The Oakdale Mustangs (7-2, 5-1) traveled to Manteca (8-1, 5-1) to take on the Buffaloes in a battle of two Valley Oak League powerhouses. Oakdale went into Manteca winners of seven straight games but fell behind early and could not pull off the late fourth quarter rally, as Oakdale fell to Manteca 30-22 on Friday night, Oct. 28.
The Mustangs took a 7-3 lead on a Marc Dickson pass to Zac Campbell who took it 37 yards for the score with 10:54 remaining in the first half. However for Oakdale that was their only trip to the end zone in the first half. Manteca answered with a touchdown by James Thomas less than three minutes later. Down 9-7 Oakdale climbed into a bigger hole as Manteca scored with 35 seconds left in the half to take a 16-7 halftime lead.
A scoreless third quarter set up a nail-biting fourth quarter. Manteca opened things up early as they found the end zone twice in the opening three minutes of the fourth quarter. Oakdale found themselves in an unfamiliar situation, down double digits late in a game. The Mustangs did not go quietly into the night; in fact they answered the challenge and made the home team second guess themselves. With 7:19 left in the game, Dickson threw his second touchdown pass of the evening when he connected with Jacob Peterson from 26 yards out cutting the deficit down to 30-14. Dickson finished the game completing five-of-12 passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns with one interception for Oakdale. Oakdale struck again with 3:11 remaining in the game when running back Bronson Harmon cut downfield and through the Buffaloes defense for a 13 yard rushing score. The Mustangs went for the 2-point conversion and were successful as Dickson completed the short pass to Cameron Cherry making it 30-22.
But the fourth quarter comeback fell short and Manteca held on for the win.
Oakdale is currently in third place following the tough road loss. They finish the regular season at The Corral on Friday night when they welcome in first place Central Catholic (7-2, 6-0). The Mustangs have not lost a league home game since 2013 and the Raiders are coming off a 41-0 home win over East Union (6-3, 3-3). The Mustangs and Raiders have spilt their regular season head-to-head battles since Central Catholic joined the Valley Oak League in 2014. Last season Central Catholic defeated Oakdale in Modesto 42-37 to win the Valley Oak League title and the two met again in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs where Central Catholic defeated Oakdale 21-7 at Lincoln High School. Kickoff for the highly anticipated showdown is set for 7 p.m.
JUNIOR VARSITY
The Oakdale Colts fell to Manteca 28-14 on the road. The Colts fell behind 22-7 early in the first half and never regrouped. Oakdale finishes the season at home against Central Catholic on Friday, Nov. 4. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m.
FRESHMEN
Oakdale’s Ponies gave up 14 fourth quarter points to fall to Manteca at The Corral 36-20 on Thursday night. Oakdale was powered by Peyton Bradford, who scored two touchdowns on the night. Bradford carried the ball 11 times for 76 rushing yards. Oakdale finishes the season at Central Catholic on Thursday night, Nov. 3.