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Stanley, defense power Sierra to win over Kimball
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What was billed as a match of two evenly matched teams was anything but Friday as Sierra ran all over Kimball behind two Kimoni Stanley touchdowns on the way to a 35-0 win over visiting Kimball to kick off the Valley Oak League campaign at Daniel Teicheira Memorial Stadium.
“It was a very physical football game,” Timberwolves coach Chris Johnson said. “We still made some mistakes, but I think our defense showed up to play. When you can keep a team that has that sort of athleticism out of the end zone, you have to give it to your defense.”
One of Stanley’s touchdown runs was for 56 yards right up the middle, breaking no less than four tackles along the way.
“He is a man among boys,” Johnson said of Stanley. “He is a great kid and he works super hard, and you saw the fruits of his labor on that touchdown run right there.”
Stanley had 109 yards in the first quarter alone, adding another score from 6 yards out in the second period to finish with 12 carries for 157 yards.
“Our offensive line is great,” Stanley said. “They’re big and aggressive and they will not stop no matter what.
“We came out before the game and we were focused and we were quiet. Then we dominated. We kept coming harder and harder and harder.”
Shane Johnson (six carries, 41 yards) got Sierra (1-0 VOL, 5-0 overall) on the board with a 3-yard run in the first quarter. Matt Dunham and Nyco Mendoza each added a 7-yard scoring run for the Timberwolves.
Take away 60 yards the Jaguars (0-1, 3-2) picked up on their last drive with their first team against Sierra’s bench players, and Kimball had only 33 yards with negative 61 yards on 10 sacks and another minus 15 on six other plays stopped behind the line.
Middle linebacker Holden Fishburn and defensive ends Christian Threadgill and Josh Valdez totaled nine sacks between them, with Aydan Horn getting a fumble recovery and a sack.
“Christian Threadgill and Josh Valdez set that edge perfectly,” Fishburn said. “We practiced setting the edge on both sides a lot this week, boxing them in. That allows me to go in there and make tackles on those runs up the gut.
“They helped me get my job done and I helped them get their jobs done.”
Two of Threadgill’s sacks came on consecutive plays.
“Our D line is phenomenal,” Threadgill said. “I gotta give it to my boy Josh Valdez on the other side — we make a pretty good duo.”
Sierra will head south next Friday to put its undefeated record on the line against Central Catholic, 27-26 winners Friday night over Manteca.

SCORING SUMMARY
Kimball 0 0 0 0 — 0
Sierra  14 14 7 0 — 35
 
First quarter
S — Shane Johnson 3 run (Jordan Shinn kick), 8:04
S — Kimoni Stanley 56 run (Shinn kick), 6:10
 
Second quarter
S — Matt Dunham 7 run (Shinn kick), 11:13
S — Stanley 6 run (Shinn kick), 8:32
 
Third quarter
S — Nyco Mendoza 7 run (Shinn kick), 6:13