Roundup: Defense, special teams shine in Merced’s playoff win over Ceres, GV eliminated
The Merced High School special teams and defense shined as the No. 5 seeded Bears defeated No. 12 Ceres 37-15 in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoffs on Friday night at Cathie Hostetler Stadium.
“Our scores were set up by defense and special teams tonight,” said Merced coach Rob Scheidt, whose team improved to 7-4 this season. “I think we fumbled 11 times tonight. The way we played offense and to win 37-15 is unheard of.”
The Bears blocked two punts, including one that was recovered by Jeremiah Folau for a touchdown.
“We’ve blocked eight punts this year,” Scheidt said. “That unit believes they are going to block a punt if we execute our scheme.”
Merced also blocked a field goal and returned a fumble 65 yards by sophomore Adarius Morales-Saetern with no time on the clock just before the half that gave the Bears a 21-9 lead.
Chase Smith scored on an 18-yard run and Jack Collins hauled in a 30-yard touchdown pass from Quinton Dupree in the first half.
Dupree also scored on a 1-yard run in the second half to extend the lead to 35-9.
Merced will travel to Sacramento next week to face No. 4 seed Christian Brothers (8-2) in the quarterfinals.
Woodcreek 48, Golden Valley 0 — After starting 7-0 for the first time in school history the Cougars finished losing three of their final four games after quarterback Eleazar Garza was injured against Patterson on Oct. 14.
Golden Valley still finished the season with an 8-3 record.
Escalon 55, Pacheco 0 — It was a tough night for Western Athletic Conference teams as Pacheco, Ceres and Los Banos all lost in the first round of the playoffs by a combined score of 156 to 63.
The No. 5 seeded Cougars jumped out to a 42-0 lead by the half and advance to face No. 4 Hilmar next week in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V quarterfinals.
Bradshaw Christian 29, Delhi 6 — Brandon Burden had touchdown runs of 55, 17 and 7 yards as the No. 5 Pride advance to the second round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI playoffs to face No. 4 Marysville.
Dos Palos 45, West Bakersfield 13 — Andre Flores scored three touchdowns as the No. 3 seeded Broncos rolled to victory in the first round of the Central Section Division V playoffs.
Flores rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries. He also hauled in a 58-yard touchdown pass from Dos Palos quarterback Peyton Van Worth.
Sixto Ibarra caught a 44-yard touchdown pass from Van Worth and returned a kickoff 70 yards for a score.
Brake Hennagan added 99 yards rushing and a touchdown for Dos Palos, which will host. No. 6 Morro Bay next week in the quarterfinals.
Riverdale 41, Chowchilla 36 — The No. 10 seeded Cowboys erased an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter by outscoring the No. 7 Tribe 20 to 7.
Riverdale avenged a 28-24 loss to Chowchilla earlier this season.
This story was originally published November 5, 2022 at 1:08 AM.
