Lopez’s look back, look ahead: Big Valley Christian’s Selover does it all for Lions

Junior running back Javyn Drobnick gets much of the spotlight for Big Valley Christian.

However, in his team’s 28-0 win over Le Grand on Friday, senior quarterback Gunnar Selover not only converted a couple of third-and-long attempts, but also was the team’s kicker and kickoff specialist.

“Our kicker (senior Tim Doyle) got hurt on Wednesday,” Lions coach Brian Berkefeld said on Saturday morning. “Gunnar stepped up and did great on kickoffs as well as going 4-for-4 on PAT’s.”

Drobnick had another big game as he rushed for 153 yards and three touchdowns and has rushed for 529 yards and six touchdowns in two games this year.

The Bulldogs rushed for 398 yards and four touchdowns in their Week 1 victory over Livingston but the Lions shut down the Le Grand rushing attack Friday.

“The defense played such an amazing game,” Berkefeld said. “Size-wise, they were so much bigger but the effort our kids gave on defense with gang tackling was a big key.”

Oakdale gets by El Capitan but has lots to work on

It wasn’t the prettiest of wins but behind four second-half rushing touchdowns, Oakdale beat El Capitan, 33-6 on Friday.

“We need to figure out what kind of team we want to be,” Mustangs coach Trent Merzon said Saturday. “We made too many mental mistakes and they kill drives.”

The game was tied at 6 at half and Merzon said the Mustangs had problems with turning the ball over and too many penalties. Oakdale had 30 rushing attempts and were averaging five yards per carry in the first half but could only muster one touchdown.

Junior Leo Ayala and senior Caleb Kuppens both had rushing touchdowns in the second half for the Mustangs, who will host Chaparral (Parker, Colo.) next week.

“We need to play better,” Merzon said. “I thought we did a good job of running the ball and stopping the run in the second half.”

Merced converts three fourth-down attempts in win over Downey

In Merced’s 47-44 win over Downey, the Bears converted three fourth-down attempts against the Knights.

“Those fourth down conversions really hurt,” Knights coach Jeremy Plaa said. “All three of those conversions turned into touchdowns. We had opportunities and we didn’t do anything with them.”

Senior wide receiver Xavier Stewart had two big gains for Merced, one of which looked like an easy tackle for multiple Downey defenders after Stewart dropped the snap but he recovered and avoided the defense en route to a 22-yard gain.

News and Notes

Brian Clark, who was at the Central Catholic-St. Mary’s game, had these thoughts.

A lot of football history on the sideline at David Patton Field. Long time Escalon coach Mark Loureiro, in his first year of retirement, said it felt a little weird to be on a sideline and not coaching. This was the second game he’s attended. He and Central Catholic coach Roger Canepa chatted it up at halftime. Other retired coaches there were former Beyer and Central Catholic coach Chris Wilkinson and former Sonora coach Gary Smith. ...

On offense, St. Mary’s seemed to have better skill players. But to neutralize them, the Raiders relied on a flawless performance by their offensive line. Central did not throw a pass in the second half, and Kyle Jacklich ran for 123 of Central’s 168 yards in the final two quarters. St. Mary’s three possessions in the second half ending on a pick, a fumble and downs. ...

Skill-wise, the St. Mary’s receiving corps of Asar-Alim Moore, Nicolas Reis and Elijah Wood might be the best in the southern part of the Sac-Joaquin Section. They caught with their hands and pulled in some ropes from their quarterback, Noah May. It was textbook and impressive to watch. ...

The clock at David Patton Field went out toward the end of the second quarter. The refs did a good job of managing it before it began working again late in the third quarter. ...

Big Valley Christian had its annual school retreat last week, which is why the Lions had a bye week but it wasn’t the best week for the Lions football team.

“We had a kid break his arm, a kid get poison oak, and a kid get sick,” Berkefeld said. ...

Jim Silva, who covered Tracy-Turlock said Turlock used junior offensive lineman and Cal Commit Everett Johnson at right tackle, left tackle, and a couple plays at guard. “He was pancaking guys left and right,” Silva said.