SALIDA, Calif – For a second consecutive week, the Orestimba High football team posted a shutout.
This time, the Warriors did it in their Trans-Valley League opener on the road.
Taking a Modesto Christian High squad that only suited up 13 players, Orestimba scored often to post a 50-0 victory at MC on Friday.
“I felt that we kind of had a slower start,” said Orestimba head coach Aaron Souza. “It was a different type of atmosphere. You’re playing at 7 o’clock (p.m., with no junior varsity game as MC doesn’t field a JV team). The JV game kind of brings out a crowd.”
The Warriors blanked Lick of San Jose 42-0 at Roger Pauletto Field at Warrior Stadium on Sept. 13.
Orestimba (1-0 in the TVL, 4-0) scored three times in the first quarter to take a 16-0 lead on Modesto Christian (0-1 in the TVL, 0-4), which has yet to score any points this season.
Warrior linebacker Nicolas Cuevas tackled an MC player in the end zone to record a safety and 2-0 score.
Then Warrior quarterback Jacob Valenzuela threw two touchdown passes. His first one was to wide receiver Alan Gamboa of 33 yards. The second pass was to another wide receiver in Dylan McCauley of 10 yards. Devon Bell booted the extra-point after each touchdown.
“Once we got going by the second quarter, we played well,” Souza said. “We handled business.”
Orestimba left the field at halftime with a 43-0 lead.
Cuevas, who doubles as a running back, scored twice in the second quarter for the Warriors. He had touchdown runs of 5 and 29 yards.
Warrior running backs Allen Garcia and Colby Cabral scored a touchdown each in the quarter. Garcia had a 41-yard run while Cabral found the end zone on a 3-yard jaunt.
“We had the opportunity to run the ball inside,” Souza said.
Bell made three of his four extra-point attempts in the quarter.
The Warriors’ last touchdown came in the third quarter when wide receiver Emmanuel Alcantar scored, this one on a 10-yard run.
Valenzuela completed 7 of 10 passes for 123 yards and three touchdowns for the Warriors.
There were five players who carried the ball in the game against the Crusaders. Garcia, along with Cuevas, Damian Medina, Alcantar and Giovanni Gudino each had touches in the game.
In the air, Gamboa, along with Richie Rivas, Cabral and McCauley, had one or more receptions. Gamboa had three catches for 58 yards.
Orestimba finished with 307 total yards, with 184 coming on the ground.
On defense, Alcantar had six tackles in the game: five solo and one assisted.
One of the things Souza liked about his Warriors taking charge in the game early was playing all his players getting onto the field. Orestimba has been able to do that in its wins over Lick, Johansen of Modesto (won 42-14) and Gustine (56-12) in preseason.
“Whether you’re a guy, the starting quarterback, you’re the guy who’s on the team that is a role player and only gets in is on special teams,” Souza said. “It’s been great the last two weeks to have everybody get a full opportunity to play in the football game. Our reserves are getting better. The kids are playing more confident.”
Prior to the game last week, Modesto Christian announced that it would play an independent schedule after its homecoming game against Orestimba.
“There was that uncertainty all week if MC was going to have a team, not have a team,” Souza said.
Sonora
Now the competition in the TVL gets tougher for Orestimba for the rest of the season.
This Friday, Orestimba is back on the road, but on a longer trip to Tuolumne County to face Sonora (1-0 in the TVL 4-0). Game time is scheduled at 7 p.m.
Sonora shocked defending TVL champion Escalon (0-1 in the TVL, 1-3) by a 35-14 score, also on Friday. Don’t let anyone be fooled by Escalon’s three losses this season. The Cougars fell to top schools in Vacaville and Oakdale in preseason. Escalon defeated Golden Valley of Merced 25-9 on Aug. 30.
Souza feels that it will take a full team effort to play the host Wildcats.
“Sonora plays a very physical brand of football,” Souza said. “They did a great job of running the ball and running the ball especially in between the tackles (against Escalon). They swarm on defense. This is a challenge for us. This is the best team that we have played so far at this point, by far. We are excited about the challenge of going up to hills.”
In preseason, Sonora posted wins over Sacramento area squad Antelope, former TVL school Livingston that is now in the Western Athletic Conference and Oakdale in the season opener.
This is only the second time Orestimba has played Sonora in a football game. The first time was on Nov. 20, 2015, in the second round of the California Interscholastic Federation Sac-Joaquin Section Division V playoffs, where Sonora posted a 62-6 victory.
Sonora, along with Orestimba and Ripon Christian, joined the TVL for the current league realignment cycle that runs through spring 2028.
Sonora was in the Mother Lode League from 2014 until last spring.
Mike Bush is a multimedia journalist who was born and raised in the Stanislaus and Merced County areas. Follow him on X/Twitter @MikeBMultimedia and Instagram @mikebushphotography.
