SCORING SUMMARY
Oakdale 0 0 0 0 – 0
Manteca 7 28 14 7 – 55
First quarter
M – Bryson Davis 77 run (Matt Kong kick), 5:01
Second quarter
M – Wyatt Hudson 1 run (Kong kick), 10:16
M – Davis 34 run (Alijah Cota run), 7:19
M – Blake Nichelson 35 pass from Hudson Wyatt (kick blocked), 4:57
M – Nichelson 65 pass from Wyatt (Kong kick), 1:08
Third quarter
M – Davis 7 run (Kong kick), 7:53
M – Cota 3 run (pass failed), 3:33
Fourth quarter
M – Wyatt 68 run (Kong kick), 8:17
Manteca High closed out the regular season in spectacular fashion.
In the Valley Oak League finale, the Buffaloes administered a lopsided 55-0 victory Friday over visiting Oakdale.
Manteca (4-1 VOL, 8-1 overall) last beat the Mustang by such a large margin was 34-7 back in 2005.
Coach Mark Varnum was thrilled with his team's overall performance, given last week's heart-breaker to league champion Central Catholic.
"We wanted to answer back from that loss," he said.
Oakdale (2-3, 6-4) was the unfortunate recipient of the onslaught.
Junior running back Bryson Davis led the Buffaloes, gaining 222 yards on 11 carries scoring twice.
Senior Blake Nichelson added to his touchdown tally, hauling in a second-quarter 35-yard bomb from quarterback Hudson Wyatt, and later turning a screen pass into a 65-yard score. The Florida State-bound Nichelson caught three passes for 124 yards and rushed for 42 more on seven carries.
Wyatt, who completed five of his six passes for 124 yards, also did it with his legs.
He scored from a yard out earlier in the game, but then he turned on the jets late in the second half.
Rolling right, Wyatt saw a bit of an opening along with his wide out Diego Esparza and few defenders.
"When I turned the corner, I was looking at Esparza, to see it he was taking (the defenders) inside or outside," Wyatt said,
As it turned out, his 68-yard score was his longest-ever touchdown run.
The Mustangs provided the early push thanks to a 42-yard gain by Cameron Guthrie.
Pinned down inside their own 10, the Buffalo defense reacted by turning back Oakdale. Ayden Marshall and Mason Gibson converged on the fourth-down stop.
From that point on, it was all Manteca.
Varnum was quick to praise his defensive coordinator Rick James for having the team ready for the shutdown effort.
After that initial stop, the Buffalo offense answered with Davis, spinning off a few tacklers, busting loose for his 77-yard score.
Manteca all but put the game away in the second quarter by reaching the end zone four times.
Wyatt got it started on his short TD run which came after five straight carries from Nichelson.
About three minutes later, Davis made it a 22-0 game. His 5-yard score was followed by Alijah Cota running it in on the two-point conversion.
The two Wyatt-to-Nichelson passing TDs closed out the half.
The Buffaloes will have a bye in the opening round of the Sac-Joaquin Seciton playoffs as a likely top-two seed in the Division II bracket. Del Oro, one of the teams vying for the top spot, lost its Sierra Foothill League finale to Oak Ridge, 35-21. Downey of Modesto is another candidate after finishing the regular season undefeated.
The SJS will release brackets on Sunday with its annual selection show on the NFHS Network starting at 1:30 p.m.
