Del Oro dominates Downey in season opener behind QB’s four touchdowns

Friday night’s high school football season opener between Downey and Del Oro was a mismatch in experience and execution.

Del Oro had the experience and executed proficiently. A young Downey team had nerves early in the game and played poorly for much of it

The result was a lopsided win for Del Oro, 39-14.

Senior quarterback Nolen Sauve passed for four touchdowns and senior running back Brock Sherman ran for two scores as Del Oro dominated at Chuck Hughes Stadium.

It was an impressively clean performance from the Golden Eagles, who jumped on Downey early and never let up.

“We focused on it, we focused on our execution,” Del Oro coach Josh Parry said. “We focused on the task at hand, which was one game at a time.”

Downey, meanwhile, looked nervous from the outset.

The Knights were plagued by mistakes and turnovers, and never got their offense going until late in the second quarter. By that time, they trailed by 20 points.

“Young team, we’ve got to coach them up,” Downey coach Jeremy Plaa said. “We’ve got to coach them so they’re better.

“I think our coaching staff, me included, will take the first one on the chin. And we have a lot of work to do. We’re going to get better.”

Sauve threw three first-half touchdown passes, from 21, 54 and 13 yards, as Del Oro raced out to a 20-0 lead.

Downey got on the scoreboard with eight seconds left in the first half on Mark Sanchez’s 1-yard touchdown run. Del Oro led 20-6 at halftime.

Sauve’s fourth touchdown pass, a 20-yarder to Luke Galer on fourth-and-11, put the Golden Eagles up 26-6 early in the third quarter.

Downey was intercepted on the first play of its ensuing drive, and Sherman scored the first of his two touchdowns to put the game out of reach at 32-6.

Downey’s only highlight of the second half was a 66-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Julian Masaniai to junior receiver Owen Sacuskie.

Del Oro off to a strong start

Del Oro went 2-8 last season but opened the season ranked 19th in The Sacramento Bee’s rankings. The Golden Eagles did not disappoint in their season opener.

The storied program out of Loomis is in good hands with its energetic coach. Josh Parry was a standout at Sonora High who went on to play for San Jose State and in the NFL as a fullback.

Parry’s son, Landen, was a force against Downey on Friday night. The tight end/linebacker was all over the field. He caught the game’s first touchdown, outfighting a Downey defender for the ball, recorded a sack and opened holes on offense as a blocker.

Josh Parry said he enjoyed bringing his team south to Modesto. “I love coming down here,” he said. “I’m from Sonora, born and raised, played down here a lot when I was in high school, and I always remembered the rivalries. I want to expose that to Del Oro, my new place where I’m at.”

The Golden Eagles have time to enjoy the victory. They have a bye next week before heading to Placer on Sept. 5.

Downey has some work to do.

Downey, which went 10-2 last season and lost to Folsom in the second round of the Division I playoffs, graduated several key players.

The Knights will have to get things cleaned up quickly as they head to Elk Grove next Friday night.

“Del Oro is a good team, but in the first half, especially, our offense had negative plays almost every single drive,” Plaa said. “So, again, we just have to work harder in practice, we’ve got to make things smoother. But we have to execute, that’s what it comes down to.”

Downey’s next home game will be Sept. 5 against Merced.

This story was originally published August 23, 2025 at 12:10 AM.