Manteca appeared to be on its way to capping off a celebratory night with its first victory of the season on Friday, but the mood quickly changed in the second half when gun shots near the stadium sparked a brief moment of chaos.

The game was suspended with 4:57 left in the third quarter and the Buffaloes leading Chavez 29-7 at Guss Schmiedt Field.

Manteca was driving in Titans territory, and shortly after Manuel Lopez was stopped on the 39-yard-line on a 4-yard gain was when spectators to flee from the home and visiting bleachers.

Earlier in the half, standout running back Nikko Juarez broke the school’s career rushing record with an impressive 39-yard scamper.

He achieved this with two Buffalo legends in attendance, as 1994 grad Don Morgan and 2020 alum Jacob De Jesus were among the five men enshrined in Manteca’s inaugural class of the “Herd of Honor” before the game. The home opener was part of the school’s commemoration of its 100 seasons of football.

“It’s obviously a dark cloud, but on the field, very proud of everybody,” Manteca coach Mark Varnum said. “Amazing stuff happening tonight. The Herd of Honor was awesome. Nikko breaking the record was awesome. Our defense found their stride tonight and played awesome.

“The good stuff was great, but unfortunately, some stupid stuff kind of tarnished it a little bit. We’re not going to let it affect us. I don’t know if it’s a win or what, but we’re going to count it as one, and we’re going to get to work next week and get ready to go to Chico.”

Athletic director Eric Reis later said there had not yet been any discussion on a resolution to the game, adding that the safety of all in attendance was the primary concern.

A similar incident happened during a football game at another Manteca Unified site. In 2022, Sierra’s home game with Modesto was halted with 5:11 to go in the second quarter after an alleged gun sighting, though no shots were fired. Sierra administrators decided to call off the game, as spectators were leaving Daniel Teicheira Memorial Stadium.

That was still a close game, with the host Timberwolves nursing a 23-21 lead. The two teams picked up where they left off the following Monday, and Sierra rolled to a 59-27 victory.

In Manteca’s case, the majority of the game had already been played out, and the Buffaloes, who never trailed, were comfortably ahead when the action stopped.

If the result is final, it’s what the Buffs needed after starting out 0-2 for the first time since 1996. They challenged NorCal giants on the road in St. Francis of Mountain View and Buchanan of Clovis.

Chavez, which split its first two games, was not to be taken lightly after knocking off Trans Valley League powerhouse Escalon for a second straight year. The Titans went 10-0 in the regular season for the first time last year.

“My whole pregame talk with them was that swords get forged in fire, and that getting thrown into the fire makes it harder, sharper and tougher,” Varnum said. “We were absolutely throw into the fire those first two games, and we came back here and played a very good Chavez team, but it’s not like what we’ve seen before. We just kind of showed where we are as a program.”

The spotlight during the game belonged to Juarez, before the moment was marred. He finished with 14 rushes for 129 yards and two touchdowns.

Juarez surpassed the 4,000-yard mark for his career, while surpassing 2023 graduate Blake Nichelson’s record of 4,078.

“It’s special knowing that Blake Nichelson had that record,” Juarez said. “I watched a couple of his games when he was here, and he inspired me. I know I put a lot of hard work in, day in and day out, so this is a good feeling for me.”

He was stopped short of a third touchdown during the highlight 39-yard dash in which he broke through multiple tackles before getting down down on the 1.

Quarterback Brody Carabello (10 rushes, 46 yards) punctuated the drive with the short-yardage touchdown. The junior completed three of five passes for 41 yards and an 11-yard touchdown toss to Jaylin Harris (two receptions, 36 yards).

Juarez also performed on the defensive end, coming up with a big third-down sack late in the second quarter. On fourth down, an errant snap on the Chavez punt led to a safety.

The Manteca defense totaled four sacks, while limiting the dangerous Titans offense to 60 yards. Izzak Tapia (nine rushes, 25 yards) accounted for all of Chavez’s points, as he scored on a 7-yard run in the first quarter and nailed the conversion kick. Oregon State-committed receiver Jackson Batch had just one catch for 28 yards.