To punt, or not to punt?
Oakdale coach Trent Merzon was faced with this dilemma near midfield twice last Friday, Oct. 7 at East Union’s Dino Cunial Field, where his Mustangs held on for a 35-21 Valley Oak League win to improve to 6-1 overall.
The backbreaking play was Tommy Chance’s 25-yard interception return to the end zone with 2:24 remaining. Brock Osmundson booted his sixth conversion kick of the night for the final point of the game. Jacob Kindrick later sealed the victory in the final minute with an interception of his own inside Oakdale’s 20-yard line.
The pick-six was set up by a great punt from Gabe McDonald, who pinned the Lancers (0-2 VOL, 3-4 overall) back at their own 7-yard line. Merzon elected not to go for it on fourth-and-6 from the East Union 46-yard line while up by a score with 3 minutes to go. Chance came up with his big defensive play on the next sequence.
“You know what’s crazy? We don’t punt much,” Merzon said. “Late in the game, I thought, you know what? I don’t want to make a call that’s going to cost us this game. Let’s make them beat us, let’s not beat ourselves. Let’s go make them drive the length of the field.”
Earlier, Merzon kept the punt unit on the sideline on fourth-and-5 midway through the first quarter. The Mustangs, now 2-0 in league, were already leading 7-0 at that point.
Jace Rau doubled the lead on that fourth-down play, sprinting 56 yards to paydirt.
“Going for it on fourth-and-5, I told the kids in order to win on the road in the VOL you need to have (guts),” Merzon said.
Rau accounted for nearly half of Oakdale’s offense with 140 yards and three touchdowns on nine rushes. He scored on a 35-yard jaunt on the Mustangs’ opening drive, which was also highlighted by quarterback Mick Merzon’s 31-yard scramble on third-and-13. Rau’s 36-yard TD put them up for good, 28-21 with 7:55 remaining.
East Union outgained the Mustangs 333-287 in offensive yards. Oakdale is still without standout running back/linebacker Brian Delte, who missed a third straight game to injury.
The usually-up tempo Lancers offense was able to milk the clock and prolong drives with big plays on third and fourth downs. They scored 14 unanswered points to tie it at 21-21 early in the fourth quarter when A.J. Vasquez hit 5-foot-3 receiver Ace Avelar for a 9-yard touchdown pass. Dylan Lee then rushed in the two-point conversion.
“I don’t know if we were ever really in control,” Merzon said. “I know it’s because we’re Oakdale and we’re up 14-0 so everyone is thinking we’re going to run all over these guys, but they played their (backsides) off — they really did. They had a good game plan for us.”
Lee was a big part of East Union’s game plan. The three-star rated linebacker — he has received three offers from NCAA Division I schools — started at quarterback for the Lancers but also played at receiver and running back. He completed 13 of 20 passes for 132 yards, rushed eight times for 48 yards and racked up nine receptions for 93 yards and a touchdown.
“Dylan made a couple of unbelievable plays and extended some drives,” Merzon said. “Unbelievable football player. He did it all. What do you do? They throw jump balls to him and he just makes unbelievable catches. … One of the top players I’ve seen in my career and I’ve been doing this a long time.”
Mick Merzon rushed for 37 yards on six attempts and connected with Mason Ahm for a 38-yard touchdown on his only completion of the night. It was a pivotal play with 18.3 seconds left in the first half, giving the Mustangs a 21-7 lead at the break. Oakdale started the two-play possession on East Union’s 41 with 31.6 seconds left after the Lancers turned it over on downs.
McDonald contributed 13 rushes for 52 yards.
The rest of the regular season only gets tougher for the Mustangs, who next travel to reigning VOL and Sac-Joaquin Section Division II champion Central Catholic (2-0, 3-4).
“We’re still learning, man,” coach Merzon said. “I don’t think people really understand what this whole thing really entails. Every year we get new guys and find new ways to do it and it’s very hard. We’re battle-tested, but we’re young. We started the year with 18 new starters in different positions and we have some key guys out.”
