Oakdale running back Semone will face friends, former team on Friday

Will Semone runs his fingers through his long hair, pulling it off his face. Stubble frames his jaw. His eyes dart left and right, like a ball carrier dancing through the hole, only Semone’s not playing football.

He’s carefully picking his way through a question: Will it be difficult lining up against your best friends and former teammates?

The Oakdale High running back knew this day would come, when a reporter would fetch him from the locker room before practice to talk about his past, his present and the moment the two would collide.

Oakdale (7-2, 4-1) hosts Central Catholic (7-2, 5-0) in a regular-season finale laced with Valley Oak League title implications.

At the heart of this budding rivalry is a running back raised a Raider, but finding his footing as a Mustang.

Emotionally, Semone believes his nerves are slowly giving way to excitement.

Semone is excited to see old faces – friends since the fifth grade – and to show them just how far he’s come since he left campus. He’s just not comfortable talking about it.

“It’s going to be difficult playing people you’ve grown up with,” Semone said. “Coach (Trent) Merzon says the measure of a man is the way he responds to adversity. I wouldn’t want to play any other team. If I had to set it up in a storybook, this is how I would start it.”

The ending will be written Friday as the Mustangs look to knock off the private-school power and force a three-way split in the Valley Oak League.

With a win, Oakdale, Central Catholic and Manteca would all have one league loss. In that scenario, the Mustangs would need to win by 11 points to earn the VOL’s No. 1 playoff seed.

Merzon understands the weight Semone is feeling this week, but doesn’t believe the transfer will be bogged down by his emotions.

“He did put a lot of time and effort into it over there,” Merzon said. “He has good relationships over there, but he has good relationship over here now, too. I think he’s going to respond well. I think he’s going to play hard and play like he’s played all year long for us.”

Semone left Central Catholic about a week into the summer before his senior season.

He was raised a Central Saint and started at tailback as a freshman on the Raiders’ freshman team. The next two years, though, were a test of his patience and health.

He played primarily on defense as a sophomore on the junior varsity team, buried behind running back Jared Rice on the depth chart. As a junior, he watched Central Catholic’s perfect season unfold from the sidelines with a shoulder injury suffered during football camp. Even he admits, at full strength, there was little chance he’d see the field for a team stacked at his positions.

The Raiders leaned on two-time All-District Player of the Year Justin Rice, now a freshman at Fresno State and the only player in Stanislaus District history to rush for 2,000-plus yards twice in a career. They also had Montell Bland, now in his fourth year at the varsity level, and Jared Rice, who rushed for 1,000 yards with limited carries.

On the opposite side of the ball, Central Catholic’s linebacking corps was set in stone, beginning with the Kekupa’a Freehauf and Austin Escobar in the middle.

Semone was stuck in the shadows … unless he wasn’t.

He transferred to Oakdale, where Merzon was holding auditions for three running back spots in his vaunted Wing-T offense.

“Being that I didn’t get to play last year and I’ve always been the back-up because they’re so good over there, I wanted to have fun in my senior year,” Semone said. “I wanted to play. I wanted to showcase what I could do; see if I could do anything. I’m a hard worker and I wanted to put my hard work to use.”

His decision to transfer didn’t come easily, especially considering the destination.

Central Catholic didn’t just join the Valley Oak League in 2014. The Raiders took the place of the Mustangs’ longtime rival Sonora, inheriting the Wildcats’ place on the calendar and the Mustangs’ cross hairs.

In 2014, Oakdale pummeled the four-time defending CIF State Bowl champions at The Corral, claiming the program’s 10th VOL title in 12 seasons.

Last fall, Central Catholic staved off the hard-charging Mustangs twice – once for the VOL title and again for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III crown.

“It’s hard to leave people that you love, especially going to a school that is hated,” Semone said. “That’s where I grew up. That’s where I started, but I’m on their team now. I’m one of them.”

From the shadows on Carpenter Road, Semone has found a home in the spotlight at The Corral.

He has a team-high 1,023 yards and eight touchdowns on 137 carries, filling the void left behind by record-setting fullback Brad Aquino.

“He’s an absolute stallion. He competes. He has a high skill level, a high skill set,” Oakdale coach Trent Merzon said. “He’s super intelligent. He picked up the offense in a hurry. He’s physical. He’s everything we like in our running backs – I mean, everything we like in our running backs.

“Guys like Will Semone are built for this system. We play with three running backs and our running backs have to run, they have to catch and they have to block. He takes care of all three of those intangibles.”

Semone runs with purpose, drawing on the frustration of being injured and buried down the depth chart.

He went over the 1,000-yard mark with a 53-yard burst in the fourth quarter of a 30-22 loss to Manteca High last week, and has topped 100 yards in the seven games he’s finished. He’s averaging 7.5 yards per carry.

“I came with a chip on my shoulder,” Semone said. “My whole life I’ve been told I’m too small, not big enough or fast enough, that I should be playing somewhere else or I can’t do it.”

Merzon believes Semone will hear cheers from both sides of The Corral on Friday, a rarity for a rivalry game with title implications.

“I think they’re really happy for him,” Merzon said. “He had to make a tough choice before the season started. He came over here and he’s a 1,000-yard rusher for us. He’s happy where he’s at.

“I think deep down inside, he’s got a lot of friends over there that are rooting for him. Maybe not as hard this week, but they’re happy for him and what he’s done this year.”

This story was originally published November 2, 2016 at 2:20 PM with the headline "Oakdale running back Semone will face friends, former team on Friday."