Football roundup: Merced wins rivalry, El Capitan, Los Banos and SRC shine
The penultimate Friday of the regular season brought out some of the best football of the fall. Merced handled business in its rivalry matchup with Atwater, El Capitan celebrated its first Central California Conference win of the year, Los Banos rolled at home behind a dominant defensive effort, and Grace Davis notched a shutout on the road. In the Trans-Valley League, Hughson’s freshman quarterback led the Huskies to a statement win over Hilmar, while Johansen continued its late-season surge against Livingston.
Los Banos 34, Golden Valley 7 – Los Banos had a statement win in their dominant performance on both sides of the ball, defeating Golden Valley 34-7 on Friday night.
Senior running back Angel Valerio put the Tigers on the board in the first quarter with a short touchdown run for a 6-0 lead. After forcing multiple stops, sophomore Elijah Chiappetta extended the advantage with a punt-return touchdown and later added a pick-six, giving Los Banos a 21-0 cushion by halftime.
Quarterback Gavin Blackwood-Estrada found senior Carmelo Smith for a touchdown pass in the second half, and junior running back John Snapp tacked on a late rushing score to make it 34-0 before Golden Valley avoided the shutout with a late touchdown.
The win improved Los Banos to 5-4 overall and 3-1 in the Central California Conference, while Golden Valley dropped to 0-9, and 0-4 in league.
El Capitan 26, Buhach Colony 6 — El Capitan celebrated its first Central California Conference victory of the season Friday night, powered by a dominant rushing performance from senior Lorenzo Peters, who ran for 164 yards and two touchdowns in a 34-7 win over Buhach Colony at Dave Honey Stadium.
Peters broke free for scoring runs of 58 and 32 yards in the first quarter to give the Gauchos early control. A.J. Jones added a 65-yard punt return touchdown, and Gio Mendoza connected with Charles Polk on a 38-yard passing score as El Capitan’s offense put together one of its most complete outings of the year.
The Gauchos’ defense forced three turnovers, recovering two fumbles and adding an interception to help seal the win. The victory moved El Capitan to 4-5 overall and 1-3 in CCC play, while Buhach Colony dropped to 4-5 and 2-2.
Johansen 38, Livingston 14 — Johansen rolled to a decisive win Friday night against Livingston, putting the game out of reach early and staying in control throughout.
Livingston showed fight, including a 55-yard rushing TD by Roberto Rivera to make it 8-7 in the first. But Johansen answered with two more passing touchdowns to push ahead 22-7 by halftime.
In the second half the Vikings added a long 49-yard TD pass from Anthony Torres to Jeydan Saing and a 23-yard rushing score from Ezekiel Rodriguez to seal it at 38-14.
With the win Johansen improved to 6-3 overall, 5-1 in league. Livingston fell to 3-6 overall, 3-3 in league.
Grace Davis 25, Pacheco 0 — Grace Davis’ defense set the tone early and never let up in a commanding shutout win at Pacheco on Friday night.
The Spartans struck first on a five-yard touchdown run midway through the opening quarter, then capitalized on an interception with a 17-yard TD pass to take a 13-0 lead late in the first. Davis extended the margin with an eight-yard score in the second quarter and another short touchdown run just before halftime to make it 25-0.
The win improved Grace Davis to 6-3 overall and 5-1 in the Western Athletic Conference, keeping them in the thick of the playoff hunt heading into Week 11. Pacheco, which fell to 0-9 overall and 0-6 in league, struggled to move the ball against the Spartans’ defense.
Hughson 35, Hilmar 29 – Freshman quarterback Hudson Baldwin led Hughson to a thrilling Trans-Valley League win Friday night, throwing for 334 yards and four touchdowns to help the Huskies edge Hilmar at Husky Memorial Stadium.
Baldwin, a left-handed freshman, connected with Titus Beers on a 30-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter for the go-ahead score, then watched Karsen Moore seal the game with an interception.
The win capped Hughson’s regular season at 8-2 overall, 4-2 in league, as they head into the Sac-Joaquín Section Division IV playoffs.
Hilmar junior Cohen Felber rushed for 142 yards and two TDs (35 and 67 yards) in a losing effort. The Yellowjackets fell to 5-4 overall, 2-3 TVL, but remain in playoff contention.
Stone Ridge Christian 43, Gustine 7 – The Knights continued their strong season with a dominating performance Friday, overwhelming the Reds 43-7 in a lopsided Southern League matchup.
Stone Ridge Christian surged ahead early and never looked back — scoring in each of the first two quarters to build a 29-0 halftime lead. Gustine was held to just one offensive score all game and dropped to 2-7 overall, while the Knights improved to 8-1, 5-1.
Other scores:
Mariposa County 19, Waterford 14
Ceres 25, Beyer 14
Lathrop 42, Central Valley 7
Denair 41, Delhi 0
Le Grand 28, Yosemite 21
