Roundup: Livingston settling into new offense as Wolves rout El Capitan
Four games in and the Livingston High football team is starting to get comfortable in their new offense.
Wolves first-year coach Steven Wine opted to change from a spread to a triple-option and Livingston has been racking up rushing yards in recent weeks.
Leading the way has been senior running back Carlos Baez.
Baez torched El Capitan on Friday night, racking up 204 yards and three touchdowns on just eight carries in the Wolves’ 48-20 win over the Gauchos at Veterans Stadium on the campus of Golden Valley High School.
“We’re way more comfortable in this new offense,” Baez said.
Baez put on a show, rushing for 20, 72, 49 and 28 yards on four consecutive carries in the first half. The senior running back entered the game rushing for 475 yards and seven touchdowns through the first three games.
“Some of the runs, we block it really well so it’s kind of easy,” said Wine. “Some times we don’t block it and it’s still a touchdown. That’s the crazy thing, that’s what the great backs can do.”
Baez gave credit to his guys up front.
“Our O-line is really strong,” he said. “We’ve had these guys since last year. I know some of them were backups last year and they wanted a chance to get it this year so I’m very proud of them.”
The Wolves (2-2) dominated as they jumped out to a 48-6 lead in the third quarter.
Livingston quarterback Andrew Guillen added to two touchdown runs and sophomore Zack Duran broke free for a 30-yard touchdown run.
“We were physical,” Wine said. “We ran the ball really well. Even when the twos were in there we ran the ball really well.”
There were some bright spots for El Capitan (0-4).
Dejuan Franklin turned a tip pass into an interception that returned for a touchdown in the first quarter. Albert Simonian caught four passes for 131 yards and a touchdown.
However, the Gauchos also looked like a team that has lost 15 consecutive games. They burned all three of their first-half timeouts in the first quarter because they had issues getting the right players on the field.
It’s not going to get any easier on El Capitan with Central California Conference play beginning next week at Patterson.
Livingston will host Hilmar in the Trans-Valley League opener.
Monterey Trail 49, Merced 16 — The Bears (1-3) took an early 10-7 lead with a kickoff return by Gilbert Estrada for a score and a 27-yard field goal by Abram Granados.
It was all Monterey Trail after that as the Mustangs took advantage of a couple first-half turnovers by Merced to break open the game.
The Bears will host Atwater in the Santa Fe Bowl 52 on Friday.
Lincoln 42, Buhach Colony 6 —The Trojans held the Thunder (2-2) in check most of the night. Buhach Colony will try to bounce back in its CCC opener next week against Golden Valley (3-0).
East Union 65, Atwater 39 — Josue Garcia broke free for a 60-yard touchdown run for the Falcons and quarterback Tyler Parr threw two early touchdowns.
Falcons dropped to 1-3 on the season with their third consecutive loss.
Tracy 41, Pacheco 7 — Abel Bravo scored the Panthers lone touchdown as Pacheco dropped to 1-2 on the season.
Mariposa 21, Grace Davis 20 — The Grizzlies erased a 20-0 deficit to knock of the Spartans and improve to 3-0 this season.
Chowchilla 49, Parlier 6 — Joey Garcia rushed for three touchdowns and Maleek Cobian added two more scoring runs as the Tribe improved to 2-1 this season.
Dwayne Hemphill added a 76-yard interception return for a touchdown for Chowchilla, which hosts Yosemite next week.
Pioneer Valley 28, Dos Palos 27 — The Broncos fell to 0-4 this season despite two rushing touchdowns by quarterback Peyton Van Worth.
This story was originally published September 10, 2022 at 12:24 AM.
