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Buffs drop two in Ceres
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Manteca High’s Evan Sharp gets in position for the finish during the Buffaloes’ loss to Sonora. - photo by Dale Butler

CERES – The Manteca Buffaloes found themselves fighting a numbers battle in their double-dual match against Sonora and Ceres highs, giving the Buffaloes a task they could not conquer in a 39-27 loss to Ceres and a 56-18 loss to Sonora Thursday.

Sonora has been a mainstay atop the Valley Oak League standings for several seasons, giving the Buffaloes a quality barometer to gauge their current status. Injuries and illness plagued Manteca’s performance, but the road is long and Manteca likes its positioning.

“I think things would have been a lot closer if my 145-pounder and my heavyweight were well,” Manteca head coach John Vazquez said. “But with league’s being over a month away, I think we’re faring pretty well.

“Closing out the season we’re definitely not going to be laying down for any teams.”

 Andrew Ornelas earned a victory in Manteca’s match against Ceres, winning his 215-pd match via pin. Heavyweight John Callahan also left the mat with a pin and teammate Gabe Rellamas outlasted his opponent with a 4-3 decision.

Aaron Smith and Matt Brumbaugh garnered the majority of the Buffaloes points against Sonora, winning by pins in the first and second rounds, respectively. Obviously Manteca would have been excited to earn a pair of victories during the match, but the squad has a positive performance to try and build upon.

“Overall we definitely got some pins in some unexpected areas,” Vazquez said. “Andrew and Callahan both of those guys came up big with some solid performances. Gabe Rellamas also pulled off a nice win against one of Sonora’s top-guys.

“We had a lot of hard fought matches and we are looking pretty solid for right now.”