Roundup: Big games await small-school powers; rough night for divisions I and III.

James Burns
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A deeper look at the second-round results from around the FrontRowPreps.com region:

Division I

Monterey Trail 63, Pitman 7: Treyton Fair's 53-yard touchdown pass to Denzel Steckwren helped the Pride tie the game at 7-7, but there just weren't enough big plays to match Monterey Trail, now 11-0 for the first time in school history. Pitman made history of its own this season, matching the mark for wins in a season with 10.

Oak Ridge 27, Turlock 9: Jonah Kosakiewicz found the end zone on a 2-yard burst and Christian Gardner booted a 30-yard field goal for the Bulldogs, who were overmatched by the Trojans. Turlock had its six-game winning streak snapped, but finished 8-4 with a consolation prize -- the first-ever Central California Athletic League championship.

Division II

Inderkum 69, Downey 29: The Knights took a 14-13 lead after turning a fumble into points, but the advantage was fleeting. Three plays after scooping up a fumble, Bryce Gouker and Anderson Grover hooked up for a 38-yard touchdown. Inderkum responded almost immediately, scoring 15 points in a matter of minutes to retake control, 28-13.  

Division III

River Valley 45, Merced 40: Dhameer Warren scored to give the second-seeded Bears a 33-31 lead in the third quarter, but on a night of devastating injuries, the Central California Conference champions couldn't avoid a season-ending loss. River Valley sprung the upset, capitalizing on key ankle injuries to CCC MVP Xavier Stewart and lineman Cliff Johnson. Stewart, who had at least one receiving touchdown in every regular season game, missed most of the first half. He left during Merced's second drive and didn't return until the third quarter.

Antelope 20, Manteca 8: Trabron Russell scored the Buffaloes' only points. The loss snapped Manteca's seven-game playoff winning streak and ended its bid at a third consecutive section championship.

Division IV

Oakdale 38, Will C. Wood 28: Caleb Kuppens (12 carries, 86 yards) got the Mustangs off to a fast start with a 43-yard touchdown run on the first offensive play and Max Moore rushed for 103 yards and three scores as the Mustangs clinched a semifinal berth for the 10th time in 12 years. Zeke Saffar completed the suped-up Wing-T’s dominance with 135 yards and a touchdown.

Rio Linda 77, Pacheco 63: Marcus Ordunez and Julian Moran accounted for six total touchdowns and the Panthers racked up more than 450 yards of total offense in a shootout loss to Rio Linda. Thrilling to the very end, the Panthers don’t go into the offseason emptyhanded. Pacheco captured a share of its first-ever league title, sharing the Western Athletic Conference crown with Los Banos and Mountain House.

Casa Roble 52, Patterson 10: Adrian Melesio’s field goal helped the Tigers avoid a first-half shutout against Casa Roble, and it came with just seconds to spare. Melesio’s kick was good with 48 seconds left in the half.

Division V

Sonora 28, Foothill 27: Karson Clifton carried the ball 18 times for 177 yards and two touchdowns and Jake Gookin connected with Evan Bearden for the game-winning touchdown as the Wildcats pulled off the come-from-behind victory. Sonora, which trailed by as many as 14 points, turned the ball over five times, but took one back in the final seconds to seal the win. Bryan Wynne picked off Foothill’s desperation throw into the end zone. The Wildcats have now won seven straight and travel to top-seeded Colfax next week.

Colfax 56, Los Banos 21: Dasani Tate threw two touchdown passes in a season-ending loss at Colfax. The senior began the season as a wide receiver, but attrition forced him under center for the Tigers. Los Banos won seven of its last nine games with Tate at the controls, including five in a row, and earned a share of the Western Athletic Conference title.

Ripon 49, Mountain House 20: Danny Hernandez will play a key role for the Indians’ boys basketball team this winter, but not until he’s done leading the football team through the Division V playoffs. Hernandez gave Ripon the early advantage over Western Athletic Conference tri-champion Mountain House with a 30-yard sprint. The Indians never looked back, scoring 28 unanswered to start the game.  Hernandez later punctuated the victory with a 93-yard interception return.

Division VI

Modesto Christian 28, Argonaut 7: Hayden Sauser connected on a 27-yard scoring strike to Xavier Carlton as the top-seeded Crusaders advanced to the semifinal with a shutout victory over Argonaut. Sauser later hooked up with Johnny Williams on a 92-yard touchdown to make it 28-0. The Crusaders' defense allowed only 72 yards of offense in the first half. Modesto Christian will host another stout defensive team, No. 4 Ripon Christian, in next week's D-VI semifinal.

Hilmar 44, Amador 7: The Yellowjackets jumped out to a 14-0 lead after the first quarter, putting quick distance between themselves and Amador. No. 2 Hilmar welcomes Trans-Valley League rival Escalon, the third seed, next week. In their first meeting, Hilmar beat Escalon in overtime on a field goal by a backup kicker.

Division VII

Golden Sierra 24, Big Valley Christian 14: Area leading rusher Javyn Drobnick scored the only offensive touchdown for the Lions, whose dream season was cut short by Golden Sierra. The Grizzlies scored the game’s first 14 points and will face a Southern League power (Denair) for the second time this season in next Saturday's D-VII final at 1 p.m. at Liberty Ranch in Galt. Daniel Jones gave the Lions hope late in the third quarter with an interception return for a touchdown to cut the Grizzlies’ lead to 21-14.

Denair 39, Gustine 18: Hunter Musgrave continued his domination of Gustine with two touchdowns and lineman Zachary Cherry notched his first career touchdown as the Coyotes clinched a section finals berth. Denair outscored Gustine 88-32 in their two games this season. The Coyotes are appearing in just their third section final and first since 2006. Denair is winless in its first two appearances.

Follow James Burns on Twitter @jburns1980, or email him at frontrowpreps@gmail.com.