Jacobson, Cherry lead No. 1 Oakdale's rout of McNair in Division III opener.

Just when it looked like the McNair High football team had found its spark, Josh Jacobson was there to extinguish any hope.

The Oakdale fullback sprinted 58 yards for a score with 17 seconds left in the first half, curbing a mini-charge by the 16th-seeded Eagles and sending the top-seeded Mustangs into the second round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoffs with a 56-12 victory.

It was another prolific night for Oakdale's super-charged Wing-T offense.

Jacobson finished with 156 yards and three touchdowns, while Cameron Cherry, the hero in the Mustangs' Valley Oak League-clinching win over Central Catholic last week, had 186 yards and three scores. Jacobson scored on bursts of 12, 58 and 25 yards. Cherry shouldered the load inside or near the red zone, finding his way into the end zone from 8, 22 and 1 yard.

Hunter Falconi and Oscar Ramos rounded out the scoring for Oakdale (10-1), which hosts No. 9 Vanden (6-4). The Vikings won a thriller on Thursday, defeating No. 8 Yuba City 34-33.

Falconi reeled in Marc Dickson's only completion, a 42-yard scoring strike, while Ramos capped the scoring with a 1-yard plunge with 22 seconds left in the third quarter.

Oakdale scored the first 28 points of the game, but the Eagles appeared to have momentum going into the intermission. McNair (5-6) scored back-to-back touchdowns to make it 28-12. Quarterback Rafael Lara (16 of 34, 128 yards, two interceptions) darted in from the 9, and six minutes later, Dennis Oyewole tacked on a 6-yard touchdown run.

With under a minute left in the half, McNair looked to be in good position going into the locker room.

And then Jacobson, who coach Trent Merzon praised as the fastest of the fullbacks to cycle through his Wing-T, broke loose.

Lost in the offensive explosion was another banner night for the defense, which stifled Andrew Hem, one of the section's leading receivers. Hem had just six catches for 53 yards and finishes the season with 1,377 yards and 17 TDs.

Oakdale's defensive stars were many: CJ Toledo recovered a fumble, Maki Harris picked off a pass, Matt Kjeldgaard blocked a punt, and Zac Campbell and Levi Ichord combined for four sacks.

This story was originally published November 10, 2017 at 12:41 AM with the headline "Jacobson, Cherry lead No. 1 Oakdale's rout of McNair in Division III opener.."