Folks were treated to an absolute barn burner on Friday night, Oct. 3. Fans that packed The Corral for the Oakdale High School Mustangs taking on the East Union Lancers witnessed more than just Homecoming 2025; they witnessed two teams light up the scoreboard for a combined total of 126 points. By the end of the night, it was Oakdale escaping with a thrilling 71-55 victory.
The nonstop action began on the opening kickoff where Oakdale mishandled the kick and the Lancers jumped on it. East Union capitalized on the miscue as Brayden Camara rushed in for the touchdown from one yard out to give the visitors a 7-0 lead less than a minute into the contest. The Mustangs countered with their first of 10 touchdowns. Wes Burford, who rushed for an astonishing 426 yards on 29 carries, notched the team’s first score of the night. Burford found the end zone on a three-yard carry that tied the game with 10:11 left in the first quarter. This would not be the final trip to the end zone for Burford; he found it a half dozen more times throughout the evening. Fireworks continued in the first quarter as East Union scored their second touchdown of the night when Jackson Fay caught a 19-yard pass from Kirk Simoni midway through the opening quarter. Richard Flores tied the game at 14 following a 31-yard rushing touchdown.
With the score tied at 14 at the end of the first quarter, Oakdale seemed to have pulled away from the Lancers in the second as they scored 21 unanswered points. Burford scored on a five-yard rush and then again on a 35-yard rushing touchdown. Flores scored for the second time in the half on a six-yard scamper to go up 35-14 with 4:08 remaining in the half. East Union stopped the onslaught when Fay hauled in a 53-yard touchdown with 1:26 left in the half. Oakdale closed out the quarter on a Burford 35-yard touchdown run with four seconds left to go, heading into halftime with a 42-21 lead.
The action continued in the third quarter when Simoni scored on a five-yard keeper less than two minutes into the second half to make it a 42-28 ball game. Three plays later Oakdale answered back with a touchdown by Burford from 65 yards out turning it into a 49-28 game with 8:09 remaining in the third quarter. Flores scored his final touchdown of the night when he scored from 39 yards out with 3:39 left in the third quarter. Flores finished the game with 10 carries for 137 yards and three touchdowns. The Lancers marched down the field and scored with 90 seconds remaining in the third quarter to make it a 56-35 game.
The fourth quarter saw the Lancers start off with on a 14-0 run to make it interesting. Fay brought in his third touchdown reception of the night and then Daniel Grijalva made it a 56-49 ball game following his 27-yard touchdown reception with 8:26 left in the game. Burford gave the home crowd something to cheer about when he exploded down the sidelines for a 30-yard rushing touchdown with 6:04 left to play. The Lancers scored their final points of the night when Grijalva caught a 15-yard touchdown pass with 3:49 left in the game. For the seventh and final time of the night, Burford gashed the Lancers defense when he scored on a 39-yard rushing score with 82 seconds left in regulation.
“We, (the offensive line) love making holes and creating space for our backs. It is our job and that’s what coach expects out of us,” said Oakdale offensive lineman Clydon Visser.
Despite giving up 55 points, Oakdale’s defense had some bright spots as they applied pressure to Simoni as they recorded three sacks on the night.
“It was a night we battled. We did just enough to make some plays and help our offense when it mattered,” said Oakdale cornerback Beau Kesterson.
Oakdale is now 2-0 in Valley Oak League play and this Friday night the team heads to Patterson to face the Tigers. Patterson is 1-2 in league play but are coming off a 49-13 road win over Mountain House.
“We are going into a rough environment, difficult place to play. They are a tough team and we will have our work cut out for us,” said head coach Garrett Martin.
Oakdale’s junior varsity team came away with a 29-27 home win against East Union. The ball game was tied at 21 with 5:30 left in the game, but the host JV Mustangs were two points better than their opponent when the horn sounded.
