Roundup: Buhach Colony starts fast against El Capitan after emotional pregame ceremony.

Buhach Colony High football coach Kevin Navarra knew his team was going to face an emotionally charged El Capitan squad.

El Capitan held a pregame ceremony and a moment of silence for student Riley Hanson, who recently died in a car accident. Students came to the game dressed in yellow, Hanson’s favorite color. Yellow balloons were released during the pregame ceremony.

On the opening kickoff, Youlas Dickson quickly shifted momentum the Thunder’s way by returning the opening kick all the way for a touchdown. Buhach Colony (5-1 overall, 2-0 Central California Conference) was off and running on its way to a 53-12 win on Friday night at Merced College’s Stadium ’76.

“I thought we got off to a fast start, it was 22-0 early,” Navarra said. “Then we got a couple guys banged up. I don’t think we relaxed, but we got a lot of guys in to play. I thought El Capitan played hard, especially with the ceremony for Riley Hanson before the game.”

John Buttrey and Joshua Goodman scored rushing touchdowns in the first half to help the Thunder open up a 28-12 lead at the half.

El Capitan quarterback Kevin Reid scored on two short runs for the Gauchos’ first-half points.

El Capitan dropped to 0-7 overall and 0-3 in the CCC.

The win sets up the big CCC clash next week at Veterans Stadium between undefeated Merced and Buhach Colony. The winner has the inside track on the CCC championship.

Golden Valley 42, Central Valley 27 in Merced – The Cougars defense jumpstarted the scoring with Davon Johnson returning a fumble 41 yards for a score and Cody Pike delivering a pick-six with a 24-yard interception return for a touchdown.

The two defensive scores gave Golden Valley (4-2, 1-1 CCC) a 17-0 lead in the first quarter.

Johnson later added an offensive score with a 12-yard touchdown run.

Central Valley closed within 35-27 midway through the fourth quarter, but Cougars running back Jaren Phillips secured the victory with a 4-yard touchdown run.

Patterson 31, Atwater 19 in Patterson – The Tigers jumped out to a 28-0 lead and held on to hand the Falcons (5-2, 2-1 CCC) their first conference loss.

Charles Jackson had two touchdown runs, including a 77-yard scoring run to help Atwater get back in the game. Isaiah Deleon connected with Nathan Knight on a 12-yard touchdown pass for the Falcons other score.

Atwater hosts Golden Valley next Friday.

Pacheco 61, Grace Davis 40 in Modesto – Panthers quarterback Marcus Odrunez threw five touchdown passes to help Pachecom improve to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the Western Athletic Conference. Ordunez also scored on a 15-yard run.

Pacheco has scored 179 points in its three WAC wins.

Chowchilla 30, Kerman 28 in Kerman – Luciano Manzo kicked the game-winning field goal in the final seconds to help the Tribe win their North Sequoia League opener.

Chowchilla quarterback Cody Woolsey scored on a 7-yard run to pull the Tribe within 28-27 with about 2 minutes left in the game. The Tribe went for two and the lead on the conversion, but failed. Chowchilla (5-2 overall) then recovered an onside kick and drove down to set up Manzo with the game-winning 30 yard field goal.

“The kick would have been good from 45 yards,” Chowchilla coach Alex Pittz said.

Woolsey rushed for 203 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries. Andrew Young added two touchdown run for Chowchilla, which had to overcome a 14-point deficit in the second half.

Dos Palos 48, Mendota 14 in Dos Palos – The Broncos won their second straight game as they jumped out to a 48-0 lead at the half.

Dustin Elrod hauled in a 12-yard touchdown catch and returning a punt 98 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter alone. Ronald Johnson (123 rushing yards) also broke free for a 74-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

Waterford 42, Le Grand 7 in Waterford – Michael Vivo threw three touchdown passes to Ricardo Ramirez, including a 99-yard scoring strike in the second quarter. Vivo and Ramirez also scored touchdowns on the ground for the Wildcats.

Tony Garcia rushed for 103 yards and a touchdown, to go over 1,000 yards rushing on the season for Le Grand (1-5, 1-3 Southern League).

Denair 49, Gustine 14 in Denair – The Coyotes outscored the Reds 42-0 in the second half to overcome a 14-7 deficit at the half.

Dylan De Silva scored on two touchdown runs during the Denair second-half onslaught.

Big Valley Christian 26, Stone Ridge Christian 10 in Modesto – Javyn Drobnick scored three touchdowns to help the Lions (5-1, 2-0 Central California Athletic Alliance) win this showdown against the Knights. Ethan Moradzedeh scored SRC’s lone touchdown.

Other Merced area scores:

Ripon 49, Livingston 0

Mariposa 21, Delhi 0