Vanden underdog duo too much for Oakdale in D-III football section title game
Vanden doesn’t mind being the underdog.
The Vikings, the No. 3 seed in the Sac-Joquin Section Division III playoffs, took their first-round bye in stride, enjoyed their home playoff opener, a 28-7 win over Vista del Lago, then embraced the underdog mentality in the next two games, traveling to West Park to take a 14-7 semifinals win.
Awaiting the Vikings was top seed Oakdale in the section title game Saturday night. After a first-round bye, the Mustangs (9-4) beat Woodcreek and Destiny Christian Academy to reach the final.
When the lights were the brightest, Vanden’s (11-2) stars shined. Senior quarterback Kalani McLeod, who entered the game with over 3,000 passing yards and 26 touchdowns, and the team’s leading receiver, Logan Bailey, could not be stopped.
Bailey finished with 14 catches for 235 yards and three touchdowns. He recorded single-game career highs in catches, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.
“They were playing mostly zone, so I was just trying to find open gaps,” Bailey said. “There’s a lot of open space in a zone, so I was just trying to sit in there for the quarterback.”
McLeod completed 23 of 29 passes for 445 yards and six touchdowns to lead the Vikings to a 49-35 win.
“I think we expected as a team to come out with the win,” McLeod said of the team’s belief in itself. “We were voted the underdogs in every game and we used it as motivation.”
The Mustangs, playing in their first section title game since 2021, did what they could to stop the Vikings’ dynamic duo, which connected more than 10 times in the game.
“That’s a really good football team, they’re really well coached, defensively especially,” Oakdale head coach Garrett Martin said of Vanden.
Burford doesn’t leave the field
Wes Burford doesn’t leave the field.
He runs the ball and is the team’s leader in carries, rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. When he scores, he holds the ball for the field-goal kicker. On the off chance the Mustangs need to punt, he flexes the leg muscles, sending booming kicks down the field. Defensively, he plays defensive back and linebacker and returns kicks.
His dad, Seth, marches up and down the sideline talking into the headset, starting and stopping his stopwatch as the Mustangs’ personal play clock and between plays pulls a Gatorade bottle out of the pocket of his cargo pants to ask his son if he needs a drink.
Saturday afternoon, Wes carried the ball 33 times for 226 yards and three touchdowns.
“He’s a warrior,” Martin said. “He’s everything you want in a kid. He works hard every day. He’s one of the ones I hurt for most. A lot of stuff runs through him.”
Richard Flores scored on a three-yard run and caught a 12-yard pass from quarterback Grant Gardner to cap the scoring.
Oakdale took a 14-7 first-half lead, but after two unanswered Vanden touchdowns, fell behind 21-14. They tied the game going into halftime on a Flores touchdown run. They took a 28-21 lead on the first drive out of the half, but Vanden answered with three unanswered scores to take a 49-28 lead late in the game.
This is a teaching lesson for the Mustangs.
“Sometimes this isn’t always about winning and losing. You play with the players you have and this is about making memories with your brothers,” Martin said. “Do we want the championship banner? Of course, so maybe that is a bit of rationalization, but life goes on. We start preparing for next year in three weeks in January and the grind continues.”
A lot returns next season
If there is a silver lining for Martin and the Mustangs, it’s that they could very well be back next season.
All of Oakdale’s offensive production will be back next season. Burford, who will likely finish the season as a top-five rusher in the Sac-Joaquin Section and California despite his season ending potentially two weeks before other rushing leaders. His running mate Chase Lopez, who will likely finish with nearly 1,200 yards and nine rushing touchdowns, is also just a junior, as is the team’s breakout rushing star Flores.
Their quarterback, Gardner, is also just a junior and is expected to return next season with a year of running the Mustangs’ complicated offensive scheme under his belt.
Defensively, eight players with at least 15 tackles and a tackle for loss will be back. And of the eight players who recorded a sack in 2024, half will be back. Four players who recorded an interception will return.
Not only will an extra year of experience do them well, but a loss on the section’s biggest stage will serve as motivation.
“You love that part of it,” Martin said of the idea that Oakdale has production returning. “Hopefully, we start out on the right foot next year.”
This story was originally published December 1, 2024 at 10:27 AM.
