NEWMAN, Calif. – A bad break seemed to have given the Orestimba High football team the edge in Friday’s Trans-Valley League home contest against Hughson.
The Warriors needed all types of breaks against the Huskies, who entered the game at Warrior Stadium undefeated. And Hughson remains undefeated with a 48-12 win over Orestimba (2-3 in the TVL, 5-3 overall).
“There’s a reason why they are 8-0 and they showed it on Friday,” said Orestimba head coach Aaron Souza.
Hughson (6-0 in the TVL, 8-0), which has clinched at least a share of the league title, held a 6-0 lead after running back Eli Wilbanks scored on a 4-yard run early in the first quarter.
“It was a situation we wanted to answer,” said Souza of the Huskies’ first touchdown.
The Warriors, on their first offensive possession of the quarter, opted to punt deep in their own territory. But punter Devon Bell took the high snap and scrambled to reach the Orestimba 45-yard line and a first down.
“Devon did a very instinctual thing by taking that ball and running with it,” Souza said. “I thought he gave us some good juice.”
Then Orestimba, using the legs of running back Allen Garcia, moved the ball into Hughson territory. The Warriors reached the Huskies 21, but two incomplete passes on third and fourth downs led to a turnover.
“We went and drove, and we weren’t able to finish the drive,” Souza said.
Hughson took advantage of the turnover toward the end of the quarter, entering the second. The drive ended at 11:50 when McDaniel found an open in tight end Max Mankins down the middle of the field and exploded 47 yards to the end zone. Noe Pacheco’s kick gave the Huskies a 13-0 lead.
The Huskies’ next score also came courtesy of their defense. Aviles picked off Orestimba quarterback Jacob Valenzuela and returned to the end zone 39 yards with 10:55 left in the game. Pacheco’s kick made it 20-0.
Now lined up in the I formation inside Warrior territory, Hughson extended its lead to 27-0 when fullback Colt Foss bulldozed his way into the end zone on a 1-yard run with 4:11 left in the quarter. The ball sailed through the uprights for the extra point.
Orestimba crossed the plane again with 2:40 left in the quarter when Garcia scored on a 2-yard run. Sumter, coming in from his free safety spot, blocked the Warriors’ extra point for a 27-6 score.
The Huskies received the kickoff to start the third quarter against the Warriors. But their offensive drive stalled at their own 42 and was forced to punt on fourth down and 14.
But Hughson’s defense delivered on Orestimba’s offensive drive. Husky strong safety Lawson Aviles stepped in front of a pass thrown by Valenzuela at midfield for an interception at midfield, one of two in the game for him.
The 12-play, 64-yard drive ended when Husky running back Ceasar Ramos scored on a 2-yard run with 47 seconds left in the quarter. Pacheco’s kick was good for a 34-6 score.
Entering the fourth quarter, Husky quarterback Robert McDaniel threw a sideline pass to wide receiver Malakai Sumter, who tossed the ball to offensive tackle Carlos Guizar on a hook-and-ladder pass and ran down the team’s sidelines 14 yards for the touchdown with 10:37 left in the final quarter. Pacheco’s kick made it 41-6.
“We didn’t execute on both sides of the ball in different moments,” said Souza. “When you play a team of that caliber, you have situations that can be exposed.”
Orestimba got the ball back on its own 20-yard line. But the Huskies’ defense stepped up again when defensive back Cooper Taber picked off Valenzuela and rocketed to the end zone 35 yards for the touchdown. The extra-point kick gave the Huskies a comfortable 48-6 lead.
The Warriors scored their second touchdown with 1:33 left in the game when running back Nicolas Cuevas scored on a 25-yard TD run. The extra-point kick was booted low, leaving the score at 48-12.
Valenzuela completed 9 of 24 passes for 142 yards for the Warriors.
Garcia had 19 carries for 69 yards on the ground.
In the air, wide receiver Dylan McCauley had 5 receptions for 97 yards.
On defense, Cuevas, from his linebacker’s spot, led the Warriors with 12 tackles. Defensive back Mateo Navarro had six.
Final regular season home game
This Friday, Orestimba will host Ripon Christian (1-3 in the TVL, 4-4). Both Orestimba and RC were in the Southern Athletic League from 2014 until last spring, after the Sac-Joaquin Section realigned the schools into the TVL in the spring of 2023.
The Knights, like the Warriors, are also coming off a loss. Escalon (2-2 in the TVL, 3-5) posted a 43-20 win over RC on Friday.
This Friday’s game is critical for both Orestimba and RC in terms of jockeying for a better playoff position. The playoffs are scheduled to start on Friday, Nov. 8.
“This is a situation where that we played them in the Southern League numerous times for the league championship,” Souza said. “(RC head coach) Phil Grams does a great job there with his team, how they do things. They’ve established a good tradition of Ripon Christian football.”
The game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Orestimba will close out the regular season at Escalon on Friday, Nov. 1.
Mike Bush is a multimedia journalist in the Sacramento area resident who was born and raised in the Stanislaus and Merced County areas. Follow him on X/Twitter @MikeBMultimedia.
