Oakdale’s Merzon, Holt upbeat after blowing out East Union in VOL opener
Oakdale got off to a hot start in its Valley Oak League opener against East Union on Friday night.
Kevin Camelin returned a kick 85 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter and from that point, the Mustangs never wavered, running away with a dominant 56-13 win on Homecoming Night at The Corral.
“I thought our guys played fast,” head coach Trent Merzon said. “They were very opportunistic on offense and defensively we fly around the field.”
Jackson Holt completed 10 of 16 passes for 140 yards and three touchdowns and the Mustangs rushed for 188 yards.
The Mustangs benefited from great field position all night. More times than not, East Union (3-1) went for it on fourth down, often losing possession on downs to set up Oakdale.
Oakdale starts its season 4-0 for the first time since 2015 and, after playing a tough preseason schedule, Merzon is looking forward to the rest of the VOL.
“There’s always big expectations here, but we really keep our eye on the prize,” he said. “In the Valley Oak League, you never get to enjoy a win too long.”
Holt connected with Mickey Merzon for a 23-yard touchdown to open the scoring but East Union quarterback Luke Weaver answered with a 73-yard run to even the score at 7-7.
Camelin’s kick return started a streak of offensive dominance. Oakdale scored 45 straight points over the course of three quarters, including two touchdown passes from Holt and five rushing touchdowns.
“We worked our butts off all week,” Holt said after the game. “We know the VOL is stacked with talent ... our offense got out early, our defense was getting stops. No complaints.”
If there was a game ball to give, it would go to the Oakdale defense.
The Lancers had only scored fewer than 20 points once this season, a 42-13 loss to Windsor.
“Our D-Line is all quick, they can move, make big plays in the backfield,” Holt said. “Our linebackers and DB’s too. Our defense is full of playmakers.”
The Lancers suffered their second blowout loss of the season. They will play Sierra (0-5) next week.
Merzon knows what’s ahead in his team’s matchup with 4-0 Kimball next week. It’s a game he says his team has anticipated since the scheduled was released.
“They are dynamite,” Merzon said. “Their quarterback is dynamite, their athletes are dynamite. We know what’s in store for us next week.”
This story was originally published September 18, 2021 at 1:33 AM.
