The Manteca High Buffaloes put together a strong overall effort Friday against Mountain House.

In the process, they made quick order of the Mustangs, the newcomers to the Valley Oak League, at East Union High's Dino Cunial Field, 56-0.

"We played well tonight," said coach Rick James.

Manteca High's longtime defensive coordinator had head coaching duties in place of the absent Mark Varnum.

He and his team dedicated this lopsided victory to coach ‘V,’ said James in the aftermath.

The Buffaloes (3-0, 6-1) bolted out to a 21-0 first-quarter lead, needing just 12 offensive plays to do so.

Junior running back Maava Tialavea scored the first of his two touchdowns to get the ball rolling earlier in the game.

On Manteca's next possession, quarterback Owen Gully connected with Quinn Martinez on a 30-yard score.

With under two minutes left in the opening quarter, Ruben Moreno took advantage of his blockers, racing 34 yards to the end zone.

The Buffaloes were just warming up at this point.

Mountain House (0-3, 0-7), trailing 21-0, had trouble moving the ball against one of league's powerhouses.

Tialavea broke loose on a 20-yard TD run as Manteca scored four more times in the second quarter to put the game further out of reach.

Gully, who completed eight of his 10 passes for 157 yards and a pair of scores, found Nate Slikker on a 19-yard touchdown.

Gully's backup, Preston Smith, got into the act by scoring on a 27-yard run.

Elijah Stevenson helped make it 49-0 shortly before the half with his 2-yard TD.

Place kicker Cameron Navarette converted all of his PAT attempts.

With a running clock in the second half, the Buffaloes managed to add one more score on Demariae Long's 2-yard run in the third quarter to complete the onslaught.

Evident of Manteca's dominance was the total yardage, 481-49, including 299-(-12) on the ground.

Defensively, Isaiah White led the way with 11 tackles. Middle linebacker Kyrin Barajas and Joshua Mellion helped out with seven and five, respectively. All three had a quarterback sack each.

Mateo Esparza chipped in with an interception.

"I was proud of our overall effort," said James, as his team gears up against longtime city rival East Union next week.