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1993: East Union pounds Oakdale High
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Fifty years ago: October 31, 1963 – Manteca High powered its way to a 25-0 win over Lincoln High last Friday night. It was the 14th straight victory for the Buffs, coached by Phil Harmon. On defense, the entire MHS unit turned in a fine effort, with end Lowell Grissom once again leading the way with 12 unassisted tackles. Quarterback Paul Goodwin passed 14 yards to Grissom for one TD and ran three yards for another. Bill Mendosa and Don Carney each ran four yards for touchdowns. Ron Brown booted an extra point.

40 years ago: October 31, 1973 – The Halloween goblins tried to “trick- or-treat” Manteca High into defeat at Sonora High Friday night. But the Buffaloes were lucky to escape with a 13-8 win on picturesque Dunlavy Field. Halfbacks Gary Shupe and Mark Duncan had 102 yards and 110 yards, respectively. The hot toe of Rafael Nunez gave MHS the win. Nunez booted field goals from 39 and 20 yards and also kicked the lone extra point. Shupe scored the only Manteca TD on a two-yard plunge in the final quarter. Craig Stonehocker and Bill Ruble led a Buff defense that allowed but four first downs and only 85 net yards.

With their explosive running backs rolling up 474 yards on the ground, East Union High pummeled hapless Los Banos High 41-0 last Friday in Tigerland. Halfback Dana Taylor gained 173 yards on only 11 carries and racked up three touchdowns to lead the Lancers to their sixth straight victory. Fellow halfback Carl Esquivel picked up 143 yards and scored twice. Backup quarterback Harold Hubbard added to the Los Banos miseries by racing 94 yards to score on the first play of the final quarter.

Closing out official Valley Oak League dual meet action, the Manteca High cross-country team journeyed to Los Banos High Monday afternoon and returned with the championship. The Buffaloes easily disposed of the Tigers 18-42. The easy victory saw Mike Packer, Don Peters, Kevin Nicholson and John King stride home with identical 15:15 times for the 2.85-mile course.

20 years ago: October 31, 1993 – The Manteca High soccer team clinched sole possession of the VOL championship in a 2-1 edging of Oakdale High on Monday. Tim Parker scored the first goal for Coach Paul Bennett’s Buffaloes 12 minutes into the game. MHS netted the game-winner just 90 seconds before the final whistle as Ernesto Arellano angled in a goal.

East Union High won its third straight VOL soccer contest and posted its most lopsided score of the season with an 8-1 thrashing of host Sonora High on Monday. The Lancers were paced by Justin Coenenberg as the junior pumped in three goals. Five other EUHS players got into the action. David Rodrigues, Buck McAninch, Micah McDaniel, Brett Helppie and Ruben Navio all had one goal. Lancer goalie Aaron Tredway made a dozen saves.

Making the big plays and some of the little ones, Manteca High clinched at least a VOL co-championship with a hard-fought 35-26 victory over host Sonora High in football action Friday night. MHS improved to 8-0-1 overall. Buffalo standout Don Morgan scored four touchdowns and rushed for 135 yards. Morgan, a two-way starter, put Manteca on top by returning a recovered fumble 54 yards for the first Buffalo score. Morgan’s other TD’s were on runs of 78 and two yards, and a 29-yard pass reception from quarterback John Kent. Jomayo Seward tallied the other Manteca TD from 10 yards out. Bryan Hemman kicked five extra points for Coach Joe Miller’s Buff gridders.

East Union High dismantled the Oakdale High football team 48-0 Friday night. Lancer running back Gene Ballardo turned the first play from scrimmage into a 70-yard touchdown run. He kicked the extra point, as he would five more times on the night. Ballardo scored two touchdowns, one on a 20-yard pass from quarterback Ben Kelley and rushed for 162 yards. Eddie Moreno and Eric Brandt tallied the final two Lancer touchdowns.   

10 years ago: November 5, 2003 – The Sierra High volleyball team celebrated Senior Night firing on all cylinders and crushing visiting Pitman High 25-8, 25-18, 25-16 in a season-ending VOL match Tuesday. Senior Jennifer Hendowski went out with a bang. She pounded down 10 kills, along with team-highs in blocks (three) and digs (four). The Timberwolves rounded out season with an 8-8 record.

Seven area soccer athletes earned all-VOL first-team honors during the coaches’ meeting Monday night. Area scoring leader Anthony King of Manteca High, along with teammates Chris Buccieri, Marcos Solis and Shane Farmer joined King on the league’s selections. Sierra High was represented by Joe Pires, Araia Berhane and Jason Dalton.

The VOL’s No. 1-seeded tennis doubles team of Kira Weeks and Michelle Rotert of Sierra High finished third in the conference tournament Tuesday at the Sierra courts. In the singles finals, East Union High’s Anjelica Dill-James took third place.

Buhach Colony High pounded East Union High’s volleyball team 8-25, 10-25, 11-25 on Tuesday in Atwater. Claudet Yavrom led the Lancers with 18 digs and 14 serve-receive points. The loss leaves EU with an 11-13 overall record.

The Oakdale High football team’s best offense was a good defense in its 38-0 Homecoming victory over Sierra High Friday night at The Corral. The state’s third-ranked Division III team took advantage of four first-half T’wolf turnovers to take a comfortable 24-0 lead at halftime. The Sierra offense could muster just 149 total yards, most of that coming in the fourth quarter against the Mustangs’ second team. James Purtle led the Sierra backfield with 49 yards on 13 carries.

An attempted field goal with two seconds left in the game went wide right and Manteca High dropped a 9-7 decision to Pitman High Friday night. Akeem Wade caught a 25-yard pass from Sammy Miller for the Buffalo touchdown. Wade was the leading MHS rusher with 77 yards on 17 carries. Pitman’s touchdown came after sophomore quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s 47-yard pass set it up.

Trailing 16-14 at the half, East Union High rallied for a 34-26 win over Buhach Colony High at Dino Cunial Field Friday night. Lancer halfback Nick Turner ran for two touchdowns and finished with 140 yards on only nine carries. He left the game in the third quarter with a knee injury. EU quarterback Kevin Renke shredded the Thunder secondary for 218 yards and three touchdowns on 8-of-11 pass attempts. Colt Lee hauled in scoring catches of 74 and eight yards and Joseph Towner caught a three-yard toss.