In action Friday night, Oct. 23, the Oakdale varsity football team traveled to Manteca to face off against the Buffaloes. A thrilling game ended with the home team walking off the field with a 43-36 victory.
Manteca jumped out to an early lead and never trailed. The home team scored the first points of the night when Nikko Juarez ran for a 27-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter to go up 7-0. Later in the quarter, a false start penalty negated a Manteca touchdown. However, the very next play, Juarez cashed in on a six-yard rushing touchdown to double up the lead to 14-0. This would be the score entering the second quarter.
Oakdale got their first points of the night in the second quarter when Anthony Navarro scored from eight yards away to make it 14-7. Minutes later, the Buffaloes answered as Juarez scored his third touchdown of the evening when he powered his way through for a three-yard rushing touchdown to go up 22-7.
Oakdale kept working, however, and Lucas Oberg threw a deep pass to Navarro to set up a six-yard rushing touchdown by Dex Edwards II, making it 22-14 in the second quarter. With less than a minute to play in the half, penalties continued to haunt Manteca as another touchdown was negated by a holding penalty. The next play, Mustang Logan Mata got pressure on Manteca quarterback Brody Carabello and pulled him down for a sack, resulting in an 11-yard loss. The half ended two plays later with the score 22-14.
The opening drive of the second half for Oakdale resulted in frustration as they faced a fourth-and-5 from the Manteca 36. Oakdale lined up to go for it but a false start pushed them back five more yards. The Mustangs went for it again but it would be unsuccessful as the pass attempt was incomplete. Manteca outscored the Mustangs 14-0 in the third quarter to extend their advantage to 36-14.
In the fourth quarter Oakdale put two quick touchdowns on the board as Edwards scored both touchdowns to make it 36-29 midway through the fourth. Oakdale could not stop the Buffaloes rushing attack, though, as Juarez scored for the fourth time to give Manteca a 43-29 advantage. The final points of the night came on a four-yard rushing touchdown by Oakdale’s Andres Ruiz for the 43-36 final.
This Friday night, Oakdale will host Mountain House in a battle of the Mustangs.
Mountain House is winless in Valley Oak League play this season. Oakdale is now 3-1 in league play. Kickoff for the Oct. 30 contest at The Corral is scheduled for 7 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL
Compiling a 6-6 record in Valley Oak League play, the varsity volleyball girls fell to Sierra on the road by a 3-2 final on Oct. 21 to close out the league season. They went 17-15 overall and the Lady Mustangs earned the number 9 seed in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 3 playoffs. They were to play on the road at number eight River Valley in Yuba City in the opening round.
CROSS COUNTRY
At the Rough Rider Invitational, hosted on the state meet course at Woodward Park in Fresno, a quartet of Lady Mustangs had a good showing in the varsity girls division in the Oct. 16 competition. Running the 5000 meters were Kylie Fast, finishing 23rd overall; Tenley Wylie, 24th; Addison Wylie, 25th; and Taylor Reams, 26th.
All Oakdale cross country runners are scheduled to take part in the Valley Oak League Championship meet on Oct. 28 at Mistlin Park in Ripon.
WATER POLO
The varsity girls took a loss in their last game, an Oct. 22 contest against Sierra, falling by an 8-7 final.
The varsity boys, meanwhile, were 13-6 winners over Sonora and were scheduled to host Ripon on Oct. 28.
TENNIS
The varsity girls tennis team split their recent contests, winning by a 6-3 decision at Sierra on Oct. 15, then falling at home to Manteca, 7-2, on Oct. 19. The Valley Oak League singles tournament was on the schedule for Oct. 27 and the VOL doubles tournament is set for Oct. 29, being hosted at Mountain House.
FLAG FOOTBALL
With an Oct. 21 loss on the road, the varsity girls fell to Mountain House in shutout fashion, 12-0.
Editor Marg Jackson contributed to this report.
