Merced football advances to semifinals after dominant win over high-powered East Union
Merced High senior Jaylen Thao-Booth wasn’t ready for his season to be over. He made that very clear to his teammates this week during practice.
“I put a lot of pressure on the guys,” Thao-Booth said. “I kind of felt bad, but I let them know they had to work hard and make it happen today, work hard for the guys next to them. This may not be their last, but it’s our (last).”
Thao-Booth and the Bears defense did their part, limiting a high-powered East Union offense to just 15 points.
Thao-Booth had five sacks and the Merced defense came up with two interceptions as the No. 4 seeded Bears dominated from start to finish in a 56-15 win over the No. 5 Lancers in the second round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV playoffs on Friday night.
The Bears (8-3) advance to play top-seeded Kimball (10-1) in the semifinals next week.
“I didn’t think it would be like this honestly, I thought it would be a shootout,” said Merced coach Rob Scheidt. “Our defense did a tremendous job. A very difficult game plan but we executed it well.”
Thao-Booth set the tone on East Union’s first offensive play when he dropped Lancers quarterback Luke Weaver for a sack and a 15-yard loss.
The Bears defense would record eight sacks as they suffocated an offense that averaged 41 points per game coming into the quarterfinal matchup.
“It’s real exciting, knowing I get a chance to make a play and we don’t have to leave it all up to our secondary,” Thao-Booth said. “We’ve got a lot of guys on the D-line to make it happen and put pressure on the quarterback.”
The Bears’ defense also contributed in the scoring with Thao-Booth’s little brother Jalonn scoring on a 34-yard interception return. Jalonn read a screen pass, held up from rushing toward the quarterback, tipped the pass in the air and then brought it down and ran the distance for the score.
“He dropped back with the running back and got the tip and got to pick off the ball,” Jaylen said. “Then I saw the only man between him and the end zone was the quarterback, so we just had to get in his way.”
Meanwhile, the Merced offense did its part, too.
Merced scored touchdowns on its first four possessions to take a 28-7 halftime lead.
Bears junior Jack Collins had a huge night for the second consecutive game. Collins hauled in six catches for 102 yards and three touchdowns. He also threw a 58-yard touchdown on a double-pass to fellow receiver Enoch Evans.
Collins scored on touchdown catches of 9 and 35 yards in the first half. He added a 7-yard touchdown catch in the second half.
“They’re just giving me the ball and I’m making plays,” Collins said. “That’s just what I do. I’m having fun. I love football.”
Collins caught four passes for 173 yards and scored two touchdowns against Golden Valley in the final regular season game.
“We’re very, very fortunate,” Scheidt said. “We have guys who can make plays on the perimeter and some guys have their games. Lately it’s been on this field that Jack has been tearing it up.”
Merced quarterback Seth Scheidt completed 15 of 22 passes for 221 yards and four touchdowns to go along with 17 carries for 105 rushing yards and another score.
Evans also caught four balls for 110 yards and a touchdown.
Next up for Merced is a game against another explosive offense in Kimball with a trip to the section championship on the line.
“It’s the same challenge,” Rob Scheidt said. “That’s the beautiful thing about it. We’re going to go to a place where it looks very similar. We don’t match up as well in some spots, but I didn’t think we matched up here in some spots and our guys just played really well.”
This story was originally published November 12, 2021 at 11:43 PM with the headline "Merced football advances to semifinals after dominant win over high-powered East Union."
