OAKDALE — With Manteca’s 28-6 win over Oakdale in the Valley Oak League junior varsity finale at the Corral on Friday, the Buffaloes’ lower levels notched a perfect 20-0 record on the season.
“This feels good,” Manteca coach Ryan Culpepper said. “The kids worked so hard. We talked about legacy and being perfect and the kids answered the bell, and got their
“All year we talked about revenge.”
Micah Cardoza set the tone early for the Buffaloes. After the Mustangs won the coin toss and chose to defend, Cardoza mad them pay for that decision when he returned the opening kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown. Kyrin Barajas capped the night’s scoring with a 45-yard interception return for a touchdown late in the game.
Between those two spectacular touchdowns, Manteca’s Elijah Stevenson put up a ground-pounding performance with 16 carries for 147 yards and touchdown runs of 6 and 50 yards.
Logan Pool paced the Buffaloes defense with nine tackles. Barajas added six stops with defensive contributions from Robert Nelson and Matheiu Evans.
East Union 27, Kimball 24
The host Spartans edged out the win at Dino Cunial Field.
East Union’s Peyton Heath ran for one touchdown and threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Oteri. Hoku Ap’e (15 carries, 149 yards) and Jose Guizar each added a rushing touchdown with offensive contributions from Albert Menchaca, Maddox Morales and Oaktavio Nunez.
Ap’e and Jesse Martinez led the Lancers defense with seven stops followed by Morales with five and Ricky Soria and Brandon Brown with four each and defensive contributions from Seth Carlson, Garrett Hicks, Braeden Anderson, Guizar, Michael Piers, Michael Torio, Menchaca, Daniel Grijalva, Drew Salmeron, Ryan Silva, Ty Aquino, Tyler Bogle, Logan Smith, Shane Saenz, Jesse Martinez, Brandon Brown, Garrett Hicks and Manny Osegura.
Lathrop 40, Mountain House 0
Malachi Gonzales scored four touchdowns for the Spartans in the Western Athletic Conference road win.
Gonzales pounded out 168 yards on 23 carries and Eliseo Lopez scored on a 3-yard run. Maddox Ramos returned a fumble 60 yards for a touchdown. Humza Habibi added 67 yards on six carries, Souvanny Tuy tallied 39 yards on six carries with Ramos and Treyvon Santos contributing on offense.
Lathrop’s Christian Erazo made three tackles, Habibi and Roman Hinojosa two each with defensive contributions from Eliseo Lopez, Angelo Esqueda and Rueben Lopez.
Ripon Christian 62, Delhi 0
The host Knights scored 28 points in the first quarter to wrap up their Southern Athletic League campaign undefeated with just one loss overall.
The Ripon Christian offensive line of Braden Schaapman, Pat Cory, Matt Dyk, Myles Pollard, Tom Giulian and Jeremy Molloy gave Chase Bunnell all day to throw. Bunnell had touchdown throws of 10 yards to both Danny Lambdin and Aaron Van Hofwegen and 15 yards to Isaac Venema.
Nine different Knights scored touchdowns. Mason Clark tallied 123 yards on just three carries, including a 53-yard touchdown run. Carson Cho (two carries, 46 yards) scored from 26 yards out, Blake Stuit (three carries, 43 yards) tallied a 20-yard touchdown run, Dax Beidleman (two carries, 40 yards) had a 30-yard touchdown run and Lushen Sanders scored on a 1-yard plunge.
Ripon Christian’s Noah DeBruyn (three tackles) had the defensive play of the night with a 45-yard interception return for a touchdown. Matt Dyk made seven tackles, Dylan Segaar five with four each for Sanders, Sammy Bruno and Connor DeShields.
Freshman
Manteca 42, Oakdale 0
David Grisham ran for three Buffaloes touchdowns and caught one more at the Corral on Friday to wrap up a perfect season for visiting Manteca and the first freshman win over the Mustangs since 2016.
“We are the undefeated, undisputed VOL champions,” Buffaloes coach Vince Bordi said. “We had a great year on and off the field. We had 42 kids stay eligible all year.
“We came into Week 10 with nobody injured, everyone ready to go with the entire team at its peak.”
Grisham (19 carries, 132 yards) had a pair of 1-yard scoring runs and a 44-yard touchdown run with a 43-yard touchdown catch from Daryl Carpenter (3 for 4 passing, 117 yards, two touchdowns). Carpenter connected with Jayden Harris (two receptions, 74 yards) with a 27-yard scoring pass. Erick Cortez (two carries, 61 yards) added a 38-yard touchdown run.
While rolling up 328 yards of offense, Manteca limited Oakdale to 38 yards while making 14 tackles in the Mustangs backfield.
Dean Sortonis made eight tackles for the Buffaloes, Jerimiah Orona (interception) seven, Nate Slikker six, five each for Cortez and Christian Jimenez with four apiece for Jovany Roa, Lucas Ruiz and Josiah Martinez.
Manteca outscored its opponents 389-26 over the season while averaging 185 yards per game on the ground. Bordi credited the offensive line of Michael Lopez, Dominick Amato, Cameron Spino, Julian Ramirez and Raymond Zimmerman for the team’s domination this season.
