It was a battle at The Corral on Friday night, Sept. 5 but in the end, it was the home team Oakdale varsity football Mustangs earning the win.
Escalon came to town for the non-league clash, with the coveted Mayor’s Trophy on the line, and the Mustangs made sure they held on to it, putting a 27-13 win on the books.
The trophy in the ‘Battle of 120’ went to Escalon in 2023, the inaugural year; was captured by Oakdale in 2024; and now it stays for another year in the Cowboy Capital by virtue of the Mustang victory.
Host Oakdale took the lead in the first quarter on a one-yard plunge by workhorse Wes Burford and the kick was good for the 7-0 edge.
Escalon countered with a 26-yard touchdown pass and the point after to draw even, 7-7, in the first quarter.
Two more scores for Oakdale in the second quarter – the first on a 16-yard run by Richard Flores and the next on a 25-yard run by Chase Lopez – put Oakdale up 21-7. Escalon scored late in the first half and tried the two-point conversion, coming up short, so the host Mustangs had a 21-13 lead at halftime.
The halftime entertainment included the Mini Mustangs taking the field, the dozens of young cheerleaders performing a routine with the high school cheer squad, much to the delight of the crowd.
Once action resumed, neither team could get in the end zone in the third quarter. Oakdale’s final touchdown came in the fourth quarter on a 58-yard rumble from Burford to put the game out of reach, 27-13, with just a few minutes remaining.
Oakdale ran 58 rushing plays and rolled up 463 yards of offense, with Burford carrying the ball 38 times for 300-plus yards.
The varsity squad goes on the road for a game on Sept. 12, playing at Vista del Lago.
JV/FRESHMEN
There weren’t that many points scored, and it was a tense, hard fought game at The Corral for the Oakdale and Escalon JV teams on Friday night. Escalon escaped with a 15-14 victory. The visitors went up 7-0 in the second quarter, then Oakdale answered back with a TD and two-point conversion, going up 8-7.
In the back-and-forth contest, Escalon scored again, this time succeeding with the two-point play, to lead 15-8.
Oakdale returned the ensuing kickoff 85 yards for the score, then went for the win at home. The two-point conversion failed, however, with the Escalon JV team holding on for the 15-14 non-league victory.
The Oakdale freshmen put together another solid effort, playing at Escalon on Thursday, Sept. 4. They got into the end zone multiple times and defeated the host frosh Cougars, 31-0.
VOLLEYBALL
After getting a 3-0 win against Grace Davis on Wednesday on the road, Oakdale’s varsity volleyball girls then lost at home the following night.
They defeated Grace Davis in straight sets on Sept 3, 25-9, 25-19, 25-23; holding off the host team in the second and third sets after starting out with a strong first set.
Thursday night, they were in their home gym and took on visiting Escalon. It was a 3-1 loss for Oakdale. They dropped the first set 15-25, then lost 17-25 in the second set before regrouping and battling to a 25-16 win in set three. But Escalon then refocused and Oakdale fell in the fourth set, 13-25, to take the non-league loss.
The JV Lady Mustangs fell in straight sets to Escalon in competitive 16-25, 20-25 fashion; the freshman girls for Oakdale were winners in two, defeating Escalon 25-19, 25-23.
