Manteca needed to limit its mistakes to have a chance at knocking off second-seeded Rocklin on Friday, but the No. 7 Buffaloes had too many to overcome in a 48-16 loss at Guss Schmiedt Field.

The Thunder (7-4) made themselves at home as the visiting squad despite their favorable seed in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II playoffs. They’re prohibited from hosting postseason games this year because of sanctions relating to their use of ineligible players at a passing league. They’ll travel to No. 3 Central Catholic, the Valley Oak League champion, for a semifinal next week.

“Our biggest Achilles’ heel all year was catastrophic mistakes at the worst moments,” Manteca coach Mark Varnum said. “We just didn’t get it done tonight. That’s a really good football team, but we didn’t play our best, and when you do that in situations like this, you’re turning your (stuff) on Monday.”

Rocklin picked up some early momentum with Aidan Calhoun’s 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. That was a quick answer to the Buffaloes’ impressive opening drive capped by quarterback Brody Carabello’s 34-yard option run up the middle.

The Thunder also capitalized on a missed open-field tackle that led to 77-yard catch-and-run from Ryder Halbert (four receptions, 126 yards) on a one-play drive, as the Thunder took the lead for good at 13-10.

Quarterback Parker Lively took advantage of blown coverages on 16- and 31-yard touchdown passes to tight end Cole Rogers and James Pease, respectively. Rogers was all by himself up the middle as he made a spectacular one-handed grab in the end zone.

That was all in the first half.

Rocklin led 27-16 at halftime and received the second-half kickoff.

Perhaps the most deflating moment for Manteca (7-4), however, came on offense.

While trailing 13-10, the Buffaloes went four-and-out in their territory. Fullback E.J. Johnson (nine rushes, 37 yards) was stopped on third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 at their own 33-yard line.

Rocklin made it hurt with the TD toss to Rogers.

Manteca was able to convert on another fourth-and-short on its next drive and even scored on the play, as Carabello did well to maintain his balance through multiple hits for an 18-yard scamper. Eli Navarro, who earlier nailed a 36-yard field goal, missed the ensuing point-after kick, no thanks to the slippery grass.

The Buffaloes did not score for the rest of the game.

Carabello provided much of their early offense, finishing with 14 rushes and 80 yards to go with the two touchdowns. He also completed 11 of 22 passes for 96 yards and an interception.

“The defense made adjustments, and we made adjustments, too,” Carabello said. “We were moving the ball, we just stalled out some drives, and that’s something we’re going to have to live with and fix next year.”

Rocklin had seven different touchdown scorers.

The 6-foot-4 Lively hit seven different receivers, finishing 13 of 22 for 245 yards and three touchdowns. His lone blemish was an intercepted pass by Jaylin Harris on a deep ball early in the fourth quarter.

Running backs Cameron Taylor II (three rushes, 41 yards), Luke May (15 rushes, 61 yards) and Daveion Theophilus (three rushes, 18 yards) each contributed a touchdown.

For Manteca, Washington State-committed Jayden Harris caught four passes for 48 yards, while fourth-year standout running back Nikko Juarez had 15 carries for 81 yards. With more than 4,800 rushing yards, to go with 77 total touchdowns, Juarez goes out as the Buffaloes’ all-time leading rusher.

“It’s tough,” Juarez said. “This wasn’t the outcome I expected. We worked our butts off all week. We looked good in practice, but come game time, we weren’t doing what we were supposed to do, and a couple guys were not doing their jobs.

“At the end of the day, it is what it is. I love my brothers, and it was at great four years I had here at Manteca High. I just love the game of football so much, and I hope everyone can see that I left everything on the field today.”

The Buffs will also bid farewell to third-year guard Michael Lopez. While they lose several notable players to graduation, expectations remain high for next year. Carabello returns along with middle linebacker Brixton Menchaca and Johnson, a promising sophomore who who stood out on both sides of scrimmage.

“We don’t rebuild, we reload,” Varnum said. “We got really good lower levels coming up, but I told them tonight that when you look at these seniors, they’re hurting and, and you have to uphold the legacy for these guys.”