Manteca got on the board late in the first half and then the Buffaloes defense took over, blanking host East Union in a 7-0 road win Wednesday at Dino Cunial Stadium.
“That has been the story all year,” Manteca coach William Riddick said. “Our defense has been stout all year. I think we had three goal-line stands today, one inside the 5. That was a crucial stop on fourth-and-3 on a very good pull by Gabby Leon.
“We have been working on our tip drill all year and at the end we got a tipped ball by Samantha Lopez and Sari (Lawson) ended up getting the game-saving interception.”
The Lancers (0-1 VOL, 1-4 overall) were driving late in the game when Lawson grabbed Lopez’s tip for the interception to save the game.
“I knew I had that interception all the way,” Lawson said. “Especially with all the work I put in before games.
“I had confidence I could get it and try and run it back.”
East Union’s best shot was in the third quarter when Leon (five pulls) grabbed the flag inside the 5-yard line on fourth down.
“We have been doing a lot of flag-pulling drills at practice,” Leon said. “And it was great to be able to implement that in the game and show everyone what Manteca High is made of and capable of.”
Lily Dundas (11 of 20 passing, 90 yards) spotted Terra Bucanan with a 5-yard scoring pass for the Buffaloes (1-0, 6-2) late in the first half for the lone score of the game.
“It felt great after that touchdown,” Bucanan said. “I knew we were going to get it.
“I wish we could have got more though. I know our offense had kind of a rough day and we could have done better.”
Lawson posted 15 yards on three carries and 31 yards on four receptions. Leon pulled in four passes for 44 yards.
Jaelyn Rosas racked up 14 pulls for Manteca with Juliana Chavez adding five pulls and Jocelynn Ruiz three.
Juliana Gaspar led the Lancers offense, completing 12 of 20 passes for 91 yards and netting 15 yards on five carries. Vanessa Velasquez pulled in six receptions for 54 yards and Diana Reyes racked up 50 yards on six carries and posted 20- and 60-yard punt returns.
Velasquez snagged six pulls, Jaleah Pryor 5 and Reyes grabbed an interception.
“I think our youth is showing,” East Union coach Beto Lopez said. “Juliana (Gaspar) is still not 100 percent from her surgery and is trying to get into the flow of things. We’re dealing with some injuries, and we are missing one of our key receivers and our middle linebacker.
“No excuses, but we talked about getting close on the sidelines, and we have to be able to get it into the end zone when it matters.”
Monday at 7 p.m. the Lancers host Sierra and Tuesday night at 6:15 the Buffaloes travel to Modesto to face Grace Davis.
