SCORING SUMMARY
Vacaville 0 0 0 0 – 0
Manteca 14 14 7 7– 42
First quarter
M — Bryson Davis 43 run (Matt Kong kick), 10:01
M — Blake Nichelson 9 pass from Hudson Wyatt (Kong kick), 4:51
Second quarter
M — Davis 25 run (kick fail), 4:45
M — Nichelson 20 pass from Wyatt (Alijah Cota run), :40
Third quarter
M — Davis 5 run (Kong kick), 5:01
Fourth quarter
M — K.P. MacDannald 1 run (Kong kick), 10:55
With 46 seconds left in the first half Friday night, Manteca’s Blake Nichelson clobbered Vacaville’s Christian Diosdado, setting up the fumble recovery by Isaiah White.
Top-seeded Manteca scored on the next play, a 38-yard pass from Hudson Wyatt to Nichelson for a four-touchdown halftime lead on the way to a 42-0 second-round Sac-Joaquin Section Division II playoff win at Guss Schmiedt Field.
White led a spirited Buffaloes defense that did not allow the eighth-seeded Bulldogs (8-4) to reach the 100-yard mark until midway through the fourth quarter. The Manteca defense kept Vacaville out of the end zone to start the second quarter as the Bulldogs had four plays inside the Manteca 5-yard line and could not score. White was in on five tackles with a sack, a blocked pass and he nearly blocked two punts.
“When I saw the ball I just jumped on it,” White said. “It was either get it or stay on defense and I really wanted off that field.”
With Vacaville keying on Nichelson in the backfield, the Buffaloes senior was limited to 29 yards on nine carries, the Bulldogs were not as diligent when it came to Nichelson the receiver as he caught a 9-yard pass from Wyatt (5 of 6 passing, 72 yards, two touchdowns) with 4:51 left in the first quarter to put the Buffaloes (9-1) ahead 14-0.
“When the other team focuses on my running, it kind of opens other things up,” Nichelson said. “And basically, I just go out there and play my game.”
Bryson Davis (10 carries, 129 yards) got the Buffaloes on the board barely two minutes into the game on a 43-yard run up the middle. Nichelson’s first touchdown catch made it 14-0 and Davis added a 25-yard scoring run in the second quarter before Nichelson’s second touchdown catch for the 28-0 halftime lead.
Davis added one more score in the third quarter on a 5-yard run.
“Tonight felt good,” Davis said. “I want to thank my line for blocking like they always do. They block great every week. We work on it at practice and then we do what we need to do.”
Manteca’s Kaden MacDannald had one carry for 1 yard in the first half, but was the Buffaloes workhorse in the second half, finishing with 82 yards and a 1-yard touchdown plunge for the game’s final score.
“Last week we had a bye, and the week before I was injured and couldn’t play,” MacDannald said. “I had to make kind of a comeback, and at first I was kind of struggling, then I was able to find my way again and be the workhorse.”
Manteca coach Mark Varnum knew Vacaville has a long and storied history.
“That is a great, big-time program over there,” Varnum said. “We were very thorough. Both sides played phenomenal. Our goal-line stop was awesome and they are just flying around. They are playing coach (Rick) James’ bulldog defense and that’s what he breathes and they are peaking at the right time. We are really happy with the defensive effort.
“Offensively, obviously we have another piece of the puzzle tonight with Kaden MacDannald. You can double cover and triple cover Nichelson, and that will open up lanes for other people, or he is still going to hurt you. The dude does it all on both sides. He is the best player in the area and the unquestioned MVP of the (Valley Oak) league, and he proved it again tonight.”
The Buffaloes host No. 4 Rocklin next Friday at 7 p.m. in a semifinal tilt.