In their final road game of the 2023 regular season, the Oakdale High School Mustangs (7-2, 3-1) battled to a 21-14 victory over the host Kimball Jaguars (3-6, 1-3) on Friday, Oct 20. The game did not start off the way Oakdale would have liked, as their first two possessions ended in interceptions; however, the Mustangs were able to regroup and come away with a win.
Late in the first quarter, Oakdale got on the board with a Wes Burford 1-yard touchdown with 48 seconds left to play to go up 7-0. The Mustangs extended their lead to 14 on a 52-yard catch and run by Gabe McDonald from a pass by quarterback Tommy Chance with 8:37 left in the half. Kimball scored with 30 seconds remaining in the half on a Richard Sandoval to Darius Doyle pass from 16 yards out making it 14-7. Kimball tied the game at 14 with 3:42 left in the third quarter when Jermaine Nance scored on a 2-yard rush. What turned out to be the final scoring play of the game came on a Burford 3-yard rush with seven seconds left in the third quarter.
Defensively, Oakdale forced two turnovers as Charlie Kjeldgaard recovered a fumble in the first half and Selso Rodriguez had an interception. Chase Lopez and Gavin Gleason each had tackles for loss.
“They (Kimball) ran the ball well, they had some long drives; but it was our night. We just had one more play in us than they did,” said Mustangs coach Garrett Martin following the win. “Overall it was a tough, physical game.”
It was also the team’s final game against Kimball in Valley Oak League play as the Jaguars are leaving the conference in 2024. This Friday night, the varsity Mustangs will host Manteca in the regular season finale. Manteca (6-3, 3-1) is coming off a hard-fought 39-35 loss to Central Catholic. Kickoff for this game is scheduled for 7 p.m.
JUNIOR VARSITY
It was a big 50-14 road win for the Oakdale JV boys over Kimball. Oakdale never trailed in the game and built up a 36-0 lead by halftime. Ricardo Silva got the party started for Oakdale on a fumble recovery in the end zone early in the first quarter. Matthew Cooley had a trio of touchdowns for Oakdale. Richard Flores and Gavin Sulamo also each had a touchdown for Oakdale. The JV boys host Manteca on Friday night at 5 p.m. to close out their 2023 campaign.
