoring frenzy with 34-yard burst on the Buffaloes’ second offensive play.

Nkwocha froze linebacker Matt Bell with a stutter step and then sped past cornerback Jairus Woodson – the son of NFL Hall of Famer Rod Woodson – to score standing up.

Seniors Carl Chandler (10 carries, 44 yards) stretched the lead to 16-0 with a 4-yard run and Hector Soto (six carries, 43 yards) closed the first quarter with a 1-yard plunge.

Junior Darrion Kitson added a 3-yard touchdown, linebacker Chase McKee recovered his second fumble in as many weeks, and Marcus Rivas and Pisano had interceptions for the Buffaloes.

Valley Christian finally cracked the scoreboard in the second half when Woodson separated from his defender for a 75-yard reception.

It was but a small footnote on a night washed in green. Manteca hosts Enochs next week.

“It’s important for us to show we can do this. As juniors, we know what’s ahead of us,” Charles said. “Teams are gunning for us. We’re the section champions, but we still have to do what we have to do to win games.”