MANTECA, CA -- Manteca sophomore Dom Rea intercepted the last gasp for Christian Brothers on Friday night, allowing the Buffaloes to escape with the 43-38 victory in the second tense game between these programs this season. This victory sends Manteca on to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III championship game, where the Buffaloes will face Valley Oak League nemesis Oakdale.
Manteca entered the fourth quarter holding onto a 36-24 advantage, but Christian Brothers closed the gap on Gunnor Faulk's four-yard touchdown run, midway through the fourth. All-around threat Gino Campiotti extended the lead once again for the Buffaloes with his 23-yard rushing touchdown. but Christian Brothers made things close again on a 55-yard run by Jaiden Green, with 1:17 left in the game. Christian Brothers then recovered the onside kick, but Rea's interception ended the comeback threat.
“My offensive line was what won the game, I just ran through the pockets," said Campiotti. "I have been waiting for a rematch against Oakdale for awhile now. We want to win the section championships bad."
Campiotti's fourth quarter run was his fifth score of the night on the ground, and he added a five-yard touchdown pass to Jorge Cedano early in the third quarter. That touchdown pass gave Manteca a 29-16 lead at the time, but Christian Brothers came right back with a 27-yard pass from Faulk to standout tight end Spencer Webb. Campiotti reached the end zone one more time before the end of the quarter, however, to re-establish a 12-point lead at the end of three quarters.
"We did everthing we could to catch up back in this game, it just didn't swing our way," said Faulk. “Its been great playing with this group of guys and I wish them best of luck next season."
Christian Brothers actually struck first in the game, on a 16-yard run by Green, but that was when Campiotti took over the scoring, reaching the end zone on runs of 22 and 1 yards to close out the first quarter.
The second quarter saw a defensive battle on both sides of the field, not seeing a score until the last few minutes of the quarter, when Campiotti broke loose for a 24-yard rushing touchdown to put the team up by two touchdowns. But Christian Brothers responded fast with Faulk's 19 yard passing touchdown to Tyler Green to close out the half and make it a one score game.
“Those last couple of minutes were very nerve-wracking for me and my team. That final interception gave us a breath of air after some tense moments" said Manteca coach Eric Reis. "We got Oakdale next and we couldn't be more ready for it. My guys have been wanting this rematch for a while and we are going to do what we need to do to get that section win for Manteca."
“My boys worked hard throughout the game they just came up short in those last few seconds of the game," said Christian Brothers coach Tyler Almond. "We had a great season overall and we can't wait to see what next season might bring us."
BOX SCORE
CHRISTIAN BROTHERS 38, MANTECA 43
At Manteca High
Christian Brothers 8 8 8 14-- 38
Manteca 15 7 14 7-- 43
First Quarter
CB-Jaiden Green 16 yard rushing touchdown(2 Point Rush Good),8:25
M-Gino Campiotti 22 yard rushing touchdown(2 Point Rush Good),4:00
M-Gino Campiotti 1 yard rushing touchdown(PAT Good by Gino Campiotti),0:27
Second Quarter
M-Gino Campiotti 24 yard rushing touchdown(PAT Good by Gino Campiotti),3:03
CB-Gunnor Faulk 19 yard passing touchdown to Tyler Green(2 Point Pass Good),0:31
Third Quarter
M-Gino Campiotti 5 yard passing touchdown to Jorge Cedano(PAT Good by #3),5:08
CB-Gunnor Faulk 27 yard passing touchdown to Spencer ?ebb(2 PT Pass Good),4:17
M-Gino Campiotti 3 yard rushing touchdown(PAT Good by Gino Campiotti ),3:01
Fourth Quarter
CB-Gunnor Faulk 4 yard rushing touchdown(PAT Good by Lucca Battruaro),6:45
M-Gino Campiotti 23 yard rushing touchdown(PAT Good by Gino Campiotti),2:39
CB-Jaiden Green 55 yard rushing touchdown(PAT Good by Lucca Battruaro),1:17
Division III Round 3 Results
#1 Oakdale 63 Vs #3 Patterson 27
#2 Manteca 43 Vs #2 Christian Brothers 38
