The East Union High appeared to be locked in a shootout early on Friday against visiting Windsor.
The Lancers scored on their first two possessions, displaying plenty of promise and poise.
But the Jaguars proved to be a juggernaut on this muggy evening. They reeled off 35 unanswered points while rolling to a 42-13 non-league victory at Cunial Field.
"The biggest takeaway from this game is that you (as a team) have to do your job on both sides of the ball. If you do that, you'll have a chance," said first-year Lancer coach Mike Kuhnlenz.
The game was called off after three quarters due to poor air quality, according to East Union athletic director J.J. Ramirez — he noted that Manteca Unified School District officials made the decision after spending most of the evening monitoring the outdoor conditions.
Windsor (1-0) of the North Bay-Oak League put on a show behind quarterback Chase Vehmeyer, who threw for two long touchdown passes to Makhi Johnson — bombs of 72- and 96- yards, hauling in four passes for 186 yards — and ran for three scores. He completed 11 of his 32 passes for 280 yards.
The Lancers (1-1) made it a fight from the start. Senior quarterback Luke Weaver hit 17 of 29 tosses for 161 yards and a pair of interceptions.
The Jaguars opened the scoring, going 67 yards on seven plays on their first possession. Damian Escarega punched the ball in from a yard out.
East Union responded on a five-play, 60-yard drive featuring Weaver hitting the likes of Nickolas Luna and Zavier Sadorra, setting up Johntae Maggard's 4-yard scoring run.
The Lancer defense buckled down, with defensive end Justin Murillo leading the charge in stopping Windsor on a fourth-down play.
Weaver marched his team downfield by finding his receiver Kainoa Ontai wide open for a big gain. He called his own number, scrambling into the end zone on a 9-yard run at the 3:20 mark of the first quarter.
That was enough time for the Jaguars to score twice before the second quarter. Vehmeyer got the ball to Johnson, who turned an intermediate pass into a 72-yard sprint to the end zone.
Moments later, Johnson hauled in an interception, setting up Vehmeyer's 28-yard touchdown.
The Vehmeyer-Johnson combo struck again in the second quarter, with the big pass play providing Windsor with a 28-13 advantage.
Vehmeyer's short run just before the half gave the Jaguars a 35-13 edge at the break.
Windsor denied the Lancers from scoring inside the red zone twice including once early in the third.
The Jaguars closed out the scoring by putting together a nearly six-minute drive capped by Vehmeyer's 8-yard run.
SCORING SUMMARY
Windsor 21 14 7 — 42
E. Union 13 0 0 — 13
First Quarter
W — Damian Escarsega 1 run (Flynn Stokeld kick), 9:10
E — Johntae Maggard 4 run (Cooper Rossi kick), 7:13
E— Luke Weaver 9 run (run failed), 3:20
W — Makhi Johnson 72 pass from Chase Vehmeyer (Stokeld kick), 1:12
W — Vehmeyer 28 run (Stokeld kick), :13.7
Second Quarter
W — Johnson 96 pass from Vehmeyer (Stokeld kick), 7:15
W —Vehmeyer 1 run (Stokeld kick), 2:08
Third Quarter
W — Vehmeyer 8 run (Stokeld kick), 3:26
