Manteca hit one rough patch against Central Catholic on Friday night, and that proved to be costly.

The visiting Raiders scored three third-quarter touchdowns to come from behind and hand the Buffaloes their first loss of the year, 56-49, in Valley Oak League play at Guss Schmiedt Field, offsetting a record-setting performance by Manteca’s Blake Nichelson.

Trailing 49-42 heading into the fourth quarter, things went south for the Buffaloes (3-1 VOL, 7-1 overall). First, a dead-ball unsportsmanlike penalty pinned Manteca back. The Buffaloes responded with a bit of razzle-dazzle to score a long touchdown, but they were penalized for not having enough players on the line.

That drive fizzled, and the Buffaloes appeared to have Central Catholic (4-0, 5-4) stymied on its next drive, but a pass interference kept the drive alive and led to the last score of the game for the Raiders.

“Games like this come down to a handful of plays,” Manteca coach Mark Varnum said. “We made a handful of mistakes and that was the difference.

“We had one big mistake and got a touchdown called back, and when you have three or four mistakes in a game between two teams like this there is the difference right there.”

Nichelson was masterful, gaining 409 yards on 26 carries and scoring all of Manteca’s touchdowns on runs of 3, 26, 31, 35, 52, 65 and 67. The rushing total is a new school record, and the touchdown count is unofficially a new school record.  

“I went into this game like it was any other game,” Nichelson said. “I treat every game the same no matter what opponent we are playing.

“Our linemen stepped it up tonight and gave me a lot of holes to go through, and I was able to score as many touchdowns as I did and I am grateful for that, but unfortunately we came out with the loss.”

Two of Nichelson’s touchdowns came about as a result of beautiful downfield blocking by Diego Esparza.

“He (Esparza) is a great player,” Nichelson said. “He is one of my good friends. He is probably one of the best blockers on the team, and I really appreciate him and his effort.”

Kaden MacDannald and Bryson Davis led the Buffaloes with six tackles apiece. Nichelson, Eddie Anthony and Alijah Cota added five stops apiece.

Raiders coach Roger Canepa set up a grueling non-league schedule in which the Raiders lost four games, but there was a method to his madness. They’re now a win away from running the table in the VOL for a second straight year.

“We are battle tested,” Canepa said. “We played Serra and went to Bosco. I put them in tough situations for a game just like this and that’s a big win for us. They were undefeated and everyone kind of buried us at 1-4, and now we are 5-4 and have a little momentum.

“We learned how to come back.”

Chris Chavez stopped the first two Raiders drives dead in their tracks with an interception barely a minute into the game and then a fumble recovery. That put Central Catholic back on its heels, but not for long.

“You can’t panic,” Canepa said. “Thank God I have coached for 37 years and you know you learn stuff.

“So we settled in and came out in the second half. That Manteca is a great football team.”

Tyler Jacklich led Central Catholic with 25 carries for 160 yards and four touchdowns, and Tyler Wentworth (14 of 19 passing, interception) threw two touchdown passes.

The two teams wrap up Valley Oak league play at home next Friday with the Raiders hosting Sierra and Manteca hosting Oakdale.