Friday night, Sept. 8 the Oakdale High School Mustangs football team hosted Sheldon of Elk Grove. Oakdale’s defense made key stops, forced turnovers and got to the quarterback on the way to a 41-6 win. Oakdale improved to 3-0 on the season.
Following their bye week, Oakdale did not show any signs of rust. Midway through the first quarter Oakdale was faced with a fourth-and-one from the Sheldon 43 yard-line; Wes Burford picked up the first down as he rumbled up the middle for three yards. Later that drive Oakdale cashed in on a Gabe McDonald five yard rush to give Oakdale a 7-0 advantage. Sheldon would find themselves in Oakdale territory when they faced another fourth-and-short. From the Oakdale 26-yard line, Sheldon threw an interception to Jacob Kindrick to end the drive. Chase Lopez and the Mustangs capitalized on the turnover as Lopez took it to the house from 27 yards out with 26 seconds remaining in the first quarter. The Mustangs defense would once again stall the Huskies as Cameron Guthrie intercepted the ball at the midfield with 9:02 remaining in the half. Less than three minutes later Oakdale scored for the third time on a Burford score from two yards out. On their final drive of the half, Oakdale jumped out to a 28-0 advantage when McDonald scored on a 31-yard reception from quarterback Tommy Chance. He finished the game 5-for-5 for 167 yards and two touchdowns. McDonald finished the game with 35 rushing yards and 31 receiving yards with a touchdown.
“We played to our strengths tonight and our confidence has improved each week,” said McDonald on the win.
In the second half, the Mustangs defense continued to make an impact. They made another stop on fourth down when Gavin Gleason made a big tackle. Malachi Modesto got an interception late in the third quarter and Thomas Vierra got a sack.
“Our defense is tough; we knew and understood the assignment tonight,” said Vierra.
The Mustangs scored 13 points in the third quarter. With 5:20 left in the third, Chance connected with Joseph Delte from 34 yards out for a touchdown and Burford scored his third touchdown of the night on a 16-yard rush. Burford finished his night with three touchdowns and 80 yards rushing. Sheldon scored their lone touchdown with 7:48 remaining on the clock.
This Friday night the Mustangs will host Escalon.
JV
Much like the varsity team, Oakdale did not allow the Huskies to score until late in the game, very late. Oakdale led 46-0 until the final play of the game when the Huskies scored on a long rushing touchdown. Richard Flores scored five total touchdowns for Oakdale. Caden Adams and Ricky Torres also found the end zone for Oakdale. The JV will host Escalon this Friday night.
FROSH
The Oakdale freshman boys traveled to Modesto to take on Central Catholic. Oakdale defeated the Raiders 20-7 behind a stellar defensive effort and running game. This Thursday night the boys will host Hughson at 6 p.m.
