Big second half carries Manteca to Division IV section football crown

Manteca High School scored on its first four possessions of the second half, snapping a halftime tie and cruising to a 50-28 victory over Placer of Auburn in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV football championship Saturday night at Lincoln High’s Spanos Stadium.

The championship is the second in four years for the Buffaloes and fifth in school history. Four have been won by current coach Eric Reis, whose team advances to a CIF Northern regional bowl game.

“I’ve never been more satisfied in my life,” said junior quarterback Gino Campiotti, who completed 12 of 22 passes for 316 yards and four touchdowns. “I’ve dreamed about this since I was little. Amazing.”

After erasing a 14-0 lead – the run-heavy Hillmen connected on a 74-yard TD pass on their first play from scrimmage – and forging a 21-21 halftime tie, the Buffaloes looked like a new team to start the second half.

Matthew Ender’s interception – Manteca picked off sophomore Michael Stuck five times – was the fifth play of a Placer drive that netted just 2 yards.

Three plays later, Campiotti scored his lone rushing TD of the night on a 1-yard sneak to make it 28-21.

The Hillmen were forced to punt on their next possession, which gained all of 7 yards, and Justin Kakala blocked the kick, giving the Buffs good field position at Placer’s 23. Four plays later, Campiotti hit Jose Garcia (six receptions for 134 yards) for their third TD connection of the contest to make it 35-21.

Placer gained just 5 yards in going three and out on its next possession. The punter mishandled the snap and had to rush his kick, which went for just 2 yards, and the Buffs were in business at the Placer 38.

This time, Devyn Gonzales capped the drive with 1-yard dive into the end zone. A two-point conversion made it 43-21.

Placer’s next possession resulted in Kyle Rachels’ second interception of the game. Gerson Gomez also had two picks for the Buffaloes.

“Our DBs have been pretty maligned the whole year,” Reis said. “And tonight you saw some phenomenal plays. ... That group had to step up tonight to make it happen, and they did.”

Kameron Beamon delivered the dagger with an 81-yard touchdown run that made it 50-21 with 10:22 to play.

“I just had to look where the holes were and get to the outside,” said Beamon, who rushed for 128 yards on 12 attempts. “Just trust my blockers and keep running hard.”

Since the state went to a north-south bowl system in 2006, 10 squads from the Stanislaus District have reached a state championship game.

Teams from the Valley Oak League have played in state bowls seven times, and Manteca and Oakdale, along with Amador of the Mother Lode League, have a shot to add to that total this season.

This story was originally published November 26, 2016 at 10:02 PM with the headline "Big second half carries Manteca to Division IV section football crown."