Oakdale avenges 2024 loss to Vanden for second straight D-III title appearance
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Oakdale defense tightened assignments and forced three first-half interceptions.
- Oakdale rushed for multiple long TDs; Burford and Navarro produced key yards.
- Oakdale advanced to the D-III title game and aims for a NorCal state berth.
If Oakdale was going to have any success Friday night in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III semifinals, head coach Garrett Martin knew the defense had to be better.
They were playing a familiar opponent, Vanden High, for the second time in 12 months and the Mustangs (10-2) had a chip on their shoulder.
The Vikings (9-3) are the reason Oakdale still has not won a Sac-Joaquin Section title since 2016.
Last season, the two sides met in the D-III title game, which Vanden won 49-35. While a lot of the characters were different, the schemes were the same.
Vanden’s pass-heavy offense was the perfect scheme to beat a Mustangs team built to stop the run with a ton of physicality up front. And earlier in the season, it probably could have.
But Martin says the defense continued to improve during the regular season as coaches continued to drill defensive alignment and assignment and players started to regain their confidence.
Their hard work showed up Friday in a 45-13 semifinals win. The No. 2 Mustangs punched their ticket to a second straight Sac-Joauqin Section championship game where they will play No. 1 Woodcreek Nov. 28 at 4 p.m. at Sacramento City College.
No one benefited more from a regained sense of confidence than junior defensive back Peyton Wallace, who came away with three key first half interceptions.
Wallace, admittedly, struggled earlier in the season, but stayed consistent and made plays when they came his way.
“It’s just been me getting in my head a little bit,” Wallace said of his early-season struggles, “not making my reads and trying to do too much. But this game, I stuck with my reads and good things happened.”
Oakdale turned each Wallace pick into points in a dominant, complimentary football game.
Vanden scored the game’s first points, but a Wes Burford touchdown run and two-point conversion gave the Mustangs an early 8-7 lead.
Wallace’s first interception came with about 7 minutes, 30 seconds left in the first half and eight plays later, Burford found the end zone again on a four-yard score as the Mustangs took a 16-7 lead. Wallace came away with another interception two plays into the Vikings’ ensuing drive and Anthony Navarro capitalized with his 30-yard touchdown run.
Vanden took over possession with 54.4 seconds left in the first half but on the first play of its drive, Wallace nabbed his third pick. About 40 seconds later, Grant Gardner found Luke Sousa for a 14-yard touchdown and Oakdale went into halftime ahead 32-7.
“Week over week he got better,” Martin said of Navarro. “Last week, there were some things we wanted to correct and this week he did those things better.”
Burford scored his third touchdown on a four-yard run in the third quarter and senior Chase Lopez iced the game with a 55-yard run for his only touchdown of the game.
In addition to the three scores, Burford carried the ball 32 times for 164 yards and Lopez added eight carries for 81 yards to go with his rushing touchdown.
“We knew after the loss in the section finals last year that our defense needed to step up,” said Burford, who also plays defense and had a pair of sacks and tackles for loss. “Everyone did that. The main focus was focusing on keys and the defense definitely did that.”
Stepping up in rusher’s absence
Richard Flores became a household name around this time last year.
The wing recorded his first big rushing games in the 2024 postseason, tallying 164 yards and two touchdowns against Woodcreek and 235 yards and five touchdowns against Destiny Christian. This year, he picked up right where he left off, recording 122 rush yards and four touchdowns in the second game of the 2025 campaign and rushing for over 100 yards and at least two touchdowns in four straight Valley Oak League games. He has over 1,000 rush yards and 20 touchdowns this season and tallied a career-high 19 carries and had 196 yards in a win over Central Catholic.
But, in the first half of the Mustangs’ regular season finale against Manteca, Flores suffered a lower leg injury, forcing Martin and the Mustangs to scramble to finish the game and thrusting new backs into his position.
Enter Anthony Navarro.
The junior who started the season as Wes Burford’s understudy was thrown into the D-III playoffs in a completely different backfield position.
He rushed for 69 yards in last week’s playoff opener and Friday night, posted his first career 100-plus yard rushing performance. On seven carries, he tallied 108 yards and added a 30-yard touchdown. His longest run of the outing came on a 44-yard second-quarter burst around the corner before he was tripped up at the 12-yard line. The Mustangs went on to score later in the drive.
Section championship bound
The Mustangs earned themselves an extra week of football.
Before they broke down the postgame huddle, Martin ran through the championship week itinerary which includes film and weight room sessions and the coveted Thanksgiving Day practice. The plan, Martin said to the team, is to practice Thursday morning at 6 a.m.
They are hoping for a different result from last season: a win that will send the senior class out with a bang.
A section championship not only secures a blue banner, it also punches their ticket into the CIF state regional bowl games. A win in the NorCal Bowl sends teams to the state championship in its respective division.
“We knew we needed to do this (making the title game) was one of our goals at the start of the season and it feels amazing,” Burford said. “Everybody’s pumped, everybody’s in a good mindset. As long as we keep carrying this on, it’s going to be a good run.”
This story was originally published November 22, 2025 at 7:43 AM.
