Football roundup: Merced, Los Banos dominate. Golden Valley, Lathrop secure key wins
Friday night brought high drama across the Central Valley, highlighted by Stone Ridge Christian’s wild finish against Mariposa County in a pivotal Southern League matchup. The Knights held off the Grizzlies in a back-and-forth game that came down to the final minutes, while Merced, Los Banos, Golden Valley and Lathrop all earned decisive wins in Central California Conference and Western Athletic Conference play.
Merced 63, El Capitan 6 — The Gauchos opened with a trick play when Jesse Morgan caught a backward pass and connected with Jayden Scott for a 70-yard touchdown, but Merced’s offense took over from there. Cammarri Jackson finished an 80-yard drive with a 3-yard score, Dougie Andrews added a 15-yard touchdown, and Brett Parker powered in from four yards out. Vicente Cortez connected with Israel Rodas on a 65-yard bomb just before halftime to make it 28-6. Isayah Smith returned the second-half kickoff 90 yards to extend the lead, and Zechariah Harris and Anthony Tachiera added rushing scores as the Bears poured it on.
Merced improved to 8-0, 3-0 while El Capitan fell to 3-5, 0-3.
Golden Valley 27, Atwater 24 — Golden Valley outlasted Atwater in a back-and-forth Central California Conference showdown. Durrell Morrison’s 17-yard touchdown run gave the Falcons an early lead before Isaiah Welch tied it for the Cougars. Gabe Richards connected with Jaren Bell on a 20-yard score to put Golden Valley up 14-10 at halftime. Atwater regained the lead in the third when Isaiah Navarro caught a tipped fourth-down pass and took it the distance. Golden Valley answered after a long kickoff return set up a short rushing touchdown. Falcons quarterback A.J. Banks gave Atwater one more lead with a 15-yard keeper before the Cougars sealed it with a fourth-quarter drive.
Golden Valley improved to 2-6, 2-1 in league, while Atwater fell to 4-4, 1-2.
Los Banos 48, Buhach Colony 9 — Los Banos took control early and never looked back, defeating Buhach Colony in a pivotal CCC matchup. After Buhach opened the game with an onside kick and field goal, the Tigers responded with two first-quarter touchdowns — Raul Diaz’s 7-yard run and Angel Valerio’s score to make it 14-3. Carmelo Smith’s interception and a special-teams recovery set up short fields, and Joshua Gargano added another touchdown to stretch the lead to 20-9 by halftime. Diaz and Valerio connected on a two-point play early in the third before the Tigers’ defense forced multiple turnovers. Los Banos piled on late with touchdowns from Gavin Blackwood-Estrada, John Snapp and another score to cap the dominant win.
Los Banos improved to 4-4, 2-1, while Buhach Colony fell to 3-5, 1-2.
Lathrop 61, Livingston 27 — Lathrop continued its Western Athletic Conference surge with a win at Livingston. Treydon Santos scored five total touchdowns — three on the ground, one on a punt return and another on a pass from Daryion Reyno. Pablo Pena added two rushing scores, while Humza Habibi went 7-for-8 on extra points and broke a long run to set up another touchdown. Livingston’s offense hit on several big plays, including a long touchdown before halftime, but the Spartans’ ground game was too much. Lathrop closed the third quarter up 41-27 and piled on in the fourth behind Santos’ 50-yard touchdown run to put it away.
Lathrop improved to 7-1, 5-0, while Livingston dropped to 3-5, 3-2.
Other scores:
Grace Davis 43, Ceres 10
Johansen 28, Central Valley 7
Beyer 20, Pacheco 7
Le Grand 21, Gustine 12
Waterford 38, Delhi 6
