Oakdale Warms up for VOL Showdown

Oakdale put together one of its most complete performances of the season Friday night, rolling past Sierra 69-15 behind a dominant rushing attack and a series of defensive takeaways that turned the game into a blowout early.The Mustangs jumped out to a 14-0 lead after the first quarter, powering ahead with physical downhill running from seniors Wes Burford and Chase Lopez, who both added rushing touchdowns to kick the night off. In the second quarter, special teams and defense turned the momentum into a full avalanche when Richard Flores fielded a punt and broke free for a 90-yard return touchdown. Just before halftime, junior Peyton Wallace delivered another momentum-shifter with an interception that set up another Lopez rushing score.

The Mustangs kept pouring it on in the third quarter, adding 21 more points to stretch the lead to 62-8. The finishing blow defensively came when senior Caden Adams jumped a late third-quarter route for a 59-yard interception return, once again setting up Lopez for six. Oakdale closed the night with junior Anthony Navarro, who entered late in the fourth quarter and immediately broke off 71 yards and a touchdown on just two carries, doing all of his damage in just little over a minute to cap the 69-point effort.

Lopez finished with a huge night, nine carries for 170 yards and four touchdowns. Burford added 135 yards on nine carries with two scores and also came up with an interception on defense, while Flores scored twice, once on the punt return and again on the ground. Kicker Guillermo Perez went 8-for-9 on PATs. 

Sierra was unable to keep pace offensively despite a strong outing from running back Darien East, who ran 18 times for 106 yards and two TDs while also catching a pair of passes. QB Jaysen Martinez threw for 119 yards (12-of-20) but was intercepted twice. Receiver Blama Kamara was the top target with five receptions for 100 yards.

With the win, Oakdale (8-1) now turns its attention to undefeated Manteca (9-0) in a matchup that will decide not only the Valley Oak League title, but also the No. 1 seed in their own divisions. Manteca’s stout defense led by standouts Kyrin Barajas, Mathieu Evans and Jayden Harris will be put to the test against Oakdale’s explosive Wing-T attack, powered by Sac-Joaquin Section rushing record-holder Wes Burford, making this a highly anticipated clash as both teams enter the showdown in control of their destiny.