Ready to roll? Buffs expect return of running back Davis

Manteca High senior running back Bryson Davis has missed the last three games with an elbow injury. He’s expected to play on Friday, Sept. 22, at Lodi High. (MOISES RAMOS)

By GABRIEL MARTINEZ
The Tower

The bye week came at the right time for the Manteca High football team.

After two consecutive losses to St. Mary’s and Rocklin, respectively, the Manteca High football team hopes to get star running back Bryson Davis back for its matchup against Lodi (2-2).

Manteca has gone 1-2 without Davis. There has been speculation about when Davis, a senior running back who rushed for more than 1,000 yards last fall and was named to the all-Valley Oak League first team, will be able to return to the field.

“He’s healing up good and I think he’ll be ready to roll,” coach Mark Varnum said.

Expected to play

In Davis’ expected return game, coach Varnum and the Buffaloes go head-to-head against former Manteca junior varsity football coach Joseph Rohles, now the varsity coach at Lodi.

Rohles was also the varsity special teams coach for Manteca until he was hired at Lodi High in 2022.

This will be Davis’ first game since Manteca’s shootout 42-35 win against Vista del Lago on August 18, a game where he had 36 carries and 342 yards (9.5 yards per carry) with four touchdowns.

Davis’ return will come just a week before Manteca faces its first VOL opponent of the season, Kimball. This injury was of great significance to Manteca, especially due to the smashmouth styled offense.

The bye week came at a good time for the Buffaloes.

“We got to get better. It’s a good time to do that during the bye,” Varnum said, “The past two weeks have shown us where we need to get to.”

The Buffaloes suffered consecutive losses by more than 20 points to St. Mary’s and Rocklin, respectively.

Significance of Davis’ injury

Without Davis, Manteca’s offense has looked inefficient and has struggled to score, with just 36 total points in three games.

In Manteca’s loss to St. Mary’s, no player had more than 35 all-purpose yards. In Manteca’s defeat to Rocklin, the Buffs were able to find some success on the ground, as senior running back KP MacDannald (13 carries for 73 yards) and sophomore running back Jhadis Luckey (11 carries for 94 yards) combined for 167 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Despite averaging nearly 7 yards per carry between the two running backs, the offense was far from being as productive as it was with Davis in the lineup.

Without Davis, Manteca’s offense has averaged just 12 points per game, while being outscored by 43 points.

“Going 2-2 against the teams we played, especially without Bryson, feels pretty good,” Varnum said, “but you know we got to get better.”

Lodi heating up

Lodi has won two straight. Lodi beat McNair 62-20 and Franklin 42-18. Lodi plays with a run-heavy offense like Manteca, but despite rushing the ball 37 times against Franklin, Lodi scored two touchdowns through the air to compliment senior running back Matthew Shinn’s three rushing touchdowns.

Shinn also rushed for 239 yards on 15 carries (15.9 yards per carry) and two touchdowns as Lodi dominated the game with six rushing touchdowns against McNair.