It took a special-teams return to get Lathrop’s football team Thursday going in a 28-6 win over host Beyer at Johansen High’s Dan Gonsalves Stadium.

After a scoreless opening quarter, Kameron Jones sparked the Spartans (3-0 Western Athletic Conference, 5-1 overall) with a 72-yard punt return with 8:40 left in the half.

Quarterback Luis Hernandez (6 of 9, 129 yards) iced it in the fourth period, scoring on a 1-yard sneak and then hitting Noah Martinez (five receptions, 101 yards) for a 12-yard touchdown. Jeremiah Estante (six rushes, 90 yards) earlier pushed Lathrop ahead for good with a 45-yard touchdown scamper and the two-point conversion, making it 14-6 with 6:16 left in the second quarter.

Lathrop avoided an upset against Beyer (0-3, 0-6) to set up a first-place showdown against Grace Davis next Friday, Oct. 8.

CROSS COUNTRY

TVL Meet No. 2

Ripon’s varsity girls are in the driver’s seat to claim the Trans-Valley League title after winning the second of three league meets Wednesday at River Bluff Regional Park in Ceres.

Annie Wild spearheaded the Indians with a first-place finish in 19 minutes, 57.53 seconds. Ripon outscored second-place Hughson, 23-40.

Malia Locarnini (fourth, 21:28.30), Jenna Skavdahl (fifth, 21:30.95), Joselin Figueroa (22:56.03) and Alyson Harvey (10th, 23:43.68) also finished in the top 10 for Ripon.

Omar Alsaidi finished third in 17:04.69 to highlight the varsity boys, who ended up third (71) behind Hughson (29) and Livingston (49).

Ripon also won the JV girls competition with first-place Mallory Govia leading the charge in the 2-mile race. Ripon’s JV boys were the runners-up and paced by second-place Ivan Gladnikov.

GIRLS TENNIS

Manteca 7, Weston Ranch 2

Katie Kim and Emma Ngo dominated en route to 6-0, 6-0 wins from the top two singles spots. No. 3 Christina Nguyen added a 6-0, 6-2 sweep, while Jenna Poncini rolled, 6-2, 6-1.

Simar Mann squeaked out a 4-6, 6-3, 11-9 comeback win over Weston Ranch’s Nathalie Lopez in the No. 5 match. Dixha Singh prevailed, 7-5, 6-2. The No. 1 doubles team of Eva Pasion and Perla Ramirez won , 6-4, 6-0.

Weston Ranch’s wins came from the Nos. 2 and 3 doubles teams of Aaliyah Hassan/Heydi Araiza (4-6, 6-3, 10-6) and Rachel Balisacan/Manvir Kaur (7-5 [5], 3-6, 10-7).

Lathrop 9, Ceres 0

Two singles players gutted out three-set wins to preserve the shutout for the host Spartans.

No. 1 player Godwina Ogbeide fended off Gurmannet Bahia 0-6, 7-6 (1), 7-5, while No. 5 Justice Pacheco Seward edged Gurleen Kaur 5-7, 6-2, 6-4. No. 2 Madilynn Romero was also tested in her 6-2, 7-6 (2) sweep, and Isabel Paniagua held on for a 6-4, 6-4 victory. Ruby Chavez (6-1, 6-2) and Suhani Banwait (6-4, 6-1) rounded out Lathrop’s singles results.

Winning in doubles matches were Janelle Lat/Keziah Boateng (6-2, 6-3), Marintia Mejia/Rachel Boateng (7-5, 6-1) and Kiele Matus/Urvashi Gauba (6-3, 6-2).

WATER POLO

Kimball 13, Sierra 8

Jacob Morrow contributed a goal for the Timberwolves in the Valley Oak League road game.