Talen Tameling is among the junior varsity reinforcements promoted for Ripon Christian’s postseason run, but he’s not just tagging along.

The sophomore, whose brother Mason stars at quarterback, played a big role on special teams in his varsity debut Friday in a Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI opener against sixth-seeded Amador.

He got to make some plays, even getting tackles after his own kickoffs, but none bigger than his onside-kick recovery that sealed the No. 3 Knights’ 28-26 victory.

Amador (6-5) had just scored on a fourth-and-9 play with 50.9 seconds remaining on a spectacular 34-yard catch from Colby Nelson, who accounted for three touchdowns and finished with 168 yards on four receptions.

The Buffaloes earlier recovered an onside kick in the third quarter but came up empty-handed after missing a 22-yard field goal that wound up being the difference. They nearly came up with another recovery after Nelson completed his hat trick, as the ball deflected off of Ripon Christian’s Blake Stuit.

“I saw the ball come out, so I just decided to go for it and landed on it,” Talen Tameling said.

That gave the Knights the final possession with 50.1 seconds to go, and big brother Mason knelt it twice to secure their spot in the semifinals.

“You get to watch these big guys play, and to get to play with them is so much fun — especially getting to play with my brother,” Talen said. “It’s just a blessing.”

While the Buffaloes relied on big plays in the passing game — quarterback John McPartland (6-of-14passing, 175 yards, three TDs) linked up with Nelson twice on fourth-down scores — to keep pace, Ripon Christian focused on the ground attack.

Lushen Sanders led the way with 56 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. Mason Tameling ran for 50 yards and a touchdown while completing seven of nine passes for another 99 yards. Stuit had 11 rushes for 39 yards, and receiver/flyback Amos Cady contributed a 3-yard touchdown scamper. The Knights totaled 167 yards rushing.

“We like to (run the ball), but we can do both,” RC coach Phil Grams said. “The ball was a little wet tonight, and I decided that we needed to run the clock there (in the fourth quarter). We were going to throw it more in the second half, but we only got the ball for three plays in the third quarter. So, we just said, it’s time to use the clock and grind it.”

Amador dominated time of possession in the third quarter, thanks to the onside-kick recovery and a defensive three-and-out, but the Knights made up for it with an impressive 15-play drive that chewed up 8 minutes, 47 seconds.

Cady — who returned the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown that was negated by a holding penalty — keyed the series with a 20-yard catch on third-and-9, and Sanders converted on a fourth-and-2 run inside the 10-yard line.

Amador called timeout to catch its breath, only for Sanders to score on the next play with a 6-yard jaunt that put Ripon Christian ahead by two scores with 2:16 left.

“I trust my coach to make the right to make the right decision, and I trust my O-line,” Sanders said.

Jackson Howell, Braden Schaapman and Stuit each had a sack to highlight the defense.

The Knights travel to Galt next Friday, Nov. 21 to take on second-seeded Liberty Ranch (11-0), which downed Ripon in its opener, 30-28.