Grant Sonke rushed for three touchdowns on his five carries Friday, as Ripon Christian’s football team overcame a slow start to knock off Gustine 35-7 in Southern Athletic League action.

The Knights (5-1, 7-2 overall) remain a game back of Orestimba (6-0, 8-1) with one week left in the regular season. Even if RC comes up short of the league title, it will likely earn the No. 1 seed for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VII playoffs as long as the squad takes care of business at Delhi (1-5, 4-5).

Sonke finished with 63 rushing yards, scoring on scampers spanning 4, 31 and 15 yards. Quarterback Trey Fasani added 100 rushing yards, 34 coming on TD scamper, on eight carries.  He completed six of 10 passes for 69 yards and hit Griffin de Abreu for a 20-yard touchdown.

Ripon Christian pounded its way to 242 yards on 25 rushes, while Gustine (2-4, 4-5) was limited to just 106 total. Gio Torres paced the Reds with 75 yards rushing, though 61 of them came on a single play.

Ethan McGovern and Dustin Hoekstra led the Ripon Christian defense with nine tackles apiece. Hoekstra also had three go for losses. Preston Zuidervaart contributed eight tackles, two for losses and a sack.

GIRLS WATER POLO

Los Banos 13, Lathrop 8

Hannah Stewart fired five goals in the Western Athletic Conference contest. Elizabeth Rodriguez scored twice, and Sophia Moreno netted one.

BOYS WATER POLO

Los Banos 16, Lathrop 6

The Spartans were led by Cristian Buerster, Caiden Wiesnieski and Alan De La Garza, who each tallied two goals. Gustavo Landa secured eight saves.