The scoreboard at Orestimba High's football stadium may have showcased a 40-6 victory for the home team, but Riverbank's varsity program came away with a victory of their own in a competitive and hard-fought Friday night contest under the lights.
Orestimba (5-2 overall) sports the best record of any team in the Trans-Valley league (3-0), but found trouble with Riverbank's surprise wildcat formation throughout the contest.
To top it off, Riverbank won the turnover margin, nabbed several first downs and didn't allow a single special teams touchdown for the first time in many weeks.
"We went to an overload wildcat formation and they were not able to adjust and stop us all night," Riverbank coach Aaron Thurman said. "It was kind of fun, and you could tell Orestimba was getting pretty frustrated with it.
"It was just a big rolling mess, very rugby scrum-esque."
Riverbank's wildcat formation features top blocker, Sergio Rocha, in a never-before-seen appearance in the backfield. He lead blocks for the likes of Eddie Sanchez, Angel Duarte and Alex Reynaga, with lineman Richard Perez and Anthony Naverrette, also opening holes.
The formation allows for some intense overloading to one side of the field, and it led to Riverbank's first score in three weeks when Sanchez bullied into the end zone from just a few yards out. The score allowed Riverbank to trail just 28-6 into the third quarter. It's not a bad margin considering Orestimba led small school power, Modesto Christian, 37-14 in the third quarter of their Oct. 1 contest.
Sanchez picked up 82 yards from the overload rushes, while Duarte nabbed 75 yards from scrimmage as well.
Thurman said he will continue to call plays from Riverbank's wildcat formation, which should lead to an interesting match-up with Hilmar (4-3) on Friday. The Yellowjackets pound the ball from a two tight-end, three running back formation, though devastating injuries have limited the team's potential.
"Hilmar seems to be a big, physical team, so there may not be many balls getting thrown around on Friday," Thurman said. "Hopefully we can make it competitive and get ready to heal up during the bye week (Oct. 22)."
Orestimba (5-2 overall) sports the best record of any team in the Trans-Valley league (3-0), but found trouble with Riverbank's surprise wildcat formation throughout the contest.
To top it off, Riverbank won the turnover margin, nabbed several first downs and didn't allow a single special teams touchdown for the first time in many weeks.
"We went to an overload wildcat formation and they were not able to adjust and stop us all night," Riverbank coach Aaron Thurman said. "It was kind of fun, and you could tell Orestimba was getting pretty frustrated with it.
"It was just a big rolling mess, very rugby scrum-esque."
Riverbank's wildcat formation features top blocker, Sergio Rocha, in a never-before-seen appearance in the backfield. He lead blocks for the likes of Eddie Sanchez, Angel Duarte and Alex Reynaga, with lineman Richard Perez and Anthony Naverrette, also opening holes.
The formation allows for some intense overloading to one side of the field, and it led to Riverbank's first score in three weeks when Sanchez bullied into the end zone from just a few yards out. The score allowed Riverbank to trail just 28-6 into the third quarter. It's not a bad margin considering Orestimba led small school power, Modesto Christian, 37-14 in the third quarter of their Oct. 1 contest.
Sanchez picked up 82 yards from the overload rushes, while Duarte nabbed 75 yards from scrimmage as well.
Thurman said he will continue to call plays from Riverbank's wildcat formation, which should lead to an interesting match-up with Hilmar (4-3) on Friday. The Yellowjackets pound the ball from a two tight-end, three running back formation, though devastating injuries have limited the team's potential.
"Hilmar seems to be a big, physical team, so there may not be many balls getting thrown around on Friday," Thurman said. "Hopefully we can make it competitive and get ready to heal up during the bye week (Oct. 22)."
