There was action for several Oakdale High School sports teams this past week, with football, cross country and golf all reporting in with results from competition. The varsity football Mustangs saw their winning streak end on the road, while the cross country teams were victorious at the Roughrider event and the Lady Mustang golfers were the class of the VOL.
Varsity Football
Heading into the big Valley Oak League showdown, Oakdale was riding a six-game winning streak. However, Central Catholic put a screeching halt to the Mustangs’ winning ways as they defeated the visitors 46-27 on Friday night, Oct. 18.
The Raiders used a 20-point fourth quarter to help put away the Mustangs. Central Catholic used a steady balance of passing and rushing to play their way to victory. Quarterback Kayden McHenry completed nine of his 13 pass attempts for 245 yards and added a pair of touchdowns.
For the Mustangs it was Wes Burford having another big night, despite the game going in the loss column for Oakdale. Burford rushed for 153 yards on just under two dozen carries. He scored two touchdowns on the ground. Senior Tyler Stroup started the game under center for Oakdale and completed two out of three passes for 23 yards. Chase Lopez had 59 yards rushing for Oakdale.
This Friday night, Oakdale (6-2, 3-1) hosts Sierra (5-3, 2-2) in another VOL contest.
Cross Country
There were 27 teams from the surrounding area competing in the varsity girls cross country race on Friday in the Roughrider Invitational. The annual event took place on Oct. 18 at Woodward Park in Fresno. Oakdale took first place overall in the five-kilometer race. Four Mustang runners placed in the top 20. Freshman Addison Wylie finished in sixth place with a time of 19:30. Sophomore Kylie Fast finished 12th overall at 19:55. Bradie Evans; a junior; finished at 16th with a time of 20:14. Four seconds later, sophomore Taylor Reams placed 19th. There were 234 total competitors in the race.
Oakdale’s varsity boys finished first in the Small Schools Division. With 297 racers competing, a trio of Mustang runners finished within five seconds of each other. Seniors Ismael Domingues and Jacob Cavanaugh finished fourth and fifth and only one second separated the two athletes. Domingues finished at 16:10 and placed fourth and Cavanaugh finished in fifth place at 16:11. Seventh place went to junior Parker Whitemyer, as he crossed the finish line at 16:15. Junior Sean Muturi placed 18th overall at 16:55.
“This was our last race before our playoff run begins,” said coach Guy Fowler. “Our team is becoming more consistent with their times and we will start tapering our workouts in a couple weeks which should result in some improvements in their times.”
The 2024 Valley Oak League Championship Meet is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 30 in Patterson.
Golf Girls
The 2024 Valley Oak League Championship was held and it was Oakdale High School coming away with the title. As a team, Oakdale shot 432 for a first-place finish through 18 holes at Micke Grove Golf Course.
Mountain House (494); East Union (499) and Manteca (555) rounded out the top four. Patterson, Sierra and Central Catholic did not record a qualifying team score. Oakdale had five golfers finish in the top eight. Bella Cortez (77, second); Hannah Herschbach (83, fourth); Xcaret Duque (88, fifth); Reagan Shatswell (90, seventh) and Brynlee McBride (94, eighth) were top golfers for the Lady Mustangs.
With the finish, Oakdale advances to the Sac-Joaquin Division III Tournament. Mountain House and East Union also advanced.
