No repeat of last year as Oakdale pounds Turlock

OAKDALE -- Spencer Thomas was in over his head last fall when he led Oakdale High into Turlock.

A sophomore making his first varsity start, Thomas struggled to read coverages, failed to complete any of his six passes and was always a step behind during a 25-point loss.

Now a junior with that year’s experience, Thomas showed some of the talent that convinced the Mustangs to promote him a year ago.

He was 14 of 19 for a career-high 236 yards, accounting for two TDs, as Oakdale pounded Turlock 33-6 in a battle between two of the top teams in the Stanislaus District.

Turlock (1-1) is No. 2 and Oakdale (1-0) No. 3 in The Bee’s poll, positions sure to change when the new rankings are released Wednesday.

It was one of two marquee games featuring the best teams in the district: Top-ranked Buhach Colony pulled away in the second half during its 27-3 win over No. 4 Enochs.

The gameplan wasn’t intended to make Thomas the star: Turlock’s defense put him in that role.

With the Bulldogs shutting down Oakdale’s run game, the Mustangs unleased their dual-threat QB.

“We came in thinking we’d run more, but Spencer’s passing it what got our offense moving,” said junior back Marcus Northcutt, who ran for a TD and had five catches for 101 yards. “He can go deep or throw short. He throws both well.”

Thomas’ TD was a 2-yard flip to fullback Marcus Hernandez, which followed Jason Martin field goals of 30 and 23 yards for a 12-0 halftime lead.

On the other side of the field, Sean Downs was living through the same sort of nightmare that Spencer had endured a year earlier.

A sophomore making his second varsity start, Downs finished 6 of 22 for 87 yards. His 35-yard TD pass to Tyler Cook late in the third quarter briefly cut Oakdale’s lead to 26-7.

That TD — Cook was not covered as he ran down the left sideline — was one of the few flaws that could be found with Oakdale’s defense.

“They were more physical than what we saw (from Downey) a week ago,” said Downs, who threw for 104 yards and ran for 105 in last week’s 12-7 win over Downey. “They came in hard and we didn’t see much of that from Downey.”

Turlock didn’t get its initial first down until there was 5:43 remaining in the third quarter. That accomplishment came moments after Hernandez burst up the middle for a an 8-yard TD and a 26-0 lead.

Turlock finished with 127 yards offense on 45 plays, and Oakdale rolled up 403 yards.

The Mustangs were helped by their defense, which forced two third-quarter turnovers to set up short scoring drives and put this game away:

• Nikk Ryan chased after Downs on a screen pass, and the 5-foot-10 defender flung up his arms. He tipped the ball and junior Hondo Arpoika snared it at the Turlock 22. Thomas later scored on an 8-yard bootleg to cap the 22-yard drive.

“I usually don’t like to jump because he could tuck the ball away and run, and I’d be out of position,” said Ryan, who had another tip later in the game. “I could see him getting ready to release the ball, though, so I knew I would get my chance.”

• Turlock went to a Wildcat on its next possession, with tailback Brandon Esquivel taking the snaps from the shotgun.

He collided with his halfback on the second play, and C.J. Picinich recovered it at the 28. Three plays later, Hernandez ran into the end zone.

His TD run through a gaping hole was one of the few times the Mustangs weren’t stopped at the line. Turlock put its largest players between the offensive tackles, and the pile of bodies made it tough to run.

That forced Oakdale to go to the air to move the ball, uncommon for a Wing-T offense that likes to run 40 to 50 times. It still had 45 carries, but for 167 yards — 3.7 yards a carry.

Thomas had three long pass plays for 132 yards, but two of those were short flips that his backs turned into long gains. His one downfield completion was a 33-yarder that Austin Jones wrestled away from a defender at the Turlock 2 with 25 seconds left in the first half.

Thomas rolled right on the next play and hit Hernandez in the front of the end zone.

The other two big plays were a 57-yarder to Northcutt, who caught the ball just beyond the line before running down the sideline, and a 42-yarder that Hernandez nearly took to the end zone in the final quarter.

Northcutt finished the drive by scoring on a 5-yard toss, moments after Turlock called a timeout to tell its defense that Northcutt would run a pitch.

“If our guys block like that, moving people out of the way, it’s tough to stop even if you know it’s coming,” Northcutt said. “The pitch gets out there pretty quick, and I just cut upfield and get through a hole.”

Hear what Spencer Thomas had to say about this season