The first-place battle in the Western Athletic Conference turned out to be like most other games for Livingston, which had its way with host Lathrop 34-0 on Monday.
The undefeated Wolves (5-0 WAC, 15-0 overall) reeled in five interceptions, including Annalee Aguilar’s backbreaking 36-yard pick-six that stretched their lead to 28-0 early in the second half. She led Livingston’s defense with two interceptions, seven flag pulls and three pass deflections.
Lathrop (4-1, 10-2), which had a five-game winning streak snapped, used three quarterbacks and had a fourth passer on a trick play that was nearly turned into another pick-six. The usually-efficient Luz De Luna completed just six of 18 passes for 46 yards.
Livingston surrenders just 6.3 points per game and recorded its seventh shutout of the season, showing why it has been ranked as high as the top 10 in the state, according to MaxPreps. The Wolves are now No. 24 in the state and sixth in the Sac-Joaquin Section.
“We tried to doing (more) than what we’re capable of doing,” Lathrop coach Randy Baltazar said. “I think the pressure they gave to us was a different type of pressure. Usually, we would see pressure up the middle, but this one came from the outside on Luz’s dominant side. So, they did their research on us and forced us to our weak side. We had five interceptions, and they were all to the right side.”
It started out as a defensive battle, as sophomore safety Jaleiyah Ray came up with interceptions on deep balls inside the Lathrop 10-yard line on Livingston’s first two offensive series.
Senior quarterback Elizabeth Avila then got going, but not until after she snared the first of Livingston’s five interceptions. The return set the Wolves up on the Lathrop 10, and she capped the first scoring drive with a 2-yard touchdown to Isabella Zazueta (four receptions, 26 yards).
Avila overcame the early picks and finished 22 of 35 for 261 yards and three touchdowns. She also converted three of five conversion tries on passes, and rushed five times for 29 yards and a touchdown.
“We knew they were going to throw the ball deep, but 11 (Avila) is a heck of an athlete — she knows what she’s doing out there,” Baltazar said. “She has command of that offense. She’s very mobile, very elusive.”
Tatiana Alvarez was her top target with 103 yards on seven receptions.
Lathrop struggled to get untracked offensively and did not get past midfield until its final drive when Ray took a pass up the middle from Stephanie Lopez for a 30-yard gain. The Spartans’ best chance at scoring ended with Brianna Del Real’s game-ending interception.
Alvarez also had an interception for Livingston.
Dayanna Martinez led the Lathrop defense with seven tackles, while Aaliyah Thompson had six tackles and two pass deflections.
The Spartans will look to bounce back Wednesday against Central Valley back at Bennie Gatto Field. They won’t see Livingston again until Oct. 16 on the road.
“I think the next time the girls are going to be ready,” Baltazar said. “Hats off to them, they’re good, but I think they didn’t got the best out of us.”
Junior varsity
Lathrop 45, Livingston 0
It was all Spartans, who got four sacks from Ammyra Ammouri and a pick-six from Jocelyn Lupian.
Melia Lewis made the most of her touches on offense, carrying the ball four times for 122 yards and three touchdowns. Illyana Balandra and Rose Hernandez each added a running TD.
Quarterback Morgan Hegler was 5-of-7 passing with 60 yards and a touchdown to Cassidy Rudd. Morgan also rushed for 21 yards.
