Jesse Morgan and Evan Jenkins both rushed for two touchdowns as the El Capitan High football team celebrated their first win of the season and the first victory in their new stadium with a 42-15 win over Modesto on Friday night.

 

Morgan returned after missing last week’s game against Patterson with an injury to complete 13 of 15 passes for 163 yards and a touchdown and also added 11 carries for 94 yards on the ground and the two scores. 

 

“Amazing, words can’t describe it,” said Morgan as he stood just outside the team locker room where his team was celebrating. “You can hear it. They’re turning it out, they’re happy. It’s an amazing feeling.”

 

After surrendering an opening 11-play drive that stretched 65 yards and a Modesto touchdown, the Gauchos (1-4) controlled the game from that point on. 

 

El Capitan answered with an 11-play drive of its own that covered 74 yards that Jenkins capped off with a 4-yard touchdown run that tied the game at 7-7 with 10:03 left in the second quarter. The defense then forced a three-and-out by the Panthers and set the Gauchos up at the Modesto 44-yard line. Three plays later, Morgan scored on a 6-yard touchdown run to give the Gauchos a 14-7 lead with 7:39 left in the first half.

 

The Gauchos added a third score before the half as Morgan found Joshua Reid for an 8-yard touchdown catch to extend the lead to 20-7 with 12 seconds left in the second quarter.

 

Despite closing the first half with three consecutive touchdown drives, El Capitan coach Xavier Ramirez was unhappy with some untimely penalties. The Gauchos were called for multiple personal fouls and taunting penalties during the game.

 

“Yeah, it feels good,” Ramirez said. “I'm happy we got this done. You know, I just wish we would have done it in a better fashion. But I’ll always take the ‘W’.”

 

The Gauchos put the game out of reach early in the second half as Jenkins added his second touchdown of the night with a 3-yard run and Morgan scored on a 2-yard run to give El Capitan a 35-15 lead. Elias Hernandez added the final touchdown on a 2-yard run as the Gauchos surpassed 200 yards on the ground.

 

“Our offense showed they could move the ball,” Ramirez said. “Our defense could buckle down and do their job. I think we executed in all three phases of the game, so it was a good win today.”

 

Morgan said it helped get some healthy players back in uniform. Once the Gauchos offense found a rhythm they couldn’t be stopped by the Panthers. “It was just confidence,” Morgan said. “Every time we got the ball,we felt we could go in and score every single time that we wanted to. We were clicking today.”

 

Other MUHSD games:

Golden Valley 49, Kimbal 14 – Cougars running back Isaiah Welch helped GV snap a three-game losing streak with 225 rushing yards and four touchdowns. Golden Valley scored touchdowns on all seven offensive possessions. Quarterback Gabe Richards completed 9 of 13 passes for 185 yards and two touchdowns. Kicker Brayden Xiong made all seven extra-point kicks.

 

Merced 69, Enochs 0 – The Bears improved to 3-2 on the season in a rout of Enochs. Merced started quickly as Mikey Flores-Whalen scored on the opening kickoff. The Bears defense not only recorded the shutout but they surrendered just one first down all game.

 

Pitman 24, Atwater 17 – Tyer Curtis and Dallas Hyde both rushed for Falcons’ touchdowns and Gavin Tachiera added a 35-yard field goal. 

 

Lodi 43, Buhach Colony 25 – The Thunder trailed by just 28-25 in the fourth quarter and had a chance to take the lead but fumbled. Lodi was able to put the game away from there. Dylan Newkirk scored three touchdowns, including a 29-yard scoring run, a 95-yard kickoff return and a 30-yard touchdown catch. 

 

Pacheco 22, Livingston 17 – The Wolves had an opportunity to score late to take the lead but fumbled in the red zone. Livingston quarterback Roman Gonzales scored on a 10-yard run and Jeffrey Meneses returned a kickoff 90 yards for a score. Santi Prado added a 37-yard field goal for Livingston.

 

Shawn Jansen is the MUHSD Program Manager Digital Media. He can be reached at Sjansen@muhsd.org.