Many Stanislaus District teams have a lot to play for Friday night with just two regular season games left. Week 10 matchups feature a number of teams facing must-win situations for playoff qualification and playoff positioning. Some of the top local games this week include a pair of three-win teams in Ripon and Escalon facing off, a pair of Trans-Valley League rivalries and a Davis High team that controls its own destiny looking to play its way into a top-12 seed in Division III.
While they’ve already qualified for the postseason, and may have locked up the No. 1 seed in D-V, Hughson is looking to get over a hurdle of its own. No player on the team has beaten Hilmar and head coach Shaun King has not beaten Hilmar coach Frank Marques in his varsity head coaching career.
Patterson will play in its 10th straight game Friday night. In their first season in the Valley Oak League, the Tigers have a bye in the final week of the regular season. Head coach Rob Cozart and the team are used to navigating this unique situation but they’ll face the league’s No. 1 team, Manteca this week. The Buffaloes and their dynamic rushing attack are 4-0 in league play.
Hughson (8-0, 5-0 TVL) at Hilmar (4-4, 2-2 TVL), 7 p.m.
The Hilmar-Hughson rivalry dates back decades and has some interesting history. Hilmar coach Frank Marques recalls the story of a Hilmar team that was on the brink of history in the late 1980s-early 90s. The Yellowjackets entered a matchup with Hughson on a 47-game win streak, one shy at the time of tying historic De La Salle for the longest win streak in the state. As the story goes, Marques says, Hughson won the matchup, leaving the Yellowjackets one game shy. The 2024 version of the rivalry brings two programs with tons of mutual respect. Hughson has been on an incredible run over the past few seasons led by stars all over the field and is currently 8-0. Hilmar has battled injuries all season and Friday night, Marques says it will be without star running back Caden Bailey who will miss time with an ankle injury. They’re young with three sophomores in the starting lineup and earlier this season they had three players start a game who had never started before. But Marques says they are resilient. They’ve won four games and qualified for the postseason and will hope to slow down the Huskies’ high powered offense that has scored over 45 points in its last two games.
Manteca (7-1, 4-0 VOL) at Patterson (5-4, 3-2 VOL), 7 p.m.
The Tigers will play their 10th straight football game Friday. Yes, they have not yet had their bye, which will come during the final week of the regular season. It’s something they’ve done before as members of the CCC. Two seasons ago, they had byes in the final week of the regular season and the opening week of the postseason. Head coach Rob Cozart says so far this season they’ve managed the year well and have remained mostly injury free. They understand there’s no easy weeks in the VOL and the toughest schedule the Tigers have played in a while ends Friday at home against Manteca. Cozart says they’re going into the game feeling like they have a lot to play for even though, mathematically, they cannot win the league title. If they have a good showing, they can solidify their spot as the No. 2 team in the Division IV playoffs. Patterson knows Manteca is big, deep, fast and can do different things in the rushing game. The key for them will be minimizing the Buffaloes explosive run and pass plays on defense and on offense, they have to minimize turnovers and penalties.
Ripon Christian (4-4, 2-3 TVL) at Orestimba (5-3, 2-3 TVL), 7 p.m.
A good-natured rivalry makes its way from the Southern League to the Trans-Valley League when the Knights and Warriors face off Friday night. Both teams are 2-3 in TVL play and are jostling for playoff positioning in the Division VI bracket where the Knights are a six-seed and the Warriors are No. 8. Ripon Christian and Orestimba have played every season since 2014 and the Knights have won six of their last 10 meetings including taking victories in 2022 and 2023. Orestimba will be honoring 19 of its 35 players on senior night including starting quarterback Jacob Valenzuela who has continued to impress this season, throwing for over 1,300 yards and 15 touchdowns. Though his mobility has been limited recently with a knee injury, he has rushed for over 100 yards and added three scores. Warriors coach Aaron Souza praises his large senior class, commending them for accepting the challenge of the TVL head-on and buying into coaches’ plans since they started workouts in January. They know they have to stop the Knights’ potent Fly offense that features three 100+ yard rushers and seven players with at least one rushing touchdown. They will be at home, so they will try to get momentum on their side early to shake off the feeling of losses to Hilmar and Hughson.
Escalon (3-5, 2-2 TVL) at Ripon (3-5, 1-3 TVL), 7:30 p.m.
Escalon and Ripon are both coming off inspirational Week 9 victories. Both are now one win from qualifying from the playoffs, so with two games left in the regular season, there’s a lot riding on Friday night’s matchup. Last week against Ripon Christian, the Cougars’ starting quarterback, Logan Huebner, returned after getting hurt in the TVL opener, completing eight passes for 97 yards and three touchdowns. They also got big contributions from Ryan Lewis, Ben Gonzalez, Carson Medina and Carter Yates, a freshman who got his first varsity experience after classmate Dylan Ball suffered an injury. Now they hope to bottle that and take that momentum into the final two weeks of the regular season. Something clicked for Ripon last week against Sonora under interim coach Cole Williams. They entered Week 9 winless in TVL play and by the end of the night, had forced four turnovers and pulled off the upset of the season with a 27-15 win. It was a big win for the program amid mid-season turnover. Four wins is the threshold for playoff qualification and in the TVL you have to earn every win. Escalon plays Orestimba in its final week and Ripon faces Hilmar.
Davis (4-4, 3-2 WAC) at Pacheco (4-4, 2-3 WAC), 7 p.m.
The Spartans are on the cusp of their first playoff appearance since their perfect season in 2021, but good results in their final two regular season games are key. The Spartans are in a four-way tie with Johansen, Ceres and Livingston for second in the WAC and are No. 14 according to CalPreps in the D-III playoff bracket, two spots behind the Vikings. A win Friday could go a long way in solidifying league and playoff positioning with the Vikings and Wolves facing off Friday night as well. They nearly pulled off a key win over the Bulldogs in Week 9 behind an all-around performance for Johan Chaney and his four touchdowns. Davis will hope to put together a full four quarters of complete football Friday night, bouncing back from giving up a pair of late touchdowns last week. The key games for the Spartans do not stop after this week, however, as they take on Johansen in the final game of the regular season in a matchup that could be amplified depending on how things play out in the WAC Friday night.
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