The Oakdale Stampede came out on the losing end of all three of its competitive contests against the Turlock 49ers on Saturday, forcing the squad into attack mode for the home opener against the Hilmar Packers on Sept. 5.
The Rookie squad put together an impressive performance despite the loss, keeping the 49ers out of the end zone for the majority of the action, while hitting pay dirt themselves in the second half.
“Devin Murphy scored from 40 yards out on a run up the middle,” Rookie head coach David Lee Schlosser said. “It was helped by a big block by Michael Mason.
“We converted twice on fourth down during that drive.”
The game closed with Oakdale threatening from the 10-yard line looking to add another trip to the end zone. Defensively, the Stampede coaching staff had nothing but praise for the youngsters, yet it was Turlock’s final efforts that proved to be the difference.
“Our defense performed well,” Schlosser said. “We managed to corral them for most of the day, but on their last drive we just couldn’t wrap them up and they steadily marched down the field and scored.
“Overall I was very pleased with our boys’ performance.”
The Pee Wee Stampede came up short in its effort to knock off the defending NFC Champion 49ers, falling 19-6 in a close contest. The Stampede seemingly made a statement early, grabbing the defending NFC champs’ attention with a huge play moments into the contest.
“We scored on the third play of the game on a 59-yard run by Zach Thomas,” head coach Derek Lasiter said. “That lead held up until the start of the second period when the 49ers tied things up.”
The 49ers struck with a huge 50-plus yard pass play to take the lead and never looked back.
“We had several kids battling the flu,” Lasiter said. ‘We made some adjustments at halftime, but physically we came up short. The 49ers controlled most of the third quarter and we were still able to keep them out of the end zone.”
Oakdale got standout play from linebacker Michael Everett and defensive back Blake Whiting.
Both the varsity and JV squads could not keep pace with the 49ers, losing 32-8 and 32-2, respectively. The JV squad tallied their only points on a safety, but that clearly was not enough.
“Overall we played well in the first quarter,” head coach Jeff Gotlieb said. “But we made too many mistakes to beat a good team that made very few mistakes.”
Both clubs will have a week to prepare for a Packers team that will be coming to Oakdale for the Stampede’s first home game of the season.
“We know what we need to do to improve for our game with Hilmar,” Gotlieb said. “And we are looking forward to getting better every week.”
