Merced High football wins Mayor’s Cup against Golden Valley for 19th consecutive game

The dominance by the Merced High football team in the crosstown rivalry against Golden Valley was once again on display on Friday night as the Bears extended their winning streak to 19 consecutive 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 owns a 23-8 lead in the all-time series against their 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 picked up career win No. 195 as he closes in on the 200-win milestone. “They don’t have to worry about being the team that lost it, so I’m just happy for them. It’s a relief on my part, too.”

The Bears players celebrated as Merced Mayor Matthew Serratto handed over the Mayor’s Cup trophy after the victory.

Scheidt even joked that he would vote for Serratto because the Bears keep winning with him as mayor.

“It’s a lot of pressure, but our team just kept our composure,” Dupree said about his team trying to extend the streak.

Dupree played a big role, throwing three touchdowns as he completed 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 for scoring strikes of 20 and 23 yards in the first half as the Bears built a 19-0 lead.

“Nothing against GV, they’re a great team, but if you put a linebacker on him, I’m going to go to him every time,” Dupree said.

Morales-Saetern said he knew his quarterback was looking his way both times. It was up to him to haul in those touchdowns.

“Oh yeah, I was nervous,” Morales-Saetern said. “In the back of mind, I’m just thinking, ‘Make a play! Make a play!’ Those were both great 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 made for a special moment in a big game.

“It’s special because we’ve been trying to work on that,” Quintell Dupree said. “I’ve been trying to get him one, and I finally got him one.”

Merced’s defense bottled up the Cougars offense, limiting Golden Valley to a fourth-quarter touchdown run by Tyrrell Johnson.

Scheidt called his defense’s performance outstanding.

“We thought they had some home run guys, 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 rough with us, to get a stop and get off the field.”

Meanwhile, Golden Valley dropped to 1-5 overall and 0-1 in the CCC.

“We’ve got to get back to the drawing board and keep getting better,” Cougars head coach Rick Martinez said. “Nobody in league is going to let up on us.”