Johansen pounds Davis to improve to 2-0 in MMC

Every football team works on end-game fundamentals, just so players know what to do and how to react when a victory is secure.

But there isn't a coach around who drills his players on how to execute a 21-minute exit strategy.

That's the situation in which Johansen High found itself Thursday night. Moving the ball in huge chunks and at will against Davis, the Vikings built a five-touchdown lead early in the third quarter before clearing the bench.

The Spartans seized the opportunity against the Johansen reserves to make the final score, 36-21, not at all indicative of the measure by which they were dominated when both teams had starters on the field.

The Vikings rolled up 479 yards rushing to notch their fourth straight victory. Codie Corbin ran for 177 on only seven carries and Jonathon Uperesa added 159 on only five carries as Johansen improved to 4-2 overall and 2-0 in the Modesto Metro Conference. Davis is winless in six outings.

"We got a lot of guys in there and showed we have a lot to work on," said Johansen coach Jason McCoy. "We have to play four quarters if we want to compete for an MMC championship and I know we will.

"I'm pleased with the effort on the short week. We did a good job and really took it to Davis for the most part."

The Vikings' first-half effort fell just short of perfection. Corbin broke a 72-yard scoring run on Johansen's first play from scrimmage. By the time the first half was over Isaiah Brooks and Jacob Perez would run for scores, and Chris McCloud would find the end zone on the end of a 26-yard pass from Brooks.

Johansen led 28-0 at intermission, having outgained Davis 370-105, with 344 of those yards coming on the ground.

Uperesa's final carry of the game came on the first play of the second half and went for a 62-yard touchdown that gave Johansen a 36-0 lead.

Davis' offensive duo of quarterback Markell Perkins and running back Rey Vega played the entire game and did what they could to bring the Spartans back against the Vikings' defensive reserves.

Perkins threw for 116 yards and scored on runs of 3 and 8 yards, while Vega carried 19 times for 118 yards and a score. The two combined for 261 of the Spartans' 262-yard total offensive output.

If there was a drawback for Johansen, it's that McCoy had wanted to work a little more on throwing the ball this week, since Brooks had thrown only 10 passes all season heading into the game.

But the early success on the ground, the halftime margin and Uperesa's long run to open the third quarter made throwing the ball moot, and Brooks aired it out only three times.

"We do have the pass in our arsenal," McCoy said. "We have an explosive offense, but we still have some things to put in. We have Beyer next week and we feel we have a lot to work on, but we do have a bunch of hungry kids."

Bee staff writer Brian VanderBeek can be reached at bvanderbeek@modbee.com.