After two weeks, the Oakdale Mustang varsity football season has had a common theme: come out flat in the first half and then claw back in the second half. It certainly is not the game plan envisioned by 23-year head coach, Trent Merzon, but that is the way things have evolved so far. On Friday, Aug. 26, the Mustangs took the field in the Corral for the first time this year amid high expectations of a win over the visiting Aptos Mariners. After all, in the preliminary game the Mustang Colt JV team had outgained the visiting Mariners by 362 total yards to 68 total yards and walked away with a 42-0 win. Plus, the temperature in the Corral was some 25 degrees warmer than what the visiting Mariners were used to; indeed, the visitors took the field sans shoulder pads and jerseys due to the heat. Things looked promising, but it was not to be. The Mustangs fell behind 26-0 in the first half and couldn’t claw all the way back, surrendering a 39-29 loss to the Mariners.
The high expectations were dashed a bit on the first play from scrimmage when the Mariners’ quarterback Matt Hood hit a wide open Caden Prichard for a 78-yard touchdown pass. The extra point attempt failed, leading to a deflating 6-0 Mariner lead with just 19 seconds gone in the first quarter.
“We are not a team that pays attention to details,” said Merzon after the game. “We are a team that lacks the ability, right now, to pay attention to little things, and against a well-coached team (like Aptos), it’s going to bite you; and tonight it bit us on both sides of the ball.”
On their first possession, the Mustangs were able to move the ball from their own 23 to midfield mostly on short runs, but were hurt along the way by a holding penalty and tough defense by Aptos. Following a 50-yard touchback punt by Gabe McDonald, the Mariners engineered a 9-play, 80-yard drive capped by a 25-yard pass from Hood to Aidan Aruiza for the second score of the evening. The Mustangs were able to snuff out the two-point conversion attempt, making the score 12-0 in favor of the visitors. On their second possession, the Mustangs ripped off running gains of 8, 7 and 13 yards moving the ball to their own 48-yard line. But once again the “little things” referred to by Merzon kicked in when the Mustangs fumbled. Senior Jace Rau was able to recover for the Mustangs but not until after an 11-yard loss. The Mustangs could not recover from that gaffe and once again were forced to punt. Taking the ball at their own 39, the Mariners moved 61 yards on six running plays for the score. The two-point conversion was good, making the score 20-0.
Little things bit the Mustangs again on their next possession as they were flagged for 3 of their 9 penalties on the evening, including two holding penalties, to nullify some nice runs by seniors Mick Merzon and Brian Delte, and an 18-yard pass from Merzon to Rau. The end result was yet another McDonald punt followed by a 4-play, 80-yard scoring drive by Aptos to go up 26-0, as the extra point attempt failed.
The one score for the Mustangs in the first half came on the final drive of the half. Taking the ball at their own 25-yard line with 3:22 remaining, the Mustangs used short runs and a 19-yard pass from Merzon to Mason Ahm to move the ball to the Aptos 17. With four seconds remaining in the half, senior Brock Osmundson sailed a 27-yard field goal through the uprights to make the halftime score 26-3 in favor of Aptos.
The opening of the second half led some in the Corral to believe another miracle, similar to the one enjoyed by the Mustangs against Sonora a week earlier when they rallied from an early deficit, may be in the offing. Taking the kickoff, Oakdale controlled the ball for 6 minutes, 45 seconds, including 20-and-18-yard passes from Merzon to Ahm and McDonald respectively and some hard running by Delte, to advance the ball to the Aptos 13-yard line where they came up a yard short on a fourth down, 2-yards to go. The Mustang defense played the next Aptos series tough resulting in a pass interception by Mustang senior Mauricio Pena at the Aptos 27- yard line.
Despite a 15-yard blocking below the waist penalty, the Mustangs were able to capitalize on Pena’s defensive gem when Delte scored on the eighth play of the drive. The extra point was no good, leaving the score 26-9 early in the fourth quarter.
But a hoped for comeback was not to be as the Mariners, following a touchback on the kickoff into the endzone by Osmundson, drove 80-yards on four plays, to make the score 33-9, Aptos. Following an interception of a Merzon pass and an inadvertent face mask penalty on Oakdale, the Mariners recorded their final score of the evening following a 23-yard, 5 play drive. The extra point attempt failed, leaving the score 39-9 in favor of Aptos.
After the game, Coach Merzon was adamant: “We are a good football team, but we need to find our identity.”
Perhaps that identity – an identity of strong character that has marked Mustang teams under Marc Malone and Merzon over the past 30 plus years – started to take shape after the final Mariner score as the Mustangs did not quit and reeled off 20 unanswered points in the waning minutes of the game. Delte, who finished with 110 yards on 17 carries and 2 touchdowns, ripped off a 41-yard run to begin the next drive followed by a 10-yard burst by junior Cameron Guthrie. Guthrie would gain a total of 32-yards on the drive and would finish with 52-yards on 5 carries. Delte recorded the touchdown on a 2-yard dive as the Mustangs drove 80-yards on six plays. Osmundson’s extra point made the score 39-16. The next Oakdale possession saw them drive 41 yards on 7 plays with Merzon scoring on a 5-yard run. Osmundson’s kick made the score 39-23. Following the ensuing kickoff in the final minute, the Mustangs were able to force a turnover and Merzon tossed a pass to Ahm for the final score of the game as time ran out. The officials did not permit the Mustangs to try the extra point, so the game ended with the score 39-29 in favor of Aptos.
The Mustangs enjoy a bye week over the Labor Day weekend and will next host the Buccaneers of Balboa High School from San Francisco on Friday, Sept. 9.
Colts Smash Aptos
After two games in the still young 2022 football season, the Mustang Colts have outscored their two opponents by a combined 82 points to none. After defeating the Sonora Wildcats 40-0 in Week 1, the Colts demolished the visiting Aptos Mariners 42-0 in the Corral on Aug. 26, combining a potent, balanced offense, with a hard-hitting and stingy defense.
The Colts ran up 362 yards in total offense (269 yards rushing and 93 yards passing) while defensively only ceding 68 yards (all rushing) to the visiting Mariners.
Scoring touchdowns in the victory were Wes Burford, Tyler Stroup (2), Jackson Gilton, Selso Rodriguez and Zachary Gerner.
