High school football: Flames and Rams, both 5-0, on collision course

Sep. 30—If you ask Lodi High football coach George Duenas about big upsets, he will travel back in his mind to 2003, when he was a sophomore playing guard and defensive tackle on the Flames' varsity team.

That year Lodi went 1-9, but that one win was a doozy — the Flames scored a 17-14 upset over Edison in San Joaquin Athletic Association play. Edison went on to play in the Sac-Joaquin Section championship game that year, falling just short in a loss to Grant.

That game on Oct., 17, 2003 was Lodi's first win, and Edison's first loss, of the season.

And that game is on Duenas' mind as his 5-0 Flames prepare for tonight's marquee matchup against 5-0 St. Mary's on the opening night of Tri-City Athletic League play. A win, he said, would probably be about the biggest for the program since that 2003 surprise.

"In my opinion, if this happens, it would be like that. But it's not just going to happen. They're a really good football team. They're young, but they're scary," Duenas said. "I think I say it all the time. That's why you play high school football. They're all still kids, you know. Any time you have an opportunity to play a team like this, you really get to see where you're at."

Even at 5-0, Lodi is the underdog in this one. The two teams have very different 5-0 records, with Lodi dispatching public schools while St. Mary's has run roughshod over NorCal powerhouses such as Central Catholic, Bishop O'Dowd and Cardinal Newman.

But while the Flames haven't beaten St. Mary's since 1997, they did play St. Mary's to a 28-18 loss a year ago.

"A public school hasn't beat them since Stagg (in 2013). Even Lincoln hasn't beat them, and they've had guys go to the NFL," Duenas said. "It takes a special team to beat them. Not many people out there think we can beat them. That's the bottom line. But we have a squad that believes we belong on the same field."

The Flames will need to play just about the perfect game to make it happen. St. Mary's has dangerous players at every skill position, Duenas said. Quarterback Samson Hunkin has completed 72% of his passes so far for 675 yards, and 7 touchdowns against 3 interceptions. Naseri Danielson leads in catches with 22 for 356 yards and a pair of scores. On the ground, Christopher Maghoney is averaging 10.3 yards per carry, with 25 runs for 257 yards and 4 touchdowns. Asante Carter also has four scores, with 170 yards on 25 carries.

"They are very athletic. They have some really good skill guys," Duenas said. "Their QB is very talented. No. 5 (Danielson) kind of took that leadership role for them. They're really good. There's not much weaknesses. Yeah, they're tough. It's one of those games, man."

Lodi, though, is no slouch either when it comes to offense, with the three-headed hydra of running backs Kaiden Merryman, Brayden Stout and Maceo McDowell. Quarterback Matt Shinn adds another dimension, able to hurt a defense on the ground or through the air.

"We've also got some speed in our backfield, so I think we'll give them some mixtures of our triple-option," Duenas said. "We'll play keep-away, keep that offense off the field. We kind of have a recipe that keeps us in games like this."

Tokay begins TCAL play at West

Tokay is coming off a pair of tough, physical contests in losses against Liberty Ranch and Emmett (Idaho). Tonight offers the Tigers (3-2) a chance to bounce back as they open TCAL play against West (1-5).

Tokay's last win came on Sept. 2 in a 36-0 shutout over Kennedy, while West began the season 0-5 and earned its first win last week in a 12-0 victory over Argonaut.

Tokay will have all of its players back from suspension from its Week-0 brawl at Chavez. The majority of the suspended players were able to return last week, but Tokay will be at full strength this week — relatively.

The Tigers are without sophomore quarterback Timmy "TK" Karagounis, who tore his ACL two weeks ago against Liberty Ranch. Running back Zack Filippini stepped in for him, and last week against Emmett the senior passed for 56 yards and ran for 103 and 3 touchdowns.

Galt opens vs. Rosemont

The Warriors will have their hands full when they open Sierra Valley Conference play by hosting Rosemont.

While Galt won its first two games against Franklin-Stockton and Highlands, the Warriors (2-3) are on a three-game slide. Rosemont (4-1) has just one blemish on their schedule, a 20-8 loss to Natomas.

Two of those wins, though, came via forfeit, with Cordova and Amador both bowing out for different reasons. Last week's 48-24 win over Foothill was Rosemont's first game in three weeks.

Rosemont is led offensively by running back Michael Cherry, who has 594 yards and 6 touchdowns on 56 carries.

Galt is led by quarterback Cole Erman, who's completed 64 of 11 passes for 795 yards and 10 touchdowns, while running for another 432 yards and 6 touchdowns. Receiver Kayson Jones had 30 catches for 412 yards and 4 touchdowns, and Tyler Zulim had 5 touchdowns on 9 catches.

Liberty Ranch opens league on the road

The Hawks finished the preseason with a 5-0 record, and open SVC play tonight with a game at El Dorado (3-2). The Cougars' two losses have come against Twelve Bridges and Woodland.

Liberty Ranch brings running back Arthur Draeger to the table, with his 859 yards and 15 touchdowns on 79 carries. Quarterback Kymani Fenika adds 537 passing yards and 3 touchdowns, plus 286 rushing yards and another 6 scores on the grounds.

El Dorado's offense makes its living through the air, with quarterback Anthony Mahaffey racking up 1,599 yards on 100-of-167 passing, with 20 touchdowns against 7 interceptions.

He will have to contend with a Liberty Ranch defense that has been a machine this year, with 6 sacks from Cody Smith, 3.5 from Erik Salas, and 2 interceptions each from Draeger, Fenika and Nicholas Camarillo.