Oakdale throttles Sonora

SONORA -- Coming off last week's wild loss to Sierra High, the Oakdale coaching staff was worried about the mental state of the Mustangs heading into the traditional regular-season finale against Sonora.

The concern was so deep that when the team met at 6:30 a.m. on Monday for what usually is a weight-training session, the weights stayed on the rack.

"We just talked for 45 minutes," said Oakdale coach Trent Merzon. "I'm a big weightroom guy, so to break our routine shows how worried we were about our kids emotionally. So we talked, and I wasn't sure about the kids even then."

If the Mustangs had any scars from the loss, it didn't show Friday night as they played a near-perfect game in thrashing the Wildcats 35-7 in front of about 7,500 fans at Dunlavy Field.

The win gives Oakdale (9-1 overall) a co-championship in the Valley Oak League with Sierra, both with 6-1 league records. Sierra's win will give it the No. 1 seed from the VOL, but both teams should be hosting first-round games.

Sonora, which would have claimed a co-title and the No. 1 seed with a win, fell to 8-2 overall and 6-2 in the VOL, and still will be headed for the playoffs under the new expanded format.

But looking at the performance of the two teams in this battle, there was no doubting which side appears ready to tackle the postseason.

Oakdale had three running backs gain more than 100 yards in the game. Tim House carried 30 times for 154 yards and two scores, and he also caught a touchdown pass. Devin Brooks carried 17 times for 147 yards and a touchdown, and Blake Raham gained 101 yards on only seven carries, including an 18-yard touchdown run.

"In our offense, you have to block for each other and carry-out fakes for each other, and only then do you get yours," Merzon said. "So when you have three backs over 100 yards it's not so much about the numbers but the character of the players to work so hard for each other."

It all added up to a mammoth 404-yard rushing output for the Mustangs, with much of the credit going to an offensive line that is equally adept at straight-ahead blocking and pulling.

"I like getting out front of a play so everybody can see me," said senior guard Monty Monlux. "I guess I'm kind of selfish that way. But it's always great to play up here and we practiced hard all week for this. Those guys are good, so we just had to get low and hit hard."

Oakdale took early control by scoring on its second and third possessions, moving 79 and 44 yards on entirely ground-based drives.

Sonora's best drive of the night made it a game right before halftime. The Wildcats moved 71 yards in nine plays, and scored on Dan Link's 1-yard plunge with 29 seconds left in the half to narrow the gap to 14-7. Link was held in check for most of the game and finished with 66 yards on 15 carries.

The Mustangs finished off the victory in the third quarter. A 67-yard, eight-play drive was capped by Brooks' touchdown from 19 yards. When Sonora lost a fumble four plays later at its 47, Brooks broke off a 41-yard run to set up the score on a pass from Robert Stout to House, giving Oakdale a commanding 28-7 lead.

And on Monday, the Oakdale players probably should be ready to hit the weights.

"Last week was tough, but you have to put things in the past and look toward the future," Monlux said. "The playoffs are a whole new season."

Bee staff writer Brian VanderBeek can be reached at bvanderbeek@modbee.com or 578-2300.