Roundup: Merced College tops 400 yards rushing in rout of Gavilan in season finale
The Merced College football team racked up 426 rushing yards and scored five touchdowns on the ground as the Blue Devils closed the season with a 54-7 win over Gavilan.
WR Sanders led the way with 173 rushing yards and two touchdowns on just 13 carries. Sanders scored on touchdowns of 16 and 61 yards.
MC quarterback Osby Green threw two touchdown passes and added 86 yards rushing and another touchdown. Green connected on a 14-yard touchdown to start the scoring onslaught in the first quarter. He added a 3-yard touchdown pass to Andre Browder in the second quarter that gave the Blue Devils a 23-7 lead.
The Blue Devils defense held Gavilan (0-10) to just 158 yards of total offense as they combined for six sacks and four turnovers. Donte Askew, Alex Andrade and Joshua Yurow all recorded interceptions. Louis Bershall recorded 2.5 sacks for Merced College, which finished the season with a 4-6 record overall and 3-3 in the Golden Coast Conference.
The 54 points was a season-high for the Blue Devils.
Men’s Water Polo
Merced College 18, American River 15 in Saratoga - Connor Norton scored nine goals to help the Blue Devils clinch a spot in in Sunday’s NorCal championship game against West Valley and a berth to state.
The Blue Devils outscored American River 7 to 2 in the fourth quarter to erase a 13-11 deficit. Six different Blue Devils players scored in the fourth quarter with Luke Bird assisting on three fourth-quarter goals.
Abraham Santana added two goals, seven assists and two steals for Merced College (27-5).
Women’s Basketball
Diablo Valley College 85, Merced College 62 in Merced - Zahria Helix scored 22 points to go along with eight rebounds and seven assists to lead Diablo Valley College to a win in the championship game of Merced College’s Pepsi Classic on Saturday night.
It was the first loss of the season for the Lady Blue Devils (5-1).
UC Merced 83, Oregon Institute of Technology 76 in Merced - The Bobcats improved to 3-1 this season with the help of 18 points from Mia Belvin, who went 10 for 10 from the free-throw line. Deja Jackson added 14 points for UC Merced.
Men’s Basketball
Monterey Peninsula 83, Merced College 68 in Salinas - The Lobos avenged a loss last week in San Jose to the Blue Devils withi a win at the Hartnell Tournament. Anthony Dennis led Monterey Peninsula with 22 points.
UC Merced 79, Oregon Institute of Technology 62 in Merced - Ryan Haywood led five Bobcats players in double-figures with 13 points. Haywood added four assists and four rebouds for UC Merced, which is off to its first 4-0 start in the program’s history.
Matt Laflin and Johah Cottrell both added 12 points for the Bbocats.
Women’s Soccer
Embry-Riddle 1, UC Merced 0 in Prescott, Ariz. - Erica Heil scored in the 82nd minute to defeat the Bobcats in the California Pacific Conference championship game on Saturday.
Ally Lozano finished with seven saves for UC Merced (11-7-2).
Women’s Volleyball
Merced College 3, Reedley 0 in Merced - The Blue Devils (18-3) clinched a spot in the NorCal Regional playoffs with a 25-16, 25-13, 25-17 sweep of the Tigers on Friday night. Merced College finished 15-3 in the Central Valley Conference. It’s the Blue Devils first playoff berth since 2002.