Oakdale High made the trip to Manteca and things got ugly in a hurry as the Mustangs rolled all over the Buffaloes 48-0 in Valley Oak League action.
Manteca had no answer for a potent Oakdale offensive attack, falling down 35-0 after just two periods of play.
The Buffaloes were able to keep a tough Oakdale squad out of the end zone for the majority of the second half, but the damage was done early, forcing Manteca to rebound and prepare for the Central Valley Hawks.
Manteca will need a dominate performance against the Hawks, who are coming off a one-sided loss to Weston Ranch, if they plan on making a final push in a wide-open VOL race. Manteca will make the trip to Ceres south to take on the Hawks Thursday at 6 p.m.
The Cougars continue to be one of the VOL’s more impressive teams, taking care of Central Valley with ease for another league win. Weston Ranch cruised to an early 25-0 halftime lead and never looked back.
Weston Ranch got on the scoreboard late in the first period when Dawand Bagsby scored on a seven-yard jaunt to put the Cougars up 6-0. The defensive unit would find their way on to the scoreboard when Andrew Gonser recovered a Hawks fumble in the end zone, giving the Cougars a two touchdown lead.
Bagsby would go on to add a 79-yard touchdown run in the second period practically sealing the deal for Weston Ranch.
Matt Moore would add a score and Candelario Elizondo tallied a safety giving the team their final points.
The Cougars can close out an impressive season with wins over Sonora and Sierra High’s, but it will take an inspired effort if they can close the season on a tear.
“The players worked hard for four quarters,” head coach Dave Smith said. “We have to clean up the little mistakes and penalties if we want to be successful over the next two weeks.”
“I thought we played extremely well on offense and had a balanced attack,” Lancer head coach Ed Koeller said. “We didn’t convert twice on fourth and inches and that came back to bite us.”
Jeremiah Preston grinded for 96 yards rushing on 15 carries. Preston had a 31-yard scamper which set up his five-yard touchdown run.
Sonora took the opening play 80 yards for a touchdown, giving the Lancers a new look to deal with the Wildcats’ option sets.
“Defensively we just couldn’t stop their QB veer play,” Koeller said. “They adjusted to it at half and so hats off to them. We didn’t see them do that on tape against Manteca, so we had not practiced against it.”
Sierra (4-1 VOL, 6-1 overall) had little difficulty disposing of the Bulldogs, jumping out to a 19-0 halftime, but the squad was less than impressive in the game’s early stages.
“We came out flat in the first quarter and it carried over into the second,” head coach Walter Brookshire said. “The kids were playing at the Bulldogs level, keeping them in the game even though the score was 19 – 0 at the half.”
Sierra got scores from Tyler-Ray Hewitt, Simon McHenry, Terrion Vaughn and Devin Manaois in the rout. Hewitt scored twice, with one coming on a 57-yard kickoff return to seal the deal for Sierra.
The Timberwolves will need a near perfect effort Thursday when they host Oakdale in attempt to keep their VOL championship hopes alive.
“We know we will have to man-up at home against a good Oakdale team,” Brookshire said. “That’s if we want a share of the VOL title after Manteca opened the door for us with their loss.”
