It's Mr. Rogers' neighborhood this season

Arquel Rogers looks ready to take on a larger role this season, after sharing the load a year ago with Modesto High teammate James Ingram.

With Ingram having graduated, Rogers had a role in virtually every aspect of the Panthers' 48-36 win over Pitman -- a season-opener between two of The Bee's top teams. It was one of 15 games highlighting the earliest start of the season in district history.

Modesto, No. 2 in the Stanislaus District behind only Buhach Colony, had more than 400 yards of offense against the No. 6 Pride on the new artificial turf at Debely Stadium.

The Panthers backed up the claim that they are at the top of the Modesto Metro Conference, while Pitman showed it has the offensive talent to compete for the Central California Conference crown.

Rogers rushed for 128 yards and three touchdowns, had a 48-yard touchdown catch and returned a kickoff for another score -- and was producing a big play anytime the Pride got too close.

Quarterback Klayton Miller kept Pitman from focusing too much on Rogers by running for 94 yards and passing for 120, hitting 7 of 10 for two scores.

With 2:51 to play and leading 41-36, Miller hit Rogers with a 43-yard pass to the Pitman 10 and then Miller ran it in on the next play. Matt Avila then intercepted a Pitman pass in the final minute. Miller's touchdown pass in the final seconds of the first half had given Modesto a 27-23 lead.

There was plenty of offense on Pitman's side, too, and the highly anticipated battle between Rogers and Dominick Walker didn't disappoint.

Walker had 18 carries for 119 yards and two touchdowns, as the Pride had 446 yards offense, and A.J. Derr was 6-of-10 for 105 yards in his quarterback debut.

The Pride spread the ball between four backs -- Andy Mendez had 12 carries for 56 yards -- but Walker is clearly the most potent of the group.

WINLESS TO PERFECT -- Turlock and Ceres didn't win a game between them a year ago, going 0-20 and giving up bushels of points. No one is worrying about a winless season this fall, though, because they're too busy talking about their running backs:

Ceres uncovered a potential game-breaker in Zach Naylor (141 yards), whose 71-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter snapped a 15-all tie for a 22-15 win over Ripon.

Turlock received a pleasant surprise with the debut of Ricky Fuentes, who missed his junior year with a broken leg. He's clearly healthy, running for 170 yards and catching a 48-yard touchdown from Kevin Kramer to beat Downey 33-30 in the inaugural Modesto Kickoff Classic. Downey was within 20-6 in the third quarter, but Fuentes darted up the middle, broke left and zipped clear for an 80-yard score.

ENOCHS 35, SIERRA 25 -- Do-everything running back Donnavan Johnson is gone, but the Eagles believe they've got a capable replacement in Herbert Whitehurst. Sierra's got to agree after Friday.

Whitehurst ran for two second-half touchdowns -- after scoring in the first half -- part of a 21-0 run that rallied Enochs from a 25-14 halftime deficit. His 16 carries led to 134 yards.

Enochs' defense struggled in the second quarter, giving up all 25 points. That included two touchdown passes by Adrian Valencia, 16 yards to Ruben Lopez and 31 yards to Grant Widmer in the final minute.

A SECOND IMPRESSION -- Andrew Olson's debut didn't leave folks with the favorable impression he was hoping for a year ago. Promoted to varsity and into the lineup for Week 10, following an injury to Hilmar's starting quarterback, Olson was overmatched in losses to potent Patterson and Escalon.