Juarez was an early contender for the Sac-Joaquin Section rushing title last year when he went down with a shoulder injury in the Buffaloes’ Valley Oak League opener against Central Catholic.

Manteca still won 31-14, ending a nine-game skid against the Raiders. Though elated for the team’s success, Juarez did not like to time lost on the field because of the balky shoulder.

That bitterness remained last week, as the Buffaloes and their star running back visited Central Catholic’s David Patton Field to begin their defense of the league championship.

Juarez scored three first-half touchdowns, rambled for a single-game, varsity career-high 293 yards on 18 carries, and Manteca rolled to a stunning 49-7 running-clock victory in a battle between two top-10 teams in the SJS.

“It was my get-back game,” Juarez said. “All week in practice, I was going hard and making sure I was doing everything correctly. I was motivated for this game.”

It showed in his first five touches, all of which could make his personal highlight reel.

On the first play from scrimmage, he darted for a 24-yard gain into Raiders territory. Juarez again took the handoff for the second play and appeared to be bottled up on an inside run, but he spun out of the pile and to the right sideline, trucking the safety before running out of bounds for a 9-yard pick-up.

His third carry was a 14-yard touchdown in which he spun past Fresno State-bound defensive back Chase Perino en route to the end zone.

“I thought it was going to be a good game after that,” Juarez said. “We started out hot and smacked them pretty hard, and I don’t think they were ready for that.”

Central Catholic did respond with its lone touchdown, the threatened to take the lead after the defense came up with an interception.

Manteca’s defense countered with a big fourth-down stop in the red zone, and Juarez turned the tide for good on the next play.

With key blocks from fullback Maava Tialavea and tight end Nate Slikker, Juarez broke into the open field and juked past the safety for an 85-yard touchdown. He added a 46-yard touchdown late in the second quarter, as Manteca carried a commanding 28-7 halftime lead.

“Getting that stop gave us the momentum, for sure,” Juarez said. “On that touchdown, the line gave me a good hole, and when I got to the second level, I had a good lead block from Nate Slikker.”

Juarez is now back among the section rushing leaders with 80 carries for 806 yards (10.1 per carry) and eight touchdowns, and he feels that the running game can hit another gear with two big transfers eligible to debut for Manteca this week against visiting Sierra. Six-foot-4, 349-pound Kevin Bradley is set to take over at a tackle spot, and Michael Smith will help anchor the interior.

“It’s going to help running behind those two big guys,” Juarez said. “They have a lot of experience.”