High school football to watch: CC hosts Serra, Stanislaus District Top 5 matchup in Hughson
Two of the best teams in California travel to the 209 this week.
Central Catholic hosts Serra in what head coach Roger Canepa called the biggest game on the school’s campus since they hosted De La Salle in 2019. After a quick start in last year’s matchup, injuries doomed the Raiders, who lost by double digits. This year, with a relatively healthy team, they hope to take down the No. 5 team in California.
Turlock hosts the SJS’s top team, Folsom Friday night as part of a very tough preseason slate. The Bulldogs took a big step forward last week, playing Central of Fresno in a close contest. Folsom is ranked No. 16 in California by MaxPreps.
Hughson and Downey is a matchup with significance for Huskies coach Shaun King. He is a Johansen graduate whose parents went to Downey High. The game will be a good test for the reigning Division 5-AA state champs who have yet to see a team that runs the spread offense and is as fast as the Knights. Downey gets its first road test of the season after playing three home games. Both enter the matchup 3-0.
Escalon travels back to the Bay Area in hopes of spoiling yet another home opener against California of San Ramon and Gregori hosts its first home game this season. Trey Webb is coming off back-to-back great weeks at receiver and a few defenders have recorded multiple sacks and tackles for loss in their wins. The Jaguars welcome Livermore Friday night.
Serra (2-0) at Central Catholic (2-1), 7 p.m.
Central Catholic hasn’t forgotten last season’s matchup with Serra. Brooklyn Cheek did not play, Trace Hernandez was injured in the second quarter and didn’t finish the game and a few other key injuries proved costly. After scoring on their first drive, forcing an interception on Serra’s first drive and kicking a field goal, the Raiders were rolling. They saw themselves go ahead 16-7 in the second quarter, but as injuries piled up, the game unraveled and the Raiders fell 42-30. Hernandez and the Raiders are hungry for their chance at putting together a complete game in front of the home crowd. Raiders coach Roger Canepa says Friday’s game is the biggest the team has hosted since De La Salle came to town in 2019. While they are healthy at the skill positions, there has been shuffling around on the line. Seth Van Dyk moved from tight end to left tackle to fill in for Kaisarra Afusia-Breeland. In the narrow win last week over Bishop Manogue, Zion Denning injured his knee and was evaluated this week. Serra enters the game 2-0 after beating Folsom in their first game and handing De La Salle its worst shutout in 44 years, beating the Spartans 28-0. After the pair of big wins, the Padres are the fifth ranked team in California and the No. 25 team in the MaxPreps national rankings.
Downey (3-0) at Hughson (3-0), 7 p.m.
Downey gets its first road test of the year when it travels to Hughson High to take on the defending Division 5-AA state champs in a matchup between two of the top five Stanislaus District teams. The Knights are coming off a week in which coach Jeremy Plaa says they played really well in all three phases of the game. Against Merced, Joseph Ramirez filled in for Carson Lamb for the second straight week and once again, did not throw an interception. The defense recovered four fumbles – Cody Pattee came up with three and Ismael Lopez had the other. Downey will see a well balanced offense. Running back Alexander Villarreal gets the bulk of the carries running behind a physical offensive line led by senior Navi Arretche. Quarterback Robert McDaniel has passed for eight touchdowns in three games. He spreads the ball around primarily between top receiver Malakai Sumter, Larkin Meyer and David Delgado.
Hughson coach Shaun King says this is the Huskies biggest game of the season so far. He is expecting a playoff atmosphere when the Knights visit. This game was scheduled for the learning experience. King said the team needs practice defending spread offenses and Downey runs the best spread offense in the Stanislaus District. Hughson has a number of key players that play offense and defense while Downey only has a few, King says the best way to keep their players fresh is to keep the Knights’ offense off the field. It will be difficult to wear the Knights down, but the Huskies are well-conditioned. King, a Johansen graduate whose parents are Downey alums, says this year’s team “has one of the best d-lines from a Downey team I’ve seen over the years.”
Escalon (3-0) at California (1-1), 7 p.m.
Once again, the Cougars are looking to spoil a home opener. They did it in Merced at Golden Valley in Week 1, at Buchanan and again last week in the Bay Area at Windsor. This week, they travel to San Ramon to take on California High. The Grizzlies went 5-1 to start the season, then lost their final five games, including a matchup in the first round of the NCS D-I playoffs. This season, California is 1-1 coming off a game in which quarterback Jayden Macedo threw for a pair of touchdowns and running back Devan Love rushed for 176 yards and added another two scores. This week’s road game is a matchup between two teams in the top 10 of their respective sections as Escalon is ranked No.7 in the Sac-Joaquin Section and California is the No. 10 team in the North Coast Section according to MaxPreps.
Folsom (2-1) at Turlock (0-3), 7 p.m.
Morale at Turlock is high despite its 0-3 start. Coach James Peterson was encouraged by last week’s effort at Central of Fresno as the Bulldogs defense came away with timely interceptions, fumble recoveries and fourth down stops through the first two and a half quarters. The Bulldogs held an 18-7 lead midway through the third quarter. Timely Central drives helped it score in the third and fourth quarter and squeak out a 21-18 win. Turlock is hoping for a great four quarters this weekend against the section’s top team, Folsom. The Bulldogs, the Sacramento Bee’s No. 1 ranked team, are led by sophomore star quarterback Ryder Lyons. Peterson and the Bulldogs’ defense know he is a “tremendous scrambler” who likes to extend the play. Their plan is to rush four linemen instead of having an extra man in coverage. Junior Dayne Hart doesn’t have many varsity defensive reps, but Peterson says his impact has been felt. At safety, he is not afraid to come down and lay a hit on any receiver crossing over the middle. He finished last week’s game second on the team with five tackles.
Quarterback Vincent Gonzalez has grown through each of his three starts this season. He recently talked with Peterson about not putting too much pressure on himself. Peterson says he told him he doesn’t “have to be superman” and he immediately took those words and applied them, completing 20 passes for 186 yards and a touchdown and rushing for 60 yards. The Bulldogs came out of last week without a turnover. To have a chance against Folsom, taking care of the ball and matching the visiting team’s intensity will be key. They will also rely heavily on the Turlock faithful to give them home field advantage.
Livermore (1-1) at Gregori (2-1), 7 p.m.
After their first three games on the road, Gregori is excited for Friday’s home opener. Michael Marsden was great once again last week against Atwater, rushing for 146 yards and a score on 22 carries. Quarterback Conner Bailey overcame a pair of interceptions, to have a good outing with four touchdowns and 151 yards on 12 completions. It took a Jaxx Baroda 55-yard pick-six for Gregori to overcome a sluggish start. They cannot afford to start slow against Livermore. The Cowboys lost a lot of production from last season’s team that beat the Jaguars 27-6 and went on to the North Coast Section playoffs. They will have to stop junior running back Kamarri Robinson who rushed for 317 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries. He accounts for nearly all of Livermore’s offense and Gregori coach Lamar Wallace says that if they are going to beat Gregori, the Cowboys, the plan is to make them do it by throwing the ball. Jaguars receiver Trey Webb has put together back-to-back great performances, with 118 receiving yards and three touchdowns against Merced in Week 2 and 106 yards and two scores last week.
