Oakdale refused to let Hunter Johnson, a preseason all-Sac-Joaquin Section selection at wide receiver, beat them through the air.

Instead, the Mustangs challenged Sierra quarterback Devin Nunez to look down the depth chart for another playmaker in the passing game.

The first-year quarterback found a seldom-targeted wide receiver begging for an opportunity.

With Johnson and Chris Stevens bottled up by the Mustangs’ coverage, Daniel Wyatt shone bright in the biggest game of the year. Wyatt had a game-high six receptions and hauled in the game-sealing touchdown late in the Timberwolves’ 31-20 victory at Daniel Teicheira Memorial Stadium.

The catch, along with one impressive defensive stand after another, kept Sierra atop the Valley Oak League standings at 3-0, 7-0 overall.

The Timberwolves are the lone unbeaten team left in the VOL, thanks, in part, to a daring call in the final minutes.

Looking to build on a 24-20 lead, Sierra searched deep into its playbook for a pass play on third-and-goal from the Oakdale 6.

Offensive coordinator Jeff Abrew went off the play sheet, dusting off a summer special.

Three receivers split out to the right in a bunch formation, while Wyatt was the lone receiver to the left. Nunez sat back in the shotgun, surveying the defense.

No one in blue and silver could be certain how the play would unfold. It had been about three months since the Timberwolves last run that specific play.

In fact, the players were so unfamiliar with their routes and assignments that Abrew quickly “wrote it up on paper,” Wyatt said.

The schoolyard, stick-in-the-mud tactic produced one of the more memorable moments in the program’s history.

Nunez rolled to his right, in the direction of the three receivers, and then stopped short and fired a bullet to Wyatt over the middle.

“It wasn’t supposed to go there,” Abrew said, “but it did – and we’ll take it.”

Everyone was surprised, except maybe Wyatt and Nunez, backcourt mates for the Sierra basketball team. Before the play, Wyatt told Nunez that Oakdale’s secondary was leaving him open on the backside.

Look my way, he said.

“I basically had to get across the field and find an opening,” Wyatt added.

He did, securing the ball with both hands and ensuring only the program’s second win over Oakdale in 19 varsity seasons.

Wyatt finished with 43 yards and displayed some of the juke moves that have made a must-see guard with the Sierra basketball team.

Wyatt’s number of catches (6) on Friday exceeded his season total (4) going into the game. Through the first six games, Wyatt had the fewest number of catches among receivers with at least one and his 64 yards were fourth-best.

Johnson, a dynamic 6-foot-4 senior, led all Sierra receivers with 22 catches for 440 yards going into Friday’s game. Stevens has 15 catches for 291 yards, while Ryan Vasquez has 65 yards on six grabs.

Johnson and Stevens had one catch apiece on Friday. Instead, Sierra attacked on short timing routes to Wyatt and slot receiver Marcos Castillo (four catches, 16 yards).

Wyatt relished the opportunity to anchor the passing game, but doesn’t invest too much into the number of targets.

He realizes the number of targets will change week to week as the Sierra coaching staff searches for the best match-ups.

“We knew what we had to do and we had to get it done,” said Wyatt, who turned four of his catches into first downs. “I went with the flow – we went with the flow – and I got some catches.

“All of us know we have to step up and bring it to the table. I guess it was my time tonight.”