Undefeated Oakdale High committed to the running game

Like a sledgehammer, Tim House pounds away at the defense, punishing linebackers seven or eight yards at a time.

Then comes Blake Raham, taking an inside handoff and dashing behind the guard for nine yards and a first down.

After a few of those combinations, the linebackers start squeezing the middle and the safeties walk up to the line in anticipation of a similar play.

That's when Oakdale High calls Devin Brooks' number. House and Raham feign runs into the line, drawing defenders closer, before Brooks goes around the end with the ball.

"If Devin's in a footrace, no one's going to beat him," said teammate Syl Juberget, a defensive tackle who pursues Brooks every day in practice. "There isn't a faster running back in the VOL than Devin."

He's among the reasons that Oakdale is 7-0, The Bee's top-ranked school and alone atop the Valley Oak League.

"After trying to tackle Tim and Blake, they're both tough guys to bring down, a defense will start to tire," linebacker Charlie Gilstrap said. "Then here's Devin, and you won't be catching him in the open."

Brooks provides the speed in Oakdale's Wing-T, the ideal complement to House's bruising runs and Raham's elusive dashes. The Mustangs average 385 rushing yards a game, good for 13th in the country.

Oakdale will count on that running game Friday when it faces Manteca in a VOL showcase featuring The Bee's top-ranked, large-school teams.

While some teams mix passing and running, even if one aspect is working better than another, Oakdale is happy to run until it can run no more.

It had 415 yards offense in Friday's 56-14 rout of Weston Ranch, all on the ground, and it was part of the gameplan.

"We're sold on the Wing-T," said Brooks, who has run for 950 yards and leads the Stanislaus District with an average of 11.6 yards a carry. "We've got Tim inside, and we bang, bang, bang ... then it comes to me and Blake and we're off."

Oakdale coach Trent Emerson had plans for a pass-rush mix, with returning starter Tanner Combs tossing 12 to 16 times a game. Combs suffered a broken leg the second week of the season, however, and Robert Stout took over.

"Robert was quarterback of the sophomore team when we went 9-1 two years ago, so we know he's a winner," Brooks said. "He steps in the huddle and you see his confidence."

There's no arguing over the key to Oakdale's success, it's the 6-foot-3, 225-pound House. He's run for 605 yards — with a "paltry" 5.7-yard average — and he's bulled in for 14 TDs.

In an early-season win over state-ranked Novato, House was carrying defenders in the second half as his legs continued churning at the goal line.

"It starts with Tim, because he gets the tough yards," said Brooks, who had an 88-yard kickoff return and an 84-yard run for TDs two weeks ago in a 56-6 win over East Union. "You have to stop Tim first, or he'll hurt you all night."

It's not only House and the running game that are inflicting the pain on Friday nights.

Oakdale averages 45 points a game — scoring 56, 55 and 56 points the last three games helped inflate the total — and its first-team defense hasn't allowed a point in a month.

After allowing three TDs in a two-game span vs. Novato and defending Sac-Joaquin Section champ Whitney, the defense has been smothering.

"We've got a lot of speed on our side of the ball," Juberget said. "We're flying to the ball, hitting hard and trying to create turnovers. We've scored touchdowns, too, you know."

Daniel Gazdic brought back a fumble for a TD last week, and three weeks ago Braydon Stephens and Nathan Madsen each returned a fumble for a TD in a 56-6 rout of Ceres.