The Merced High football team’s dominance in the crosstown-Golden Valley rivalry was on display once again Friday night as the Bears extended their winning streak to 19 straight games.
Merced senior quarterback Quintell Dupree orchestrated the offense, throwing three touchdowns and adding another score on the ground as the Bears cruised to a 32-8 victory in the battle for the Mayor’s Cup at Veterans Stadium .
Merced (3-3 overall, 1-0 Central California Conference) now has a 23-8 lead in the all-time series against its rival.
“I told the guys before the game, ‘Unfortunately, when you get to this point, it’s like a relief,'” said Merced coach Rob Scheidt, who earned the 195th career victory as he approaches 200 victories. milestone. “They don’t have to worry about being the team that lost, so I’m just happy for them.” It’s also a relief for me.
Bears players celebrated as Merced Mayor Matthew Serratto presented the Mayor’s Cup trophy.
Scheidt even joked that he would vote for Serratto because the Bears keep winning with him as mayor.
“There’s a lot of pressure, but our team just kept their composure,” Dupree said of his team trying to extend the streak.
Dupree played a big role, throwing three touchdowns while completing 10 of 14 passes for 177 yards. Dupree added a 9-yard touchdown run in the second half.
Two of the three touchdown passes were to running back Adarius Morales-Saetern. They connected on scoring drives of 20 and 23 yards in the first half as the Bears took a 19-0 lead.
“Nothing against GV, they’re a great team, but if you put a linebacker on them, I’ll go to him every time,” Dupree said.
Morales-Saetern said he knew his quarterback was looking his way every time. It was up to him to make those touchdowns.
“Oh yeah, I was nervous,” Morales-Saetern said. “In the back of my mind, I just think, ‘Make a play! Make a play! » These were two superb balls from Quintell.
Morales-Saetern also delivered big in the running game, racking up 157 yards on 15 carries.
Dupree’s third touchdown pass was a 22-yard pass to his brother Jordan Dupree, which was a special moment in a big game.
“It’s special because we tried to work on this,” Quintell Dupree said. “I tried to get him one, and I finally got him one.”
Merced’s defense held back the Cougars’ offense, limiting Golden Valley to a fourth-quarter touchdown led by Tyrrell Johnson.
Scheidt called his defense’s performance exceptional.
“We thought they had some home run players, they got (Johnson) back and we were a little worried about that,” Scheidt said. “We had some trouble tackling, but we really did a good job when things got tough for us to get stops and get off the field.”
Meanwhile, Golden Valley fell to 1-5 overall and 0-1 in the CCC.
“We have to go back to the drawing board and continue to improve,” Cougars head coach Rick Martinez said. “No one in the league is going to let us down.”
