Oakdale’s home opener Friday night against El Capitan was a hot ticket. This was the first time Oakdale stepped foot on the new look field at The Corral, and it was the first time fans got to welcome back their state championship team. With temperatures reaching triple digits, the game was pushed back to 8 p.m. and by the time stretching was over and the National Anthem was sung, it was closer to 8:40 p.m.

On the sidelines, power fans provided by Oakdale High School ran continually to help keep players, coaches and cheerleaders cool during the game.

Once kickoff occurred, it was down to business. The Mustangs wore down the visitors using their trio of powerful running backs, a vicious defense and a well-coached game plan on the way to a 50-13 home win.

“Coach always tells us that games are won Monday through Thursday during practice. Whatever we work on during the week and we execute it on Friday nights, we are likely going to win the game,” Mustang CJ Toledo said following the game.

The Mustangs outscored the Gauchos 22-0 in the first quarter and never looked back. Senior fullback Josh Jacobson led the way for Oakdale with 133 yards rushing and four touchdowns. His scores from 27, 16, three and seven yards powered Oakdale to a 2-0 record.

“This was basically us focusing on the task at hand. We are a one week at a time team and don’t like to overlook anyone,” Jacobson said. “El Capitan is a talented team and we knew we could not overlook them.”

Jacobson’s backfield teammates Cameron Cherry and Bronson Harmon also contributed in the victory as Cherry rushed for 115 yards with two touchdowns and Harmon rushed for 65 yards and a touchdown on just four carries.

The defense also provided big plays in the contest as Caleb Kuppens, Zach Campbell, Matt Kjeldgaard, Levi Ichord, Jace Krick, Jon Singleton, Junior Rodin and a host of others dominated the Gauchos throughout the night.

Oakdale will host Folsom on Friday night, Sept. 8 with a kickoff time scheduled for 7 p.m.