Brennan Oliver powers Jay to victory over South San in District 14-5A-I opener

Brennan Oliver ran for two touchdowns in leading Jay to its first win of the season in a 26-13 victory over South San Thursday in the District 14-5A-I opener at Gustafson Stadium.

Oliver rushed for 197 yards, including big scoring runs of 56 and 80 yards, as Jay (1-3, 1-0) successfully opened its defense of the district crown it won last season.

Jay overcame sloppy play with Oliver's big night and an opportunistic defense, which forced and recovered three fumbles and took advantage of a few special teams miscues from the Bobcats. The Mustangs won despite being outgained by South San (2-1-1, 0-1) in total yardage, 293 to 275.

Jay coach Joshua Campbell earned his first career win with the victory. Campbell is in his first season as the Mustangs' head coach, coming from Sotomayor where he was the defensive coordinator last season.

After starting the season with losses to three Class 6A programs, Campbell said he and the coaching staff worked on and tried to correct a few things during their bye last week.

"It feels amazing," Campbell said on earning his first career win. "Our team got humbled. We were playing very competitive 6A teams. Hats off to Warren, Madison and Roosevelt. It was back to the drawing board, and our bye week came at a critical moment. We practiced hard. We focused on attention to detail. And we just regrouped and told the guys to focus on the process and keep chipping away, and good things were going to happen, and it was evident tonight."

Oliver, a junior, said the Jay players are learning to trust their new coach and his system.

"We started working on our passing game and perfecting our running game and just trusting each other," Oliver said. "We just had to start trusting in him (Campbell), and we know he has a plan for us. So, we just have to follow that."

Campbell said Oliver delivered for Jay when they needed him the most.

"I mean, we rely on our run game," Campbell said. "We needed that type of night from Brennan Oliver. He's certainly a special talent and he's a fantastic young man and the offense goes through him. He showed out tonight, and it was evident in our win."

Jay got off to the fast start as Oliver dashed around the left side for a 56-yard score on the third play of the game, putting the Mustangs up 7-0 at the 10:39 mark of the first quarter.

"I figured out they (South San) couldn't contain the outside, that's where I thrive," Oliver said about his scoring runs. "So, I just kept on taking advantage of that."

South San came up with a big play on its ensuing possession, as Owls quarterback Jacob Sepeda connected with his brother, Joshua Sepeda, on a 49-yard pass play to the Jay 15-yard line, setting up an Octavio Castillo 26-yard field goal that made the score 7-3.

After holding Jay to a three-and-out, South San took its only lead of the game, 10-7, on a 5-yard scoring run by Romeo Suarez on fourth-and-goal with 2:57 left in the first quarter.

Jay regained the lead early in the second quarter on quarterback Drew Skelton's 3-yard scoring run, set up when Jordan Contreras blocked a South San punt and returned the loose ball to the Owls 2-yard line.

The Mustangs had numerous opportunities to expand their 13-10 lead before halftime but had two touchdowns negated on penalties and had a field goal attempt blocked.

After halftime, Suarez provided South San a spark when he returned the second-half kickoff 61 yards to the Jay 25. A personal foul penalty against Jay put the Owls at the Mustangs' 11. But that gain was negated by a holding penalty, and South San had to settle for a Castillo 36-yard field goal, which tied the score at 13 with 8:50 left in the third quarter.

Later in the third quarter, South San was marching toward the Jay goal line when Mustangs linebacker De Antaye King recovered an Owl fumble. Three plays later, Oliver made South San pay for the mistake when he went inside and then cut to the outside on his way to an 80-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter to put Jay back in front 20-13.

After a bad snap forced a 15-yard loss for South San on the ensuing possession, the Owls had no choice but to punt. The Mustangs took advantage of the good field position as Skelton scored his second touchdown of the game on a 9-yard run with 5:07 remaining.