Stanislaus District Playoff Preview: Local teams eager to take on first-round foes
The Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs begin Friday and each year, it seems anticipation only grows.
This season, nine Stanislaus District teams play in the first round after being seeded from No. 5 to No. 12 in their respective divisions. Teams receiving top four seeds earned byes and will host their first game next week.
Johansen ends a long-time playoff drought, earning a No. 11 seed in Division III and securing a road matchup against Vista del Lago. Every school that finished the season as a member of the TVL made the playoffs. Two of the top three teams, Hughson and Sonora, have first-round byes and Escalon, Orestimba, Ripon, Hilmar and Ripon Christian play first-round games Friday night. The CCAL sent just two schools to the postseason, Turlock and Downey. Both earned first-round home games after finishing first and second in the league, respectively. A win for Turlock would put it against Central Catholic next round and with a win, Downey travels to the section's best team, Folsom, next Friday.
Here is a preview with a look at each game featuring a Stanislaus District team in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Football Championships.
Division I
No. 11 Laguna Creek (5-5) at No. 6 Turlock (6-4), 7 p.m.
Turlock coach James Peterson is embracing the six seed though many talking in the community believed the Bulldogs should have earned a first-round bye. But it wasn't all bad news as the back-to-back CCAL champions as they will host their first-round matchup for the third straight season. Turlock has won six straight games and they're going into the postseason healthy. Peterson noted that while a bye week would have been seen as a reward, the team right now is rolling, playing well offensively and defensively and a bye could slow down that momentum. This year's Bulldogs team features a couple of record holders. Freshman quarterback Scout Silva has the school's regular season passing record, throwing for 2,105 yards and Junior Silva has the receiving yards record, tallying 862 yards. Turlock is facing a dominant running back on the other side in Laguna Creek senior Armon Thorntona who in just six recorded games has 1,065 rushing yards and 21 rushing touchdowns. Though the offensive styles are vastly different, Peterson says he wants to attack the game like he did their league contest against Downey. The Bulldogs thrived on long methodical drives, keeping the high-powered offense and playmakers off the field.
Scout Silva was injured in the regular season finale against Enochs when the Bulldogs attempted a pass on the last play of the 51-7 win. Silva rolled out looking for a receiver deep down the field and was hit by two Eagles. He remained down on the field while he was attended to by trainers during the postgame handshakes. Peterson said Wednesday that Silva was able to go through the team's full weight room workout on Monday and has "played all week."
No. 9 Edison (4-6) at No. 8 Downey (9-1), 7 p.m.
The Knights and Vikings will meet for the second time this season and though the Knights won the Sept. 20 matchup 35-20, Downey coach Jeremy Plaa says Edison presented one of the biggest challenges the Knights saw this season. In that game, Daley Holmes had a 99-yard pick-six, Carson Lamb passed for 247 yards and four touchdowns and Joseph Ramirez had 180 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Edison quarterback Devin Rasmussen had 307 yards and two touchdown passes and two of his top receivers, Langdon Horace and Isaac Sagapolu, each went over 100 yards. The Knights will go up against an impressive passing attack by the numbers. The Vikings have four players with over 200 receiving yards and three players with five or more receiving touchdowns. Downey has the longest active playoff streak of any Modesto City School, heading to the postseason for the 12th straight season. They are in the playoffs for the 22nd time in school history. This is a matchup of two league runners-up as the Knights finished second in the CCAL and the Vikings finished second in the TCAL.
Division III
No. 11 Johansen (5-5) at No. 6 Vista del Lago (5-5), 7 p.m.
The Vikings fell victim to the power rankings last season, missing out on the playoffs to Mountain House even though they had the same record and Johansen won the head-to-head. This season, despite a loss to Davis, which is also 5-5, in the season finale, the Vikings' luck flipped. As the No. 12 team in the D-III CalPreps rankings heading into Selection Sunday, the Vikings were in. They qualified for the postseason for the first time since 2008, according to head coach Rod Smith Sr. He says the team is "happy, fortunate and blessed". Ezekiel Rodriguez continued to step up, rushing for 135 yards and two scores and Jairus Vasquez tallied a pair of carries. They're making the trip up to Folsom to face Vista del Lago and 2,000-plus yard passer Grant Rogers. The senior has passed for 28 touchdowns and rushed for three more. His favorite targets are both seniors as well, Will Greene (1,125 yards, 18 touchdowns) and Matthew Werpy (506 yards, 7 touchdowns).
Division IV
No. 12 Fairfield (5-5) at No. 5 Escalon (5-5), 7 p.m.
Star freshman Dylan Ball is back for Escalon after missing three games with an injury. Ball has played in seven games and will get his first playoff experience. With Ball's much anticipated return this week and Huebner's return against Ripon Christian, the Cougars' backfield is back in action. Carson Medina has also come on as a reliable fullback. But while one player comes back, another potentially goes down. One of their leading receivers Chase Cummings (204 yards, 4 TD) got rolled up on along the sideline in the season finale against Orestimba. Despite a season filled with injuries, the Cougars finished with a 4-2 TVL record, good for third place, and earned at least one home playoff game, a matchup of two 5-5 teams. Escalon has won four straight section titles dating back pre-pandemic and looks to extend its 13-game playoff win streak. Cougars coach Andrew Beam says that since each season is so different, they have tried to approach this postseason with a clear mind. Fairfield is in the playoffs for the second straight year after winning the Greater Sacramento League in a three-way tie.
Division V
No. 11 Livingston (5-5) at No. 6 Hilmar (4-6), 7 p.m.
Senior running back and leading rusher Caden Bailey will play for the Yellowjackets but he will be limited. Bailey, who missed the first two games of the season with a hamstring injury and the two most recent games with an ankle injury, is Hilmar's leading rusher, recording 664 yards and seven touchdowns with five 100-plus yard outings in just six games. Hilmar has seen senior quarterback Merek Ellerd take on a larger role both passing and rushing the ball, it has had receiver Leon Nunes contribute and sophomore Nathan Ayala was called up from JV earlier in the season and has not gone back. He has been a bright spot for the team, showing flashes of potential including returning a kickoff for a touchdown against Hughson. Livingston is a familiar opponent for Hilmar after spending the past few seasons in the TVL before leaving this year for the WAC. Coach Frank Marques knows in order to win Friday night, Hilmar will have to stop the veer offense. They have experienced it already this season against Sonora, but with three rushers over 100 yards and two more over 80 and six with at least one rushing score, the Wolves' offense is always tricky.
Division VI
No. 9 Bear River (8-2) at No. 8 Ripon Christian (4-6), 7 p.m.
The Knights are back in the playoffs and looking for their second title in three seasons after winning the 2022 D-VII title, the first in school history. Though matchups between the No. 9 and No. 8 seeds are usually some of the most competitive, the Knights will have home field advantage. Bear River has one of the longest road trips of any team in the section, traveling 107 miles from Grass Valley to Ripon. The Knights are in the postseason for the sixth straight time and are looking for their third straight section title game appearance. The Bruins are back for the second straight season. The Knights' fly offense has had really balanced production this season. Starting for the second straight season, junior quarterback Mason Tameling has thrown for 1,143 yards and 13 touchdowns and in the run game, the Knights have tallied 1,341 yards and 19 scores. The Knights this season pulled off a big win, beating rival Ripon for the first time in the history of the football program, 30-6. They enter the postseason looking to snap a three-game losing streak.
No. 12 Delhi (8-2) at No. 5 Orestimba (6-4), 7 p.m.
This matchup features the third-shortest drive of all first-round matchups. These are two familiar opponents as Orestimba played Delhi for many years during its time in the Southern League. The Warriors moved to the TVL this season after league realignment and went 3-4 in league play. Since 2004, Orestimba is 14-1 against Delhi and has 13 straight wins. The TVL's fourth place team, Orestimba has key wins over Ripon and rival Ripon Christian. It also gave Hilmar a great game, falling 21-13. The Warriors have a balanced offense with senior quarterback Jacob Valenzuela fighting through injury to play all 10 regular season games and throwing for 1,837 yards and 17 touchdowns. On the ground, the Warriors have 1,445 yards and 21 touchdowns, led by Allen Garcia (602 yards, 6 TD) and Nicholas Cuevas (464 yards, 8 TD). Garcia and Cuevas are also the team's defensive leaders. Garcia has a team-high 107 tackles and Garcia's 10 tackles for loss lead the team. All three of their leaders have played in every game. They'll look to advance against a Hawks team that has gone from just two wins last season to co-Southern League champions with eight overall wins in 2024. Their run-heavy offense features four players with over 100 rush yards and three players with over five rushing touchdowns. Leading rusher, senior Antonio Gutierrez, has 1,187 yards and 10 touchdowns.
No. 10 Ripon (4-6) at No. 7 Liberty Ranch (7-3), 7 p.m.
Ripon won two of its last four games, including a 27-26 win over Hilmar for its fourth win to sneak into the postseason. They were the No. 9 team in the division by CalPreps but the section's seeding committee gave them the No. 10 seed in D-VI. Though they went just 2-4 in the TVL, they're battle tested against six other playoff teams including some of the top seeds in Divisions IV and V. Ripon last made it to the postseason in 2022 and in its last four playoff appearances, it advanced to the quarterfinals. Ripon pulled off the biggest upset of the season at the time, beating Sonora Oct. 18, one week after its head coach stepped down. It's next test will be slowing down Liberty Ranch's rushing attack of Joseph Brown (1,580 yards, 20 touchdowns) and Andrew Quinn (660 yards, 9 touchdowns). The Hawks, third in the Sierra Valley Conference, are also regulars in the section quarterfinals. They have four other rushers with at least two touchdowns and five others with at least 100 rushing yards.
Division VII
No. 12 Valley Christian (4-5) at No. 5 Big Valley Christian (5-5), 7 p.m.
The Lions have had some big wins this season, beating Denair in their season opener and Mariposa County. They moved from the CCAA to the more competitive Mother Lode League and fared well, finishing fourth in the league and earning their first trip to the postseason since 2021. Big Valley hosts a playoff game for the first time since 2018 and is looking for its first playoff win since 2015. The Lions are trying to bounce back from a three-game losing streak and a performance they want to put behind them in their season finale against Elite of Vallejo. It was a game where they felt like nothing went right and resulted in a 34-14 loss. For the playoffs, they brought up 10 sophomores from JV, bringing their roster total from 22 to 32 players. A home win Friday night would set up a rematch against Waterford, the No. 4 seed in Division VII. The two sides matched up earlier this season in a game the Wildcats won 35-22.
