Usiak throws 3 TD passes as Beyer dumps East Union

MANTECA -- Justin Usiak threw two of his three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, and Kyle Crawford's 47-yard scoring run in the fourth proved to be the difference for Beyer in a wild 41-35 victory over East Union.

Beyer co-head coach Richie Alkire, back on the sideline after stepping away from a year, is calling the shots on offense for the Patriots this season, and his spread offense produced considerably more hits than misses in Week 1.

Usiak completed scoring strikes covering 26 yards to Jamal Qarqat, 45 yards to Kayden Cline (on a ball that was twice deflected before it landed in Cline's hands) and 40 yards to Yianni Magoulias, the latter two coming in the final quarter.

But East Union didn't go down without a fight.

Lancers quarterback Dennis Johnson threw three touchdowns to TJ Brown and also had a 1-yard scoring plunge.

SIERRA 55, LATHROP 0, at Lathrop -- Jarrod Daniel started his senior year with a successful night, carrying just seven times but piling up 137 yards and four TDs as the Timberwolves routed Lathrop in the latter's first-ever varsity game. Sierra reached the semifinals of the section Division IV playoffs last year, and Daniels was one of the stars of that game.

Daniels got things rolling with all four of his scores in the first quarter -- 20, 30, 32 and 12 yards to give Sierra a 35-0 lead after the first 12 minutes. Sierra quarterback Jonathan Davis threw just four passes, but he had a 17-yard TD run in the opening quarter. Daniels' running mate, Aaron Manuta had 91 yards and a TD on just six carries.

MANTECA 20, SOQUEL 16 -- In a game that shouldn't have been as close, the Manteca Buffalo hung on to beat Soquel in the season opener. Manteca had eight penalities in the fourth quarter alone and lost three fumbles, one on the 18-yard line early in the game and on the 4-yard line late.

The biggest play came in the third quarter when Reggie Bell returned a punt 89 yards for a touchdown.

Marquis Miller scored on a two-yard run in the first quarter and Bradley Hatfield kicked the extra point. Hatfield came back in the second quarter to contribute a 24-yard field goal.

"Every time it looked like we were ready to bury them, we made a mistake," said Manteca coach Eric Reis.

CENTRAL VALLEY 44, Le GRAND 8, at Ceres -- Vince Lopez rushed for 209 yards and two touchdowns, and the Hawks defense intercepted four Le Grand passes in a rout of the host Bulldogs. Lopez scored on runs of 80 and 50 yards.

Jesse Hatfield threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Greg Matthews, then later added a 2-yard scoring run for Central Valley. Terrance Sadler had a 2-yard TD run, and Alex Casas returned a fumble 30 yards for a touchdown for the Hawks.

HUGHSON 40, WATERFORD 15, at Waterford -- J.R. Garrett broke loose on an 80-yard punt return to get the Huskies rolling, then J.R. Garrett and Carlos Rivera took over with the ground game to pull away from the Wildcats. Garrett had a 25-yard TD run and Rivera scored on a 53-yarder in the third quarter.