Richard Flores’ career-high performance leads Oakdale to Division III section title game
Richard Flores was always in the right place, but not on offense.
The junior in his first varsity season started at cornerback and backup running back. But Oakdale High second-year football coach Garrett Martin knew he had something special.
“He’s worked hard all year,” Martin said. “He’s a great kid in the weight room you never have to check where he’s at. He’s always where he’s supposed to be.”
His offensive skillset was always there, but the Mustangs needed him to play defense. As the No. 2 at all three running back positions, he rotated between the three, rushing for just two touchdowns. Last week, he earned full-time offense snaps and made the most of them, recording his first 100-plus yard rushing game.
Friday night he was, once again, always in the right place. The only difference was that this time he was on offense and that “right place” was the end zone. Flores posted a single game career-high 235 yards and career-high five touchdowns to lead the Mustangs (9-3) to a 49-35 win in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III semifinals. With the win, the Mustangs punch their ticket to the D-III championship.
“It feels great being on varsity and scoring touchdowns,” said Flores, who grew up admiring varsity football teams. “It’s always been my dream.”
Versatile rushing attack
In Oakdale’s offense, anyone can get the ball.
In the three-headed rushing attack of Flores, Chase Lopez and Wes Burford, each plays his role to perfection.
Burford is the bruiser who carries the bulk of the load. The junior is one of the section’s top rushers for the second straight season and has had less than 20 carries just four times this season. Friday night, he rushed for 208 yards and a pair of one-yard touchdowns on 29 carries.
Lopez does a little bit of both, mixing in bruising runs through the line with speed on outside rushes. The Lions keyed on him Friday night.
And then there is Flores, the guy who is always in the right place. After a career game in the quarterfinals, he one-upped himself Friday night. But he didn’t want any of the credit, deflecting it onto the big guys up front.
“I’ve just got to thank the blockers for just being there and always having my back,” he said. “They get all the credit, not me.”
Flores scored touchdowns on his first two touches, rushing for 36 and 37 yard scores, respectively. Burford also added a touchdown as the Mustangs jumped out to an early 21-7 lead after the first quarter. Burford scored once more in the half but the Lions answered them point-for-point. By halftime the game was tied 28-28.
The second half belonged to Flores. He scored three rushing touchdowns, all 30 or more yards, to lead the Mustangs to a win.
“The week leading up to it, we were getting restless,” Burford said. “Everybody wanted to play. Destiny is a really good team. We just want to keep going. We’re excited, this is awesome.”
Culture shift at Destiny Christian
2024 was all about changing the culture at Destiny Christian.
The Lions (9-4), formerly known as the Capital Christian Cougars, entered the new school year under new school leadership and new coaching staff but not new players which, to some prior to the start of the campaign, could have been a bad sign. It wasn’t that for athletic director turned head coach Aaron Garcia. The 2023 outfit went 2-8, dropping its first six straight games before earning a pair of Capital Athletic League games. They finished fifth in the league.
“We struggled through a very hard year,” Garcia said. “What I was most proud of is that we didn’t lose any kids. Nobody transferred out. Nowadays, the (transfer) portal is everywhere and everybody stayed together.”
This season, as members of the Metro League, they finished third, earned nine overall wins and made its way back to the postseason after missing out last year.
“It was a ‘change the culture’ season,” said co-head coach Antuan Simmons. “A lot of things had to change so this year was about raising the standard.”
Destiny Christian never let the game get too out of hand in the first half. After Oakdale took a 21-7 lead at the end of the first, the Lions scored twice to even the game at 21 apiece. When Oakdale answered with a touchdown, they went 72 yards in just over 27 seconds to go into the half tied at 28-28.
The ball bounced the Lions’ way in the first half. It was different in the third and fourth quarters. They were stopped short on a controversial fourth-down conversion, had an Oakdale kickoff bounce off a player and right into the hands of a Mustang and threw a fourth-quarter interception to essentially seal the game. They scored just seven second half points.
Dallas Munn, the Lions steadying force and senior quarterback with six Division I scholarship offers, rushed for three short-yardage touchdowns and completed a 22-yard touchdown pass to Greyson Smith.
“Our guys battled, went score for score with them the whole first half,” Garcia said. “Second half, there’s always key moments. … If we’re gonna lose to somebody, that’s a good team to lose to.”
Improving from two wins to a Division III section semifinals appearance is not a bad place to start a rebuild. The Lions won more than seven games for the first time since 2019, were ranked the No. 5 team in Division III by the Sac-Joaquin Section and upset the No. 4 seed on their playoff journey.
“It’s a heck of a place to start building,” Simmons said. “We had a unique opportunity this year, looking at the landscape of Division III. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to finish the job today.”
Tradition at Oakdale
Playoff success is a tradition at Oakdale.
The section championship is a new experience for every player and it will look different for Martin as well. After spending seasons coaching alongside legendary coach Trent Merzon, he will on Saturday be a head coach in his very first section title game. Their three-season section championship appearance drought, Martin says, felt like forever.
Vanden is an impressive 10-2 and enters the game on a six-game win streak. The Vikings, ranked No. 3 in the bracket, finished third in the Monticello Empire League.
“Growing up here, that was always the goal, a blue banner,” said Martin. “One of my first football memories is the 1999 section championship game and I can remember every one since then. That’s where we want to be.”
This story was originally published November 23, 2024 at 7:56 AM.
