Defensive stand against Manteca seals comeback win, top spot in VOL for Central Catholic
The chance at a 2023 Valley Oak League championship came down to one play and three seconds.
Central Catholic had the lead, but Manteca was charging down the field on the back of the power run game, slowly chewing away at the clock to ensure they had the game’s last possession. The Buffaloes had the ball on the Central Catholic 10 yard line with a fourth down and six.
When they needed it, the defense made the game-sealing play. Christopher Early broke through the Manteca offensive line, forcing the Buffaloes quarterback Garrison Reis, who already had a pair of touchdown passes at the time, to make a throw off his back foot.
Before a Manteca receiver could make a clean catch, TP Wentworth lowered his shoulder, knocking the visiting player out of bounds five yards short of the goal line to seal the 39-35 win.
“Wow,” said Wentworth. “To win like that — they’re on the 10 yard line and it seems like they’re getting 10 yards every play — to get a stop was huge. I’m just proud of our team, I’m proud of the way we competed, held together and we came together and made the play that mattered.”
Manteca proved it would be a tough out on the very first offensive play of the game. Reis connected with Julian Moncada for a 65-yard touchdown to go up 7-0.
Central Catholic scored the next 17 points to take a 10-point lead in the second quarter. After a Seth Van Dyk interception, Wentworth scored on a quarterback sneak, Xavier Diep made a 26-yard field goal and Wentworth found Trace Hernandez for a 45-yard touchdown.
From that point on, Manteca’s offense ran through Bryson Davis. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound senior running back scored a pair of second quarter rushing touchdowns and by halftime, the Raiders were ahead by just two points. Davis finished with 29 carries for 261 yards and two touchdowns.
Manteca’s offense continued to produce in the second half as the Buffaloes scored twice to open up an 11-point lead, 35-24.
“We were feeling good, then they make that drive before the half. We were feeling it a little bit,” Wentworth said.
The Raiders scored a pair of touchdowns to retake the lead. As the third quarter buzzer expired, Wentworth and Brooklyn Cheek connected for a 51-yard touchdown pass and Carter Meeks scored his second rushing touchdown of the game.
“Our kids didn’t quit,” said Raiders coach Roger Canepa. “They were down and just battled. Great effort. We’ve had some battles and we’ve won them, so I’m thinking this is the one where something happens. … You’ve got to give our kids credit.”
The Buffaloes’ final drive essentially belonged to Davis. He carried the ball on seven of the nine plays as they marched from their own 19 yard line to the Raiders’ 10.
The defensive stop helped them win the biggest game of the season so far.
“This is the biggest game for us,” said Wentworth, who completed 13 of 18 passes for 197 yards, two touchdowns and scored a rushing touchdown. “This game means the most, in a big environment. … It was great to come together and get a win.”
Sealing a league title
Every Central Catholic player, cheerleader and student that stormed the field postgame from the student section gathered in a circle near the end zone in front of the scoreboard chanting “VOL, VOL, VOL”.
The win sealed at least a share of the league title and kept its streak of league wins alive. Friday night, the Raiders won their 15th straight VOL contest.
“It’s tradition,” Raiders coach Roger Canepa said. “We’ve got one goal. We’ve got to beat Sierra, they’ve got a good team, but we have to enjoy this for one day, man. We’re going to have a day off, enjoy this and get ready on Monday.
“You’ve got to give Manteca credit, they played hard.”
Trace Hernandez and Brooklyn Cheek combined for eight catches and each had a long touchdown reception. Meeks rushed for a pair of touchdowns and Joey Alcutt rushed for 100 yards.
The win also extended a streak against Manteca. Since it entered the VOL in 2014, Central Catholic has not dropped a league contest to the Buffaloes. Friday night marked the ninth straight win. They outlasted Lyon Colon’s 200-plus yard performance in 2021, Blake Nichelson’s seven touchdown, 400 yard outing last season in a 56-49 shootout and came from behind to win this season despite a 261-yard, two touchdown game from Bryson Davis.
“We had to be a team,” Alcutt said of Central Catholic’s ability to come back late in the game. “It’s a ‘we’ thing, so we just had to all come together.”
Since entering the league, the Raiders have dominated, finishing undefeated four times and losing just once three others.
Still more work to do
They have the chance to put a cap on their third straight and fifth overall undefeated league finish in the season’s final week against Sierra. According to MaxPreps, Central Catholic lost to the Timberwolves by a field goal, 17-14, in 2014 but has won seven straight games since.
In the past two wins over Sierra, the Raiders scored 124 points and allowed just seven.
A win over Sierra next Friday night would give the Raiders the VOL title outright for the third straight season.
Friday night’s game was also big for playoff seeding. With the win, Central Catholic has potentially locked in a top three spot in the section’s top division.
The Raiders were placed in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoffs for the first time last season due to the section’s continued success rule. In 2021, they won a Division II section title and advanced to the Division 2-AA state championship game.
The difference between a No. 2 and No. 3 seed is home field advantage. If the Raiders are awarded the No. 2 seed, they will have home field advantage in each of the first three rounds, including the D-I semifinals. If the section’s seeding committee determines the Raiders are the third place team, they will have to travel to play the D-I No. 2 seed in the semifinals.
Last season, they earned the five-seed and lost to No. 1 Folsom in the semifinals.
No matter their fate, rallying from behind to win a game like Friday night’s can only have a positive effect on the team.
“It boosts our morale, for sure,” Van Dyk said. “It lets us know we can compete with any team whether we are down or up. If we miss assignments or not, we’re going to come back … we always fight hard until the end of four quarters and we’re going to keep doing that until we’re done playing.”
This story was originally published October 21, 2023 at 6:54 AM.
