Lodi, Galt programs headed in right direction
Both enter league play with 3-2 records after not much recent success
Like racers competing from start to finish in the Indianapolis 500, the Lodi High football spent Friday’s game against Bear Creek at a full sprint.
Squaring off at the Grape Bowl, the Flames’ offense and big plays on defense led to a 52-29 win over the Bruins. The last time Lodi scored 50-plus points in a game was in 2014, also against Bear Creek with a 57-22 win at the Grape Bowl.
Lodi and Galt, which lost to Franklin 34-28 in overtime on the Erv Hatzenbuhler Field at Warrior Stadium on Friday, are the only two of the four Lodi-area football teams entering league play this week with 3-2 records. Lodi opens Tri-City Athletic League action at Tracy, while Galt entertains Sierra Valley Conference champion Cordova at Warrior Stadium. Both games are this Friday.
Against Bear Creek’s defense, the Flames’ rushing game cranked out
403 yards. Leading the way was Lodi quarterback Logan Stout, a sophomore, who carried the ball 17 times for 127 yards, averaging 7.5 yards per carry, and a touchdown. Junior wingback Larry McDowell followed with 16 carries for 95 yards and a touchdown and fullback Alfredo Estrada had 18 for 92 yards and two touchdowns.
“Offensively, we finished like we wanted to,” said Lodi coach Robert Sperling. “(In past games) we were putting drives together, but we were not finishing drives. Get down to the red zone, and walk away with no points.”
Stout attempted just three passes, completing one for an 18-yard touchdown to wingback Trey Reese, who also had a rushing touchdown.
On defense, Flames free safety Jake Hayes had 12 tackles. Defensive lineman Ethan Bronson followed with eight tackles and cornerback Manuel Machado six and two interceptions.
“Defensively, we really got it going on Friday,” Sperling said. “Turnovers, interceptions … I think we’re doing a lot better job of staying on our blocks, staying on our blocks down the field.”
Sperling and his assistant coaches had the opportunity to play everyone against Bear Creek. The Flames led 33-12 at halftime.
“Everybody got in (the game),” Sperling said.
After four seasons in which three were losing and one ended with a 5-5 overall record in 2013 – which was Sperling’s first year at Lodi – the culture of Lodi football is changing, Sperling noted. That has started with this year’s senior class, and the frosh-soph and freshman teams are 4-1 each, as all three teams enter league action against Tracy.
“The seniors … they learned from last year,” said Sperling, whose 2016 squad went 2-8. “It takes a lot of work to win a game. They work real hard. I think they have a good attitude. I think they also know we have a lot of work to do to compete in league.”
“It’s a big thing for us, and for myself especially, the program, as a whole, all three teams have a winning record,” Sperling continued. “The whole program is headed in the right direction. Learning how to win is big. It’s a different attitude … a totally different vibe in the program right now. We have a feeling of we’re turning the corner.”
Galt
As they prepare of their SVC home opener against Cordova, the Warriors will learn from Friday’s overtime loss to Franklin.
“Every game we have grown more and more and I believe we are ready to enter league,” said Galt guard/middle linebacker Andrew Bustamante, who is one of the team captains. “Franklin just wanted it more than us that night; they caught momentum at the right times in the game.”
One of the reasons for Galt’s success has been keeping opponents on their toes with different offensive looks; against Franklin, the Warriors ran out of the I formation but switched to the pistol, shotgun and spread formations.
Leading the Warriors’ attack is sophomore quarterback Robert Bulahan Jr., and a strong supporting cast of a backfield in fullbacks Izic Lopez and Tarzan Rodriguez, and running backs Jacob Maldonado, Keyshawn Brooks and Anthony Sanchez.
“We have great chemistry all around,” Bustamante said. “Every week we get better and better.”
Bustamante and the Warriors are striving toward a winning season that Galt hasn’t tasted since 2005, when the late Hatzenbuhler, who died in his sleep at his Galt home last December, led that squad to a 6-4 record. Cordova brings an offense that is averaging 42.2 points per game, but its defense has given up 39.4 points per game.
“We will learn and get better from it, without a doubt.” Bustamante said.