El Capitan beats Livingston for first time since 2015 in bowl game
The celebration on the field Friday night was one the Gauchos had waited a decade to experience.
Friday’s bowl game was played at Stadium 76 at Merced College, the Gauchos’ home field since the program opened in 2013. Next fall, El Capitan finally will move into its own on-campus stadium — a long-awaited step that Friday’s victory seemed to foreshadow.
Behind senior running back Lorenzo Peters’ three-touchdown performance — two on the ground and one on defense — El Capitan defeated Livingston 22-8 in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Bowl Game, snapping a 10-year losing streak to the Wolves and giving the program its first win in November.
“Exciting time, man,” head coach Xavier Ramirez said as players posed for pictures under the lights. “It’s great to end on a high note and see the smiles on their faces. To send off our seniors on a positive note — that’s what it’s all about.”
Livingston struck first on a 24-yard touchdown run by Mathias Valencia and a trick-play two-point conversion to take an 8-0 lead. El Capitan answered before halftime, grinding out a 70-yard drive capped by a two-yard Peters score and conversion to tie it 8-8.
The game turned midway through the third quarter, when Peters jumped a route and returned an interception about 40 yards for a touchdown. The Gauchos’ defense took over from there, forcing three turnovers and keeping the Wolves off the board the rest of the way. Peters sealed the win in the fourth with a five-yard run that finished an eight-play, 75-yard drive.
“I give credit to my O-line — they really came to play hard,” Ramirez said. “Defense settled in, the offense got going, and we just grinded out the clock at the end. Can’t say enough about our defense and Peters — great job today.”
For Peters, the night was personal.
“Last week, we thought we ended on a bad note,” he said. “Then we heard we had another opportunity, and we took it personal. We were blessed with another chance, and we came out with the dub.”
He added that being part of the program’s first November game “makes the feeling even better — not just for me, but for the whole team and everybody that was a part of it.”
Quarterback Sergio Mendoza, who managed two long scoring drives and kept the offense balanced, called the finish a dream ending. “Excitement, joy — everything,” Mendoza said. “We ended with a banner, and that’s all I asked God for. We have something to hang in our gym after 12 years of nothing. We couldn’t have done it without our O-line today. All glory to God.”
He praised Peters for “stepping up big” once the passing game tightened. “At the end of the day, we just did our thing,” Mendoza said.
Livingston head coach Steven Wine credited both sides for treating the bowl like a championship. “I know there were people kind of badmouthing the new format, but you could tell both teams were into it,” he said. “These were not two teams cashing it in. I’m glad the section did it — I got to coach my guys for another week, and I’ll take that any day.”
Wine said the loss of running back Mathias Valencia to injury in the second half changed the game’s momentum. “He’s our captain, our guy,” he said. “They were just bigger than us — they wore us out a bit. But I love coaching these guys. We’ve got good kids that play really hard, and I’m super proud of that.”
For Ramirez, the win marked a turning point as El Capitan moves toward next season — and into its new stadium.
“Our program’s never done anything like this before,” he said. “We’ve never played a game in November. Got a little taste, and now let’s keep moving forward.”
