If several teams win this week, including Oakdale and Folsom, we could have at least four regular season finales (from this week's previews) deciding league champions. But of course this is high school football, which means nothing is guaranteed, only chaos.
Oakdale (7-1, 5-0 VOL) at Manteca (7-1, 4-1) 7pm
Central Catholic (6-2), Oakdale and Manteca are all headed to the playoffs but first they’ll have to decide who’s winning the Valley Oak League. Central Catholic remains on top after beating Manteca two weeks ago but a visit to Oakdale looms for them next week.
Manteca can ruin Oakdale’s hope for a chance at a league title with a win tomorrow, but Oakdale can snatch the title from Central Catholic if it can extend its winning streak just two more games.
The Mustangs have won seven straight games since their season opening loss and have found plenty of success running the ball. Running back Will Semone scored three times last week against Weston Ranch and finished with 222 rushing yards overall.
Neither team faced stiff competition last week as Manteca bullied Lathrop (2-6) 32-6. Quarterback Gino Campiotti finished 10 of 20 for 172 yards and one touchdown to receiver Jose Garcia who finished with 129 yards on six catches.
Folsom (7-1, 4-0 SFL) at Rocklin (4-4, 1-3) 7:30pm
Looking just at Rocklin’s three-game losing streak, it’d be easy to write them off. But every team that is ahead of them in the Sierra Foothill League has beat them by no more than 13 points. Rocklin’s biggest loss in the past three weeks was a 27-14 duel against Oak Ridge (7-1) that was tied at halftime.
But Folsom has been deadly this year in league play; they’ve started off undefeated and have failed to score less than 40 points in those four games. In their only loss against non-conference opponent Sacramento, quarterback Joe Curry threw three interceptions and had probably his worst game of the season.
Curry currently ranks fourth in the Sac-Joaquin Section with 2260 yards passing, only 28 yards away from second place, and holds an incredible 30:5 touchdown/interception ratio. Curry threw three touchdowns last week while four other Bulldogs ran for a touchdown in a 54-7 thrashing of Nevada Union (2-7).
If Folsom and Oak Ridge both win tomorrow, the SFL title will be on the line next week at Folsom. But as Sacramento proved in mid-September, upsets can come at anytime.
Vintage (5-3, 2-1 MEL) vs Wood (4-4, 2-1) 7:30pm
Vintage kept control of its destiny after shutting out Armijo (1-7) 21-0 last week but now must get past Wood before thinking about a possible league title showdown with Napa in the season finale. Wood must win their last two games to secure a playoff spot.
Wood comes into the game on a two-game winning streak and an offense averaging 37 points a game and a quarterback with the fifth most passing yards in the Sac-Joaquin Section. Carson Strong has thrown for 2209 yards and 20 touchdowns to only four interceptions. Even more impressive, he’s completed over 70 percent of his passes with over 200 attempts so far.
Vintage's loss to Vacaville (5-3) two weeks ago set them back record wise, but Vacaville’s one possession loss to Napa might prove Vintage can hang with Napa. With a win over Wood, Vintage could fight for the Monticello Empire League title next week.
Merced (6-2, 3-1 CCC) vs Turlock (6-2, 4-0) 7pm
Pitman (8-0) has tight control of the Central California Conference but Turlock can snatch that title away if it can win out.
The Bears extended their winning streak to three games after a 42-13 shellacking of Buhach Colony (4-5) last week. The Bears scored on all four of its first drives which soon turned into a 33 lead at halftime. Three different Bears scored a touchdown before running back Ulonzo Gilliam capped off the first half with a rushing and receiving touchdown. He finished the game with 93 rushing yards on 13 carries and 36 receiving yards on three receptions.
On the other side, Turlock quarterback Danny Velasquez opened last week’s first half with a running touchdown and three touchdown passes in a 59-12 blowout of Atwater (0-8). Turlock opened the season with two losses but has rebounded with six-straight wins and has outscored their opponents 255-80 in those six weeks.
These rival programs played for the CCC title two years ago, won 10-7 in the rain by Merced. Turlock leads the all-time series between the programs, 36-30-2, and has a 20-13 edge at home against the Bears. Merced, however, has won the past four meetings between the teams.
BEST OF THE REST
Orestimba (7-1, 5-0 SL) vs Delhi (7-1, 4-1) 7:30pm
The Warriors climbed to first place in the Southern League last week after beating Waterford (3-5) 42-7 while Delhi suffered a big loss to Denair (5-3) and fell to second place. But Delhi has a chance to tie Orestimba for first place and take control of any tie breaker with a win tomorrow.
Quarterback Josh Barron led the Warriors past Waterford with 158 passing yards and three touchdowns while completing 12 of 13 passes. Running back Layshaun Johnson finished with 120 yards on 14 carries and one touchdown.
Delhi couldn't get any offense going last week and got shutout 14-0 by Denair.
Argonaut (6-2, 3-2 MLL) vs Sonora (8-0, 4-0)
Sonora took a week off for their bye but before taking a break they capped off their eighth straight win with a 49-6 beat down of Linden two weeks ago. The Wildcats rushed for over 350 yards on just 34 carries, over a 10 yards per carry.
Last week Argonaut went to town on Linden as well, winning 49-10.
Liberty Ranch (6-2, 2-1 SVC) vs Cordova (6-2, 3-1)
With a win, Cordova can secure the the Sierra Valley Conference. Liberty Ranch is in second place and has a slight chance at taking the league title, but that requires a win tomorrow and a Cordova lost next week against Rosemont (1-7), unlikely.
Last week, Cordova running back Deante McCullough had his best game of his career, stat wise, rushing for 222 yards on 22 carries to go along with three touchdowns.
Thanks to @TurlockFBHistry for contributions to the Merced-Turlock game preview
