Notebook: Le Grand allows offensive line to pave the way to victory. GV snaps streak.

With the game against Livingston on the line in the last few minutes on Friday night, we got a glimpse of what we can expect from the Le Grand High football team this season.

Bulldogs coach Aaron Martinez trusts his offensive line and he put the game in their hands on the final drive.

The result was a 10-play drive that lasted 3 minutes as Le Grand drove down for the go-ahead touchdown. Nine of the 10 plays came on the ground.

“The offensive line buckled down,” Martinez said. “We challenged them and they came up big.”

Antonio Puente and Hector Velasco anchor the Bulldogs offensive line that helped pave the way for senior running back Tony Garcia to carry the ball 34 times for 291 yards and two touchdowns.

Not bad for a running back playing in his first varsity game.

“We saw in practice he could do some things,” Martinez said. “Then in the scrimmage against Yosemite, he was making some cuts, running hard and finishing some plays. He played at another speed we hadn’t seen on Friday night.”

Coming into the season Martinez was excited about the offensive line. He said Le Grand hadn’t been as big up front since they were winning championships.

Expect the Bulldogs to rely heavily on that size up front.

“Absolutely,” Martinez said. “That’s the bodies we have. Normally we have a bunch of skill guys. You’ll see a bunch of small guys running around. We have big guys this year. That’s who we are.”

Golden Valley snaps losing streak

Aaron Martinez wasn’t the only Martinez brother celebrating a win on Friday night. Older brother Rick Martinez led Golden Valley to an 11-6 win over Livermore.

After going 0-10 in 2017, the Cougars won their first game out of the gate this season and snapped a 12 game losing streak.

“We’re so young, not having many seniors, I don’t think it was so much about 0-10,” Rick said. “We still knew it was there, but it was more about coming together and playing for each other.”

The Cougars scored in their first offensive play as quarterback Jonathan Peredia hooked up with Etrell Bowers on an 80-yard touchdown pass. The Golden Valley defense settled in from there, keeping Livermore out of the end zone.

“The kids celebrated, but I think the attitude was let’s start playing now,” Rick said. “They’ve bought into what I’m selling so to speak. They’re committed to doing things right, being a better teammate, being a better person. If we can do all those things it will pay off.”

Merced shares the wealth

Merced had a party in the end zone against Del Campo and everyone was invited. Seven different Bears scored touchdowns during Merced’s 51-15 win over the Cougars.

Bobby Hopkins, Noah Leal and Xavier Stewart all hauled in touchdowns receptions. Misael Aguirre, Desmond Thompson, Dhameer Warren and Cody Chapman all scored on touchdown runs.

Junior Garcia and Warren split the quarterback duties and both played well. Garcia completed 6 of 11 passes for 101 yards and two touchdowns. Warren completed 6 of 9 passes for 101 yards and one touchdown. Neither quarterback threw an interception.

Thompson led the ground attack with 107 yards on 15 carries.

New overtime rule

We saw the new overtime rules come into play in the Westside War. In the past, each team receive a possession from the 10-yard line. This year the Sac-Joaquin Section has adopted the college overtime rule where teams start their overtime possession from the 25-yard line.

Los Banos’ Justin Incaprera scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to give the Tigers a 26-20 win over Dos Palos. Los Banos had stopped the Broncos on their overtime possession.

Speaking of Incaprera, it appears he will be the Tigers’ primary running back this season with Antonio Lopez ineligible to start the season.

This story was originally published August 21, 2018 at 2:13 PM.