MODESTO -- The tape around his wrists had been stained brown and he wore Mother Earth like a layer of Teflon. Dirt on his pants and jersey. Grass hanging from his facemask.
In an area full of flashy, pristine quarterbacks, meet the city of Modesto’s Dirt Devil — Jonathon Uperesa.
He lives in the trenches at Dan Gonsalves Stadium, where the grass no longer grows, chasing tackles and first downs as a never-leave-the-field dynamo for Johansen.
On Friday, he flexed on a champion.
The middle linebacker and fullback carried the torch on both sides of the ball, pulling and pushing the Vikings in a 21-16 victory over Enochs in their Modesto Metro Conference opener.
Uperesa had 17 carries for 128 yards, scoring the eventual game-winning touchdown on an 8-yard trap late in the third quarter. He later set up an insurance score with 59-yard rumble in the fourth quarter, dragging three Eagles with him.
One play later, Codie Corbin danced into the end zone from 14 yards out, stepping out of tackles as he went.
Suddenly, Johansen (3-2), with its jab-jab-jab Wing-T offense, looks like a contender in the pass-happy MMC.
The Vikings have won three straight by taking its queues from Uperesa, a 5-foot-9, 210-pound Samoan warrior.
“I took a beating tonight,” Uperesa said, trying to rub away the pain in his forearm. “But I don’t like to leave the field. I guess it’s part of my culture — I fight hard, no matter what.”
The same could be said about the Vikings (3-2, 1-0 MMC), who overcame five fumbles (three lost) and a string of penalties to deal the defending Modesto Metro champions their fourth straight loss.
Enochs (1-4, 0-1) hasn’t won since rallying on Sierra on opening night.
The Eagles slumped off the field a defeated bunch, weighing the magnitude of this latest setback.
“This loss doesn’t kick us out of anything,” Eagles coach James Stacy said. It certainly doesn’t help.
Enochs turned over the ball three times to start the game, and its first play from scrimmage resulted in a Johansen touchdown. Corbin intercepted quarterback Trey Cooper and returned it 28 yards for a quick 7-0 lead.
Cooper moved past his rocky start, but his teammates didn’t give him much support. Twice, Eagle receivers dropped sure-fire touchdown passes in the third quarter.
Making just his second career start, the junior finished 7 of 17 for 90 yards and two touchdowns. Both went to Joshua Quevedo: a 17-yard strike just before the half, and an 11-yard flip in the final minute of the game. The latter gave the Eagles a flicker of hope, but Johansen’s Keane Bland fell on the onside kick and QB Isaiah Brooks ran out the clock.
“We’re starting to come together,” Uperesa said. “You can see it, the chemistry is building.”
Corbin (six carries, 85 yards) scored two touchdowns, the bookend highlights in a game that grew stagnant in the middle quarters. Both teams struggled to hold onto the ball, much less move it down the field.
After Corbin put Johansen ahead with his interception return, Cooper connected with Quevedo. Johansen stuffed the two-point conversion attempt, securing a 7-6 halftime lead.
Sam Herring gave the Eagles its only lead with a 24-yard field in the third quarter, but momentum was fleeting. Johansen climbed aboard Uperesa’s broad shoulders.
He had five carries in a nine-play drive culminating in his 8-yard TD run with 33 seconds left in the third.
Two possessions later he removed any mystery, scooping up a bad handoff and sprinting 59 yards through the heart of the Eagles defense.
“I just grabbed it off the turf and ran,” Uperesa said. “I could hear everybody screaming, ‘Don’t fumble. Don’t fumble.’ ”
Johansen coach Jason McCoy beamed as Uperesa made his way through the postgame handshake line. “He’s our warrior,” he said.
Highlights, McCoy's comments from last week's victory
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