Prep football roundup: Davis, Ripon hope Week 11 wins get them into postseason
The regular season is over and now all sights are set on Sunday's Sac-Joaquin Section football selection show. The show will be streamed on NFHS Network starting at 1 p.m. and will be available for all to watch for free.
Ripon may have just played its way into the postseason Friday night with a one-point win over Hilmar in a nail-biter. Davis also may have made an interesting case for a playoff spot by beating Johansen, which was three spots ahead of it on the CalPreps Division III rankings heading into Week 11.
Central Catholic and Turlock knew they were in the Division I playoffs and Ceres entered the final regular season game as a "bubble team." Though Ceres had four wins, its strength of schedule had it ranked just 13th in the CalPreps Division III rankings. All three earned wins, which could help their places in their respective playoff divisions.
Here are scores and information about Stanislaus District Week 11 matchups.
Central Catholic 42, Sierra 6: The Raiders locked up the No. 2 spot in the Valley Oak League on Friday with a dominant showing against Sierra at home. The Raiders could earn a top-four seed and first-round bye in the Division I section playoffs when brackets are announced Sunday.
Pitman 31, Modesto 27: The Panthers missed out on playoff qualification by one game after it could not pull out a win in a close game against Pitman. After dropping its first seven contests, Pitman finishes the season with two wins in its last three games.
Elite 34, Big Valley Christian 14: The Lions gave the ball away three times and allowed three passing touchdowns in their nonleague loss to Elite of Vallejo. Big Valley Christian is still a lock for the D-VII playoffs and could face Elite down the line if both sides advance.
Downey 61, Gregori 35: Downey finished its 9-1 regular season with a CCAL road win over Gregori. The Knights led 33-14 at halftime and 47-21 after three quarters. Downey finishes second in CCAL play with a 4-1 league record and the Jaguars claim the third seed with a 3-2 league record.
Escalon 41, Orestimba 14: Escalon earned its third straight win in Friday's season finale against Orestimba. Logan Huebner led the Cougars to victory with two rushing and three passing touchdowns. The Cougars are 5-5 heading into the postseason and are looking to find their stride as they defend four straight section titles.
Ripon 27, Hilmar 26: After a shaky start to the regular season, Ripon sneaks into the playoffs with its fourth win, a dramatic victory over Hilmar. Quarterback JJ Brawley found Logan Spear for the game-winning four-yard touchdown with just over five minutes left, and Ripon's defense sealed the victory.
Sonora 42, Ripon Christian 21: The Knights were the latest TVL foe knocked down by the Sonora rushing attack. The Wildcats went ahead 21-0 before the Knights answered with a pair of touchdowns to make it a 21-14 game at halftime. In the second half, Sonora outscored Ripon Christian 21-7.
Riverbank 34, River Islands 8: The Bruins finished with their first winning record (6-4) since 2004 and recorded a program-record four shutouts. They capped their turnaround season with wins in back-to-back games.
Davis 35, Johansen 22: Davis makes its case for the playoff interesting. With Friday's win, the No. 15 team in D-III entering Week 11 (according to CalPreps) beat No. 12 Johansen. The Spartans will anxiously await the section's seeding committee's decision Sunday.
Lathrop 56, Beyer 6: Beyer could not knock off the WAC champions as Lathrop finishes the regular season 9-1 overall and 7-0 in league play.
Turlock 51, Enochs 7: Turlock capped its second straight perfect CCAL championship season with a home win against Enochs. The Eagles finish the season winless in league play.
