After waiting for construction to be completed and hosting its games at Gustine High, Orestimba High football team, at long last, played an actual home game following the completion of an all-weathered track project.
As residents and students filled up the bleachers at Warrior Stadium, there was much anticipation for the program, who was 4-1 coming in and well-rested off of a bye. In celebration of the first home game, the team marched onto Pauletto Field donning a new black jersey.
The pregame camaraderie, however, was short-lived as Orestimba’s offense was stagnant, resulting in a 17-6 loss to Ripon Christian last Friday.
The Warriors fell to 4-2 overall and remained winless in Trans-Valley League play at 0-2, while the Knights improved to 5-2 overall and secured its first win in league play.
A majority of Ripon Christian was through running the ball as the Knights produced 272 yards on the ground. Receiver Mason Clark ran for 98 yards with one touchdown. Quarterback Josiah Van Vliet threw 1 for 3 for 32 yards. It was his fewest attempts so far this season.
While the Knights saw success on the ground, their defense also limited Orestimba’s offense as a whole. The ground game, which has been a focal point of the Warriors’ offense early in the season, was limited throughout the game as the running back duo of Michael Maier and Hunter Silva were immediately tackled by multiple Ripon Christian defenders upon receiving the ball.
With no success on the ground, the Warriors later turned to quarterback Jaden Jacobo. While he gained some huge yardage through the air, the Knights defense made some timely stops to prevent a score in the endzone.
Orestimba head coach Austin Martins said the team will need to “clean stuff up” and do a better job of running its plays, especially with a week of preparation.
“We have a young team, but we’re always not talking about excuses,” Martins said. “We gotta be able to execute at the end of the day.”
After forcing the Warriors’ punt on their opening drive, Ripon Christian received the ball at their 16-yard line. The Knights immediately got within Orestimba territory with the help of a 74-yard run from Clark ran 74 yards to reach the 10-yard line. The receiver ended the ensuing drive by running in the end zone for an early 7-0 lead.
Jacobo later led the Warriors down the field at Ripon Christian’s 30-yard line early in the second quarter. Instead of kicking the field goal, Martins instructed his team to go for it on fourth down. That decision did not turn out for Orestimba as the Knights forced a turnover on downs.
With the help of their running offense, Ripon Christian made it to the 41-yard line. The Knights later got within Orestimba's goal line following a 32-yard pass from Van Vliet, his only completion of the evening.
Van Vliet ran in the Warriors end zone the following play to extend Ripon Christian’s lead to 14 going into the second half.
After going scoreless in the opening half, Orestimba found some life in their first drive of the third quarter. On fourth down at midfield, the Warriors successfully converted it to keep their drive alive.
That decision later proved to pay off for Orestimba as Jacobo threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to receiver Sean Nunes to put the team on the board. The Warriors, however, missed the extra point to trail 14-6 going into the final period.
The Knights, like the first half, ran to the Warriors’ 30-yard line in their ensuing drive. After converting the field goal, Ripon Christian led 17-6 early in the quarter. They went on to force a turnover on downs in the final three minutes to hold on and win.
Orestimba will look to get their first league win in two seasons as they head to Hilmar High (7-0, 5-0 TVL) on Friday for a 7 p.m. kickoff. Hilmar is coming off a 35-29 road win against Sonora High.
With two of its four remaining games against top four teams in the TVL, Martins said every match in the league is a test for them.
“That’s the beautiful thing about the TVL … it doesn’t matter who it is,” Martins said. “Every single week can be a dogfight.”
