Prep football roundup: Davis shakes up playoff picture with WAC win
The regular season ended Friday night and a number of teams learned their postseason fate Sunday afternoon during the Sac-Joaquin Section’s bracket selection show.
A lot of teams’ seasons continue in the first round of the section playoffs while others finished their 2023 campaign with Game 10 Friday night.
Davis shook up the playoff picture with a key one-touchdown win over Ceres. Turlock put a cap on its 2023 CCAL title by beating Enochs while Central Catholic and Escalon also locked up perfect league schedules with wins.
Riverbank’s historic season ended Friday night, and Modesto Christian, Beyer, Modesto and Ripon also saw their seasons come to a close.
Here is how things played out in Week 11 across the Stanislaus District.
Johansen 40, Beyer 6: Tek Garcia continued his record-breaking season with yet another 200-plus-yard rushing performance. His 205 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries led the Vikings to their fourth Western Athletic Conference win. Aeric Amerel, Jairus Vasquez and Roger Windzer each added a rushing score.
Pitman 52, Modesto 13: Modesto could not pick up its first CCAL win this season in the finale against Pitman. The Pride secured their second league win and third victory overall in the final game for their 15 seniors.
Merced 62, Central Valley 21: The Hawks fell behind 20-0 before Darrius Jackson and Anthony Ramirez connected for the team’s first score on a 25-yard touchdown. Ramirez played a part in all three of Central Valley’s touchdowns in the final game of the season.
Patterson 63, Buhach Colony 2: Jeremiah Lugo finished the regular season finale with 182 yards of total offense and four total touchdowns. Noah Cozart caught five passes for 145 yards and two scores, and Max Medina passed for 384 yards and tossed six touchdowns. Patterson enters the Division IV playoffs with a 9-1 record.
Mira Loma 16, Riverbank 14: A historic season for Riverbank came to an end Friday night. A three-win season was highlighted by senior Jeremiah Cooper, who became the Bruins’ first 1,000-yard rusher since 2001. Cooper averaged 111 yards a game and had five 100-plus-yard rushing games.
Manteca 28, Oakdale 27: Bryson Davis broke a 14-14 tie late in the second quarter with a 17-yard touchdown rush, but Oakdale would not go away quietly. Wes Burford evened the game at 21 apiece with a rushing touchdown, but Davis answered with another rushing score late in the third. Brian Delte caught a touchdown pass to bring Oakdale within a point with just under four minutes in the game, but the extra points missed.
Central Catholic 63, Sierra 7: The Raiders had a balanced attack against Sierra in their final Valley Oak League game. TP Wentworth and Brooklyn Cheek connected for four passing touchdowns. Cheek finished with five total catches and 181 yards. Wentworth threw for 265 yards on eight completions. Wentworth, Joseph Salacup, Gavin Peral and Joey Alcutt scored on the ground. Central Catholic beat the Timberwolves for the eighth straight time.
Big Valley Christian 54, Western Sierra Collegiate Academy 0: The Lions did all of their work in the first three quarters of Friday night’s road season finale. The Lions qualified for the postseason after earning their fourth win this season.
Escalon 49, Livingston 21: Donovan Rozevink passed for 324 yards and a career-high six touchdowns in a dominant win over Livingston. Chase Cummings finished with 107 receiving yards and a score. Ryan Lewis and Sam Jimenez caught a pair of touchdowns apiece and finished with 80 and 73 yards, respectively. Lewis recorded a pair of sacks and Jimenez had an interception.
Turlock 55, Enochs 14: The Bulldogs scored 28 unanswered points before Logan Edwards scored on a four-yard touchdown. Turlock returned two kickoffs for touchdowns in a win that finished off a complete season turnaround. After losing its first five games, Turlock enters the Division I playoffs riding a five-game winning streak.
Hilmar 48, Modesto Christian 24: Arguably the hottest small-school football team of late is Hilmar and it continued to roll Friday night. After a loss to Sonora dropped them to 1-2, the Yellowjackets went 6-1 to end the regular season. Despite the loss, Cal Poly-bound Jeremiah Bernard caught 13 passes for 162 yards and a pair of touchdowns and Ross Widemon passed for 268 yards, three scores and four interceptions. Bernard finishes the regular season ranked No. 4 in the nation and No. 1 in California in receiving yards (1,469) among teams that uploaded stats to MaxPreps.
Ripon Christian 35, Delhi 0: A dominant 2023 Southern League run was capped with yet another shutout. The Knights scored four offensive touchdowns and Brady Grondz returned a punt for a touchdown.
Orestimba 49, Gustine 7: Orestimba picked up its 39th win in the Battle for the Chief series that dates back to the late 1940s. The Warriors opened up a 36-0 lead early in the second quarter. With the win, Orestimba earns the SL’s second place spot heading into the postseason.
Davis 20, Ceres 13: Davis opened up a 20-0 lead on the Bulldogs, but Ceres got back into the game with two scores. A defensive stand at the end of the game helped Davis pull out the one-score victory, shaking up the playoff picture. Davis’ third straight win puts it in a three-way tie for third place in the WAC with Johansen and Mountain House. With the loss, Ceres does not earn its fourth win this season, which in recent years has been required for teams to qualify for a postseason berth.
Hughson 55, Ripon 26: Robert McDaniel broke the Hughson school record for passing touchdowns in a bounceback win for the Huskies. The junior completed 26 passes for 470 yards and seven touchdowns. He threw touchdowns to five different receivers including two to Larkin Meyer and Malakai Sumter. David Delgado, Cesar Ramos and Bryce McDaniel also caught one touchdown pass each. David Burns led the team once again in tackles, tallying 10.
