Merced blitzes Atwater early in Santa Fe Bowl rout. CCC showdown against Patterson next
It didn’t take long for the Merced High School football team to seize control of Friday night’s game against Atwater.
The Bears scored touchdowns on their first four possessions en route to a 41-point first half and a 48-14 win over the Falcons in Santa Fe Bowl 53 at Dave Honey Stadium.
The Bears improved to 2-0 in the Central California Conference and 3-2 overall to set up a CCC showdown with two-time defending champion Patterson next week.
“We haven’t had a start like that in a long time,” said Merced head coach Rob Scheidt.
Reigning CCC Most Valuable Player Chase Smith sparked the Bears early, scoring three first-quarter touchdowns on runs of 34, 12 and 5 yards.
Smith says he’s back to 100% healthy after having to miss a game against Downey three weeks ago with a hyperextended elbow. Smith finished with 104 yards rushing and the three scores against the Falcons on just 11 carries.
Smith said a focused week of practice led to the Bears’ strong performance.
“We practice like we’re in the game,” Smith said. “We had game tempo all week at practice.”
Atwater (1-1 CCC, 3-3 overall) dialed up a trick play to strike for a long touchdown as receiver Landon Perez took a handoff and threw a deep pass to Seneca Ybarra Jr. for a 60-yard touchdown to pull the Falcons within 14-7 with 8:51 left in the first quarter.
However, it was all Bears from that point.
The Merced defense was dominant, stifling the Falcons offense.
Defensive back Bryon Peterson even added a 70-yard interception return for a touchdown late in the first half.
The Bears moved the ball on the ground and through the air as quarterback Quintell Dupree connected with receiver Antonio Aaron on a pair of first-half touchdown passes.
“These guys keep getting better,” Scheidt said. “We’ve really had three good weeks of practice. The bye week was just at the right time to get us healthy.”
Scheidt felt the Bears were able to relax a bit this week after dealing with the pressure of extending their winning streak to 18 games over Golden Valley in their last game and retaining the Mayor’s Cup.
“I just feel like we played free tonight,” Scheidt said.
With the game out of hand at the half, the starters played sparingly in the final two quarters.
Merced can now turn its attention to Patterson.
“We know that we’re going to be tested and competition is what you want,” Scheidt said. “You want to see how good you are and I think they are going to challenge us next week.”
