VOL: Miller comes on strong in the fourth as Manteca wins

Bee Staff Reports

E-Mail

Comments (0)

Text Size:

tool goes here

MANTECA -- After Central Valley stayed close for three quarters, Manteca coach Eric Reis decided it was time to get serious. And physical.

He handed the ball to his 5-foot-10, 195-pound superlative running back, Marquiss Miller, and pointed him downfield. Miller ended the evening with 188 yards rushing and three touchdowns -- two in the fourth quarter -- as the Buffaloes (6-3 overall, 4-2 Valley Oak League) overcame a game Central Valley for a 37-7 victory.

"Marquis ran the ball extremely hard and we started wearing them down a little bit," said Reis. "He was relentless." And effective.

PREP FOOTBALL QUICK LINKS

Manteca scored first on a trick play, as running back Jacob Salas took the handoff from quarterback Matt Burrows then lofted a pass to tight end Dewey Uecker for a 28-yard touchdown. Moments later, Uecker would score his second points of the evening when he tackled Central Valley quarterback Abraham Navaro in the end zone for a safety.

But Central Valley tightened up, holding Manteca out of the end zone for the second quarter and most of the third. And midway through the third period, Vince Lopez capped a drive with a 5-yard run to make the score 8-7.

That's when Manteca got tough, turning the ball over to Miller. He scored on a 1-yard run in the third period, a 6-yard run to open the fourth quarter and a 28-yard run also in the fourth.

Adam DeCosta finished the scoring by returning an interception 28 yards for Manteca's final score.

EAST UNION 29, CERES 12, at Ceres -- Lancers quarterback Dennis Johnson ran for three scores and passed for another in leading East Union (4-5, 2-4 Valley Oak League) to a victory over the Bulldogs (0-9, 0-5). Johnson completed 13 of 22 pass for 188 yards, including a 60-yard scoring strike to T.J. Brown in the second quarter. Johnson added three scores on quarterback keepers.