Wild week 7 in the books

We can finally catch our breath from what was a wild Week 7. Out of the 13 games featuring Merced-area teams, seven were decided by a touchdown or less.

We saw Hilmar defeat Escalon 48-41 on a 97-yard run late in the fourth quarter by Cody Rentfro.

Golden Valley escaped with a 21-20 win over Atwater in double-overtime after converting on a two-point conversion.

Pacheco and Ceres combined for 121 points as the Panthers won 64-57 as Carlos Garcia scored on a two-yard touchdown run in the finals seconds.

We’re getting later into the season, when playoff spots and league titles are on the line each week and teams are playing like it.

It makes for some fun Fridays.

Easy decision for Golden Valley’s Stubbs

Golden Valley quarterback Armando Muzquiz was surprised to find out the Cougars were going for two in the second overtime after Isaiah Montanez scored a touchdown to pull GV within 20-19 of Atwater.

“I didn’t expect it,” said Muzquiz, who threw two touchdown passes in regulation. “I thought for sure we’d go for one and tie it. All of sudden, they tell me we’re going for two and I thought, ‘That’s crazy.’ Then I find out we’re going to pass it and I think, ‘That’s crazier.’

“At that point, I’m like, ‘OK, let’s do it.’ ”

The decision wasn’t a tough one for Golden Valley coach Dennis Stubbs with kicker Shawn Bettencourt hurt. The Cougars haven’t been automatic with extra points so Stubbs decided to go for the win.

The GV coaching staff decided to run a naked bootleg that had worked for a touchdown pass in the first half. The play worked perfectly again because after faking to Montanez, Muzquiz rolled out and saw nothing but open field on the way to the end zone for the game-winning two-point conversion.

Rentfro saves Yellowjackets’ season

It’s not a stretch to say Cody Rentfro saved Hilmar’s season with the late 97-yard touchdown run to beat Escalon.

A loss to the Cougars and the Yellowjackets would have been 0-2 in the Trans-Valley League and at 3-4 overall, Hilmar would have had to run the table to get to six wins.

“Our season was on the line,” said Yellowjackets coach Frank Marques, whose team now sits at 4-3 and 1-1. “If we don’t score there we’re still in a tight game, but we’re backed up deep in our own field.”

Not only did the Yellowjacets get the big run from Rentfro, who rushed for over 200 yards and two touchdowns, but Hilmar got a big goal-line stand from its defense to prevent Escalon from taking the lead late.

“The big thing was the goal-line stand, because we hadn’t stopped them all night,” Marques said.

Another shutout for Knights

The Stone Ridge Christian defense extended its impressive streak of shutouts to five with a 49-0 win over Riverbank.

The Knights have outscored their opponents 268 to 0 in the last five games.

Stone Ridge defensive end Mark Hooker recorded 2 1/2 sacks against the Bruins to bring his season total to 13  1/2 .

This story was originally published October 18, 2015 at 5:20 PM with the headline "Wild week 7 in the books."