MODESTO – One week after beating its rival to kickoff the season, the Orestimba High football team was looking to keep its winning ways going on the East side of Stanislaus County.
But the Warriors, unfortunately, ran into a Grace Davis High squad that was hungry after starting its season with a loss on the road.
That led to Grace Davis posting a 34-14 win over the Warriors at Downey High. The non-league game was originally scheduled to be played at Modesto Junior College but was moved to the Downey location.
Orestimba (1-1) had limited success on offense. But it was just different errors that went against it and helped the host Spartans.
“I thought the offense did a good job,” said Orestimba head coach Austin Martins, who is in his first season of running the program. “We just shot ourselves in the foot.”
Despite the setbacks, several Warriors turned in strong individual performances. Senior quarterback Giovanni Gudino threw for 92 yards and added 44 on the ground. Junior Michael Maier rushed for 87 yards and scored one of Orestimba’s two touchdowns. Fellow junior Jose Cuevas carried the ball 15 times for 88 yards and contributed five tackles on defense. Senior Richie Rivas led the receiving corps with 91 yards.
On defense, seniors Noah Valenzuela and Robert Corella anchored the front, tallying five and four tackles respectively.
The Spartans were all over the field on offense against the Warriors, gaining a combined 322 yards; 163 on the ground and 159 in the air.
Martins feels that his team is slowly gaining experience in the last two games and will continue in upcoming games.
“This was a good reality check for us as a staff and the players,” Martins said. “We can use the next game to get better and our (upcoming) games.”
One thing Martin was proud to say was that his team didn’t quit.
“We had guys that took accountability,” Martins said. “They played all four quarters.”
Grace Davis (1-1) started its season against one of the Warriors’ Trans-Valley League foes in Hilmar (2-0) on Aug. 23. Hilmar came away with a 32-0 win.
Orestimba posted a 26-0 win over Gustine in the season opener that was also on Aug. 23.
Upcoming game
Orestimba now sets its sights on its third non-league game of the season as it travels to LeGrand to face the Bulldogs. The game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
LeGrand (1-1) played at former Southern Athletic League foe Ripon Christian (2-0), which posted a 41-6 non-league win also on Friday.
“LeGrand has always been a scrappy team,” said Martins of the Bulldogs. “They are well-coached. We can’t wait to get out there (this Friday).”
LeGrand edged Livingston (0-2) by a 35-29 score in the season opener for both teams, also on Aug. 23.
Orestimba and LeGrand were scheduled to play each other in a non-league game at Warrior Stadium in 2024. But the game was canceled when the Sac-Joaquin Section forced LeGrand to forfeit its first three non-league games of the season because of altercations with Tranquility High football players during a scrimmage a week before the season started for the bulk of the high school football teams in the section.
Mike Bush is a multimedia journalist who was born and raised in the Stanislaus and Merced County areas. Follow him on X/Twitter @MikeBMultimedia and Instagram @mikebushmedia.
