Merced keeps ‘The Cup’ after defeating Golden Valley for the 17th consecutive season
For the 17th year in a row, the Mayor’s Cup is staying at Merced High School.
Bears running back Chase Smith rushed for 248 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Bears to a 31-6 victory over Golden Valley on Friday night at Veterans Stadium.
In the process, Merced (6-4 overall, 5-1 Central California) extended its streak to 17 consecutive wins over its crosstown rival. The Bears now lead the all-time series 21 to 8.
“We prepared for this all week and it was really important for us to keep the cup that 17th year in a row,” Smith said.
Smith was the workhorse, carrying the ball 29 times.
“We feel he’s the best back in the league,” said Merced coach Rob Scheidt. “(Golden Valley’s) Jahkylle (Smith) has had a great year. Buhach Colony probably feels the same way about their guy (Jaxson Percoats) and Patterson probably feels the same way about their guy (Sean Hansen).
“We feel our guy is special.”
Smith started the scoring, taking a direct snap 46 yards for a touchdown with 10:02 left in the first quarter. Jalonn Booth then took a direct snap into the end zone for the first of three two-point conversions on the night, perhaps entering the discussion for best ball carrier in the CCC.
Smith helped set up Merced’s second score late in the first quarter with a 37-yard run. Bears quarterback Quintell Dupree punched it in with a 4-yard touchdown run to help extend the lead to 16-0 with 48 seconds left in the first quarter.
Meanwhile, Golden Valley (8-2, 4-2 CCC) struggled to move the ball against the Bears’ defense.
Cougars starting quarterback Eleazar Garza is out for the season after breaking a bone in his leg against Patterson two weeks ago. Golden Valley missed his explosiveness in the running game.
“He brings an element of improvisation that other guys don’t have and he’s been improvising all year,” said Merced coach Rob Scheidt. “That’s hard to simulate in practice and I’m not sure how we would have reacted with him in there.”
Smith added two 3-yard touchdown runs in the fourth quarter for Merced.
Jahkylle Smith scored Golden Valley’s lone touchdown on an 11-yard run to cut the lead to 24-6 with 6:22 left in the fourth quarter.
“Tonight it was just crazy all around,” Chase Smith said. “The energy was high. We started off kind of pretty slow, but the third quarter, fourth quarter we started to execute and we ended it pretty much how we wanted to.”
The Merced student section rushed the field after the final whistle and celebrated with the Bears players, chanting, “Keep the Cup! Keep the Cup!”
Both teams will now wait until the playoff matchups are announced on Sunday afternoon.
This story was originally published October 29, 2022 at 12:03 AM.
