Hitting the road – and the gridiron – it was the first action of the season for the Oakdale High School football program, as the Mustangs competed in a scrimmage recently at Tracy High School. Saturday afternoon, Aug. 17, the squads ran drills in preparation for the season.

“The scrimmage was a good opportunity to see another physical team and we are happy with where we are,” said varsity football head coach Garrett Martin.

Coming up this week, on Thursday, Aug. 22 the freshman team will host Sonora at 6 p.m. in The Corral.

On Friday, Aug. 23 the junior varsity and varsity teams will hit the road again to face longtime rival Sonora. For over 100 years the teams have suited up and battled one another; playing now to start the preseason schedule. Junior varsity kickoff is at 5 p.m. and varsity is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

“Excited to have the opportunity to play Sonora,” Martin added. “It’s a big rivalry game that means a lot for us to continue to be able to play.”

The high school is located at 430 N Washington St., Sonora. Last season, the Mustangs edged the visiting Wildcats 27-20 as Sonora made the trip to Oakdale. In that win, Wes Burford rushed for over 150 yards and scored two touchdowns. In the air it was Chase Lopez pulling in a pair of touchdown passes from quarterback Tommy Chance.

Oakdale finished the season at 8-4 last year and were third in the Valley Oak League. They made it to the postseason. In the first round they defeated Merced 56-35 but fell to Grant High School 42-7 the following week.

It will be a busy preseason as the Mustangs take on Sonora, Galena, Escalon and Vista del Lago over the next several weeks. On Sept. 20 the Mustangs host Mountain House, new to the Valley Oak League, in the regular season opener.