Orestimba High School turned in another dominating performance on Aug. 30, downing Johansen (Modesto) 42-14 in a non-conference matchup at Roger Pauletto Field.
The Warriors, now 2-0 after a convincing 56-12 victory over rival Gustine in the season opener, have a bye this week, and will take on James Lick High School (San Jose) on Sept. 13 before opening Trans-Valley League the following week at Modesto Christian.
“I felt like our kids, especially this week, had a dialed-in week of practice,” said Orestimba coach Aaron Souza, already the school’s all-time winningest coach and now just four wins shy of 100 victories for his career. “We were prepared from top to bottom, coaches and players alike. We didn’t sit around and bask in the glory of a win over our rival. We came in Monday, got to work, and it ended up being a dominant win.”
Quarterback Jacob Valenzuela had a big night on the offensive side, completing 15 of 23 passes (.652) for 226 yards and three touchdowns. The 6-foot, 160-pound senior also ran for score, a 22-yard burst to start the scoring in the first quarter. After Valenzuela ran in the two-point conversion, OHS led 8-0.
Later in the first, Valenzuela hit Dylan McAuley on a 22-yard scoring strike. Following another two-pointer, the Warriors 16-point cushion heading into the second quarter.
Allen Garcia plunged in from the 2 to make it 22-0, and when Valenzuela found Alan Gamboa for yet another two-pointer, Orestimba held a 24-0 advantage.
Valenzuela and McAuley hooked up again just before halftime, this time on a 4-yard completion to make it 30-6.
Valenzuela’s third TD pass of the game came in the third quarter when he connected with Gamboa on a 64-yard TD strike.
Orestimba’s final tally of the game came when Colby Cabral scored from 10-yards out to make 42-6.
Johansen added a late touchdown for the final margin.
On defense, the Warriors held the Vikings to just 63 yards rushing, which included the last series of the game when OHS subbed out its starters.
Linebacker Nicolas Cuevas was the tip of the spear for the Orestimba’s defensive effort. The 6-1, 215-pound senior led the way with 12 tackles — seven solo, plus five behind the line of scrimmage — and two sacks. He also recovered a fumble for the Warriors.
Linebackers Colby Cabral and Allen Garcia finished with nine and seven tackles, respectively.
Along the defensive line, Nathan Ceja had six takedowns, while Robert Corella and Noah Valenzuela had five apiece.
Now comes the tricky part of the schedule for the Warriors.
Originally, Orestimba was slated to play Le Grand this Friday and have a bye on Sept. 13. But because most of Le Grand’s roster is serving three-game suspensions after an on-field brawl during a its Aug. 17 scrimmage against Tranquility High School, the Bulldogs had to pull out. That left Souza scrambling to find an opponent. He came up with James Lick, which agreed to play OHS on Sept. 13, meaning the Warriors would have to take their bye this week.
Also, depending on the health of the Modesto Christian’s moribund program, which has just 16 players on its roster, including six freshmen, OHS could be facing another open date on Sept. 20 if the Crusaders run into a few injuries.
“We’re just going to keep working hard and keep getting after it,” said Souza.
