Games to watch: Previewing each Stanislaus District football playoff matchup

Just one game separates teams in Divisions I through VI from a section championship appearance. Friday night, 24 teams will compete in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Football Championships semifinals, which kick off at 7 p.m.

Eight Stanislaus District teams will play in seven games. Escalon is looking to get back to a section title game for a fourth consecutive season. Hughson looks to return and defend its blue banner and Hilmar and Oakdale hope to return after missing out on the championship game last season. Central Catholic looks for its first title game appearance in Division I and Patterson hopes to get past the semifinals after being eliminated last season.

Under a new format approved by the section, Ripon Christian and Orestimba will play Friday night for the Division 7A section championship. It will be a Knights home game because they are the higher seed. The winner of Friday’s game will play the winner of the 7B section championship between Woodland Christian and Stone Ridge Christian for the division’s one NorCal berth.

Here is a look at every Friday night game featuring a Stanislaus District team.

Division I

No. 3 Oak Ridge (9-2) at No. 2 Central Catholic (9-2), 7 p.m.

The Raiders have had a lot of success in their history but there’s one thing they haven’t done: reach the Division I section championship game. Central Catholic played its first season in D-I last year and lost on the road in the semifinals. This year they host and will enjoy the comforts of their own field, their own locker room and the benefits of not having to travel to the Sacramento area. Their opponent is last season’s D-I runner up, Oak Ridge which features a balanced offense that includes a 2,000-plus yard passing attack led by quarterback Joaquin Graves-Mercado and a pair of running backs over the 800-yard mark in sophomores Jasen Womack (849 yards, 7 TDs) and Erick Orme Jr. (834 yards, 15 TDs).

Both teams have four combined losses to teams at the top of their brackets. Oak Ridge dropped games to Folsom and Rocklin and Central Catholic has losses to Serra and St. Mary’s. The Raiders had a slow start last week against Edison-Stockton after a first round bye, but escaped with a victory. Coach Roger Canepa believes a fast start Friday night is key. He tells his team that in the playoffs one play can mean the end of the season. They have to limit the big plays.

Division III

No. 4 Oakdale (8-3) at No. 1 Grant (9-2), 7 p.m.

Mustangs coach Garrett Martin and running backs Wes Burford, Gabe McDonald and Joseph Delte had the running game working to perfection last week against Merced in their playoff opener. Burford, McDonald and Delte each rushed for over 100 yards in the 56-35 win. On the season Burford has 1,728 yards and 26 touchdowns in his sophomore season. As the team gets farther in the season, they get more comfortable adding elements to the run game. In their second D-III semifinals appearance in three seasons, Oakdale takes on a historic program in Grant High of Sacramento, the defending section champion.

The Pacers are led by Washington State commit Wayshawn Parker (1,538 yards, 19 TDs) at running back and a pair of receivers in freshman Koby Shabazz who leads the team with 618 yards and Oregon-bound Kingston Lopa who leads the team in receiving touchdowns (12) and adds a pair of interceptions and two forced fumbles. Oakdale ended its regular season with Central Catholic, Kimball and Manteca which are all playoff teams with loads of talent. They will likely depend on the experience from those VOL games Friday night against the talented Grant outfit.

Division IV

No. 5 West Park (10-2) at No. 1 Escalon (10-1), 7 p.m.

Escalon was moved into Division IV due the section’s continued success rule and head coach Andrew Beam said in the team’s first postseason contest last week, they noticed the difference. The top seed scored on its first drive in 13 plays. All were runs. No. 9 Sacramento High scored in four plays on the ensuing drive, tying the game. Once the Cougars settled in, however, blowing out the Dragons, 57-32. Josh Graham and Jamin Miller have been great all season. Graham is the typical Wing-T fullback, averaging 110 yards per game. He has 1,215 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns. Miller is not only the team’s second leading rusher, he is a defensive leader. Sam Jimenez has come out of nowhere to be the leading target for quarterback Donovan Rozevink. The duo have combined for 842 yards and 14 touchdowns. He also leads the team with seven interceptions.

Beam knows West Park will be another tough test in the semifinals. Sophomore quarterback Jaden Jackson spreads the ball out to five different receivers who each have 25 or more catches, at least 250 yards and at least two touchdown catches. Their talented skill group is led by senior Ryan Sisson who has 37 catches for 817 yards and 14 touchdowns, all team highs. Since 1990, the Cougars have been to 17 section title games, Friday night, they hope to get to number 18.

No. 3 Patterson (10-1) at No. 2 Vista Del Lago (10-1), 7 p.m.

One of Patterson’s goals at the beginning of each season is to play 12 games. After a 10-game regular season, a first round bye and a quarterfinals victory, Friday night will be the Tigers’ 12th contest of 2023. Patterson is in Division IV this season after spending the previous seasons in the D-III bracket, but coach Rob Cozart knows that when you get to the semifinals no matter what division you’re in, every team is good. The offense has been great with quarterback Max Medina, who has greatly improved in his sophomore season, and running backs Jeremian Lugo and Cory Joseph and the Tigers’ defense possibly has been better. Cozart says Patterson is allowing its lowest points per game average in more than 15 seasons.

That defense will have to contend with Vista Del Lago, another 10-win team and the Capital Athletic League champion. The Eagles have dynamic passing attack with quarterback Johnny Koett (2,574 yards, 33 TDs) throwing to Matt Long, Will Greene and Matthew Werpy, who each have 500 or more receiving yards and five or more touchdowns. Running back Xavier Bryan has 893 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground. Patterson hits the road Friday night but they are used to playing big games away from home. The Tigers traveled to Menlo-Atherton earlier this season and won, 24-21 and have played Thursday night, Friday night and Saturday afternoon contests. Cozart says his team has been in nearly every possible situation and that can only help his team in the semifinals.

Division V

No. 3 Hilmar (8-3) at No. 2 Casa Roble (10-1), 7 p.m.

The Yellowjackets have continued to improve as the season has progressed. After starting 1-2, Hilmar has won seven of its last eight games, including last Thursday’s playoff matchup against Pioneer. The team has relied heavily on its dynamic duo of ball carriers in hybrid quarterback/tailback/slot receiver Caden Bailey (1,683 yards, 17 TDs) and Logan Cardoso (1,068 yards, 13 TDs). Cardoso is the team’s power back who has no issue running through contact while Bailey is known to break open a long run. Veteran coach Frank Marques says linemen Jackson Takhar, Dakota Maynard, Matthew Avila, Jaden Strickler and Alex Cardenas have done a great job and take pride in blocking for a pair of 1,000-yard rushers. Hilmar in the past has been a spread team, but this season, with its powerful line and talented backs, have installed the Power-I offense.

They face the Golden Empire League’s unbeaten champion Casa Roble which has won 10 games this season. They will have to deal with limiting an offense that features a 2,100-plus yard, 28-touchdown passer, Connor Campbell, a running back in Braylen Blevins who has 826 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns and a star receiver, Elijah Huddle, who has caught 47 passes for 704 yards and 10 touchdowns. Marques has told his team that at this time of the year anything can happen. They’re going into the game with the goal to play mistake-free football and contain their offense.

Division VI

No. 4 Hughson (8-3) at No. 1 Sutter (9-2), 7 p.m.

Hughson coach Shaun King says the team found its identity over the 10-game regular season and they don’t plan on looking back. Quarterback Robert McDaniel is playing “the best he’s ever played,” setting a pair of school records in the past couple of weeks for touchdown passes in a game (7 on Oct. 27) and touchdown passes in a season (27). But it’s not all pass as King says Hughson still runs a balanced offense that features Alex Villarreal, who returned from injury in last week’s playoff game.

The first-round bye made the team better and with so many players returning from last season’s state championship team, they know now is when they need to play their best football. After last week’s blowout win over Colfax at home, Hughson travels to top seed Sutter. It is the longest road trip that the team has taken. Sutter has a balanced attack of its own with quarterback Jagger Beck and receiver Jordan Lee have combined for 665 yards and three touchdowns. Running back Marcus Meras has 697 yards and seven scores. Hughson will rely on linebacker and leading tackler David Burns to help stop the run game and the team’s leader in interceptions Malakai Sumter to keep Sutter’s quarterback-receiver duo under control.

Division VII

No. 2A Orestimba (9-3) at No. 1A Ripon Christian (11-1), 7 p.m.

The Knights are being led by one of the best defenses in California statistically. In 12 games, they have nine shutouts and have held their last five opponents scoreless. They are averaging nearly seven and a half points allowed per game. After giving up 63 points in a season opening loss to Central Valley Christian of Visalia, they have allowed just 26 points and won 11 straight games. Their unique fly offense is designed to be deceptive and Brady Grondz has had an outstanding season, rushing for 839 yards and a team high 20 touchdowns. Grant Sonke leads the team in rushing yards with 911 and has 15 rushing scores. Orestimba also relies heavily on the run game. Juan Esquivez is in the midst of one of the best seasons in school history. His 2,227 rushing yards are the most ever in a single season by a Warrior. He also has 38 touchdowns. After the injury to starting quarterback Alex Millan early in the season, Jacob Valenzuela has filled in and the team has settled into its new identity as the season progressed. Orestimba is playing in the football program’s first ever section title game and won a semifinal matchup for the first time ever last week.

This game will likely be won in the trenches as Ripon Christian returns four of its five starting linemen from last season’s section championship team and Orestimba’s line has cleared the way for Esquivez to rush for an impressive 11 yards per carry. Both coaches know they will have to add wrinkles to their gameplan because they are playing a league rival. Coach Aaron Souza has watched and re-watched the film from their first matchup and believes his team left a lot of plays on the table offensively and made defensive mistakes. Coach Phil Grams knows it’s hard to beat a good team twice and expects it to be a close contest that could be decided by one of the final possessions.