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Mustangs too strong for Hawks
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Central Valley High School's varsity football team showed resiliency early in its Valley Oak League showdown against powerhouse Oakdale Friday night.

Trevor Mew's 1-yard quarterback sneak and extra point gave the Hawks a 7-6 lead with 2:53 remaining in the first quarter. The visiting Mustangs, ranked No. 3 in the CalHiSports.com Division III poll, responded with two quick scores before the end of the period on their way to a decisive 43-7 victory over the upset-minded Hawks on Ceres High School's rain-soaked and mud-covered field.

"There's a reason they're one of the top teams in the state," Mew said. "They don't make mistakes."

Third-place Central Valley dropped to 1-2 in the VOL standings, 2-4 overall.

First-place Oakdale improved to 3-0 in conference play, 5-1 overall.

The Hawks were limited to 142 yards of offense as they committed three turnovers and fumbled four snaps.

Running backs Vince Lopez, Joaquin Casas and Glenn Carrillo gained 23, 19 and 11 yards, respectively.

Mew completed 9 of 20 passes for 101 yards and two interceptions. Rick Rogers and DeAngelo Williams each caught three passes for 37 yards. Gerald Garcia had three receptions for 27 yards.

The Mustangs piled up 396 yards of offense.

Rudi Burtschi and Nick Batteate led Oakdale's rushing attack, which amassed 333 yards on 53 carries. Burtschi ran for 152 yards and three scores on 19 carries. Batteate gained 88 yards on 16 carries.

Quarterback Devin Combs completed 4 of 6 passes for 63 yards and a touchdown and carried the ball three times for 17 yards and a score. Batteate caught two passes for 50 yards and a TD.

Backup quarterback Tanner Combs rushed for 32 yards and a TD on seven carries.

Oakdale outscored Central Valley 24-7 in the opening half. The Mustangs reeled off 18 straight points.

Devin Combs threw a 29-yard TD pass to Batteate and scored on a 9-yard run in the first quarter.

Forced to punt from its own end zone, Central Valley took an intentional safety with 8:59 to play in the second quarter.

"It's disappointing to lose like that," Mew said. "We felt like we could play with them. We had a good game plan. It just didn't work out the way we wanted it to. We just made too many mistakes and they capitalized."

Central Valley will face second-place Sonora (2-1) on Friday at Dunlavy Field. Kickoff slated for 7 p.m.