As the fullback, Tialavea plays an unheralded yet important role in Manteca’s smash-mouth I-formation offense.

His contributions on both sides of scrimmage stood out in a big way last Friday in Santa Rosa where the Buffaloes stunned Cardinal Newman 40-7 in a match-up pitting two NorCal powerhouses.

The 6-foot, 200-pounder not only scored two touchdowns of his own, but also made key lead blocks on all three TD scampers by his more acclaimed backfield mate Nikko Juarez.

“I think I play a pretty big role,” Tialavea said. “I think Nikko and I are one of the best backfield duos. When we get the ball, we do damage.”

One of Tialavea’s biggest hits on Friday came on Juarez’s 87-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter. He cracked a Cardinal Newman safety up the middle, and the block sprung Juarez’s uncontested dash to paydirt.

Tialavea was of course the first Buffalo to join him in the end zone to celebrate. He took off sprinting to meet his fellow third-year varsity starter after delivering the big blow. Tialavea later scored the second of his two 1-yard TDs, giving Manteca a decisive 40-0 halftime lead.

“I take so much pride in blocking,” Tialavea said. “Whenever I get the ball, the O-linemen block their butts off, so it’s only right or me to do the same.”

While Juarez amassed more than 200 rushing yards, Tialavea made the most of his fewer touches, which included a 19-yard jaunt for a first down.

When given the chance, Tialavea has proved he can be the workhorse. In the Buffaloes’ Valley Oak League opener against Central Catholic, he grounded out 155 yards on 20 carries after Juarez went down with a shoulder injury. Manteca went on to win 31-14 and garner an outright share of the league title.

“He does whatever we ask of him,” Manteca coach Mark Varnum said. “He blocks his butt off and can obviously do damage with the rock in his hands, but he does all the little things for us on both sides of the ball. He has had an awesome start to the season, so far.”

Tialavea now plays a key role defensively at outside linebacker. On Friday, he made an early tone-setting play by stuffing receiver Jonah Bertoli 3 yards behind the line of scrimmage. He had two tackles for losses, a sack and a fumble recovery in Manteca’s 29-0 zero-week thumping of Elk Grove.

Cardinal Newman ended the Buffaloes’ bid for another shutout with a 41-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter against reserves.

“We’ve just been big on defense,” Tialavea said. “They say defense wins championships, and we were able to shut them out — at least with us (starters) on the field. That’s a huge deal for us, and I’m happy to play a part in that. Cardinal Newman is a great program, and beating them 40-7 shows what we can really do.”

Manteca (2-0) is in its bye week and next faces another North Bay juggernaut in Marin Catholic on Saturday, Sept. 13.