Manteca has high hopes for its third season, which started with a 13-6 win at Lathrop on Wednesday.
It was a milestone moment for the Buffaloes, who were previously oh-fer against the Western Athletic Conference champion. This also marks their first season-opening victory.
“This is our third year as a program,” Manteca coach William Riddick said. “And this is our first win against Lathrop, so I love it.”
Senior Gabby Leon sealed it with an interception in the final minute.
Myah Hayter (six receptions, 89 yards) and Kamari Williams (two receptions, 27 yards) highlighted the Manteca attack with 52- and 20-yard catch-and-runs late in the second quarter.
Third-year quarterback Lily Dundas finished 17-of-30 passing for 171 yards. She took a shot in the end zone in the Buffaloes’ first series of the second half but was picked off by Lathrop standout Ja'Leiyah Ray, who also scored her team’s only points.
“I think we worked all summer for this,” Dundas said. “A lot of the girls here came out all summer, so I think we built that connection with each other so we can make those plays.”
Manteca’s defense did well to limit Ray and the new-look offense for Lathrop, which is now without graduated quarterback and WAC MVP Luz De Luna.
The Spartans relied on the ground game to set up the lone score on their first drive. Ray broke a 16-yard run and was later on the receiving end of a 16-yard touchdown toss from sophomore QB Aviahna Calderon (15-of-26, 104 yards)
“We made adjustments on the fly,” Riddick said. “I never like us to send two rushers, but with their misdirection, two rushers really helped us out a lot. We had some key girls doing some jobs that they’re not normally asked to do. Raniya Nelson is our middle linebacker, through and through, and she was asked to rush today and did a magnificent job.”
The Spartans had seven different ball carriers and five different receivers. Ray led them with 35 yards rushing, 21 receiving and 11 passing. Faith Allen contributed 48 yards and five receptions.
It was mostly tough sledding for Lathrop after putting together that impressive opening drive.
“They made changes defensively and put pressure on our young QB, and our timing wasn’t where it needed to be,” Lathrop coach Randy Baltazar said. “And when we had opportunities to make a play, we had botch snaps or dropped passes. We pretty much shot ourselves in the foot. Mishandling the snaps and hand-offs are things that can’t happen.
“I think this is good for us. It’s our first one and against a good team. We have to step up our game. Even though we have three, four-year varsity players, we still have a lot of catching up to do with the rest of the team. I think we’ll learn from this.”
Sari Lawson paced the Manteca defense with six flag pulls, one for loss, and a pass breakup. Marianna Coon collected 11 flags for Lathrop, two of them for losses along with a pass breakup.
Lathrop has another tough assignment tonight when it hosts Tri-City Athletic League champion Kimball. Manteca will next face Lodi on Saturday morning in the Orestimba Run and Shoot Tournament.
