TVL football preview: A league champ, pair of state title winners prepare to defend crowns

In 2022, 14 Stanislaus District teams qualified for the playoffs. Five local teams won league championships, three won section titles and a pair played in the last football games of the season, taking home state championships. Now, every team’s record is the same, 0-0. Each team hopes to sit atop its league after 10 games, practice on Thanksgiving leading into a section championship game and eventually be crowned a state champion.

For the next two weeks, The Bee will preview each league heading into the new season. Coverage will include notes and information on each Stanislaus District team, coach quotes and a look at team practices.

Riverbank will not participate in TVL football this season, instead opting to compete independently before realignment begins in 2024. It will open the season against Millennium at West High in Tracy.

Everyone else will compete for a highly coveted TVL title, a crown that does not come easily in the toughest small school league in California. Last season’s league champion, Hilmar, had its postseason outshined by the league’s second- and third-place finishers, who each won more than 10 games. Escalon and Hughson each finished 2022 as Sac-Joaquin Section and CIF State champions.

The Cougars won their last 10 games and were crowned Division V section champions, their third straight blue banner, and Division 4-AA state champs. Due to the section’s continued-success rule, they will participate in the Division IV playoffs this season. Hughson won the D-VI section title, the school’s first in 22 years, and went on to win its first state title game. Both teams return their quarterbacks and key players at skill positions and on the line.

The league’s other two 2022 playoff teams, Ripon and Modesto Christian, are in very opposite positions entering the new season. Ripon brings back a number of skill players, while the Crusaders underwent a head coaching change and had a number of players transfer during the off-season.

2022 TVL Standings

Team (Overall Record, League Record)

Hilmar (7-4, 6-0)

Hughson (13-2, 5-1)

Escalon (13-3, 4-2)

Ripon (5-7, 2-4)

Livingston (4-6, 2-4)

Modesto Christian (6-5, 2-4)

Riverbank (0-10, 0-6)

A pair of state champs looking to defend

Escalon and Hughson are TVL rivals, but entering the 2023 football season, they surprisingly have a lot in common: Both teams last season were crowned section champions, both went on to win state championships and both are hoping to continue their success in 2023.

Escalon’s past five seasons have been dominant, making the postseason every year, winning three straight Sac-Joaquin Section titles (2019, 2021, 2022) and two state championships (2019, 2022).

Owen Nash and Logan Anderson were members of all three section and both state title teams, but they’ve graduated. In 2023, a new cast of names hopes to continue the program’s successful few years. Some have varsity experience, some do not.

Five returners are three-year varsity players. Senior quarterback Donovan Rozevink, senior running back Jamin Miller, senior linemen Gio Chavez and Anthony Jones and junior tight end and defensive end Ryan Lewis.

“Those five guys are going to be leaned on heavily to be leaders and bring on that new wave of younger guys and get them acclimated to what we expect.” coach Andrew Beam said. “These guys have played in some big games and have a lot of experience.”

For yet another season, Escalon was placed in a higher division for the playoffs due to the section’s continued-success rule. They won a Division VI section title in 2019 and Division V titles in 2021 and 2022. They will compete in the Division IV playoffs this year.

“The fact that we keep getting moved up is an accomplishment,” Beam said. “At the end of the day, we’re excited for a new challenge, but it’s going to be a really tough one.”

The Cougars will play the majority of their games away from Engel Field because the stadium is getting new grass, an all-weather track and a new scoreboard, among other improvements. They play seven straight road games that include non-league trips to Fresno, Windsor and San Ramon before their first “home” game in Week 9, a contest against Hilmar at MJC. They will play at Modesto Christian in Week 8 but will be the designated home team.

Beam says this off-season was one of “growth” for Rozevink, who enters his third season as the varsity starter. By now, he knows what the staff expects. Over the summer, he worked with some of his younger teammates.

Miller will fill the role of Ryker Peters, the team’s premier back for the previous two seasons. Miller was primarily a defensive specialist and a run blocker but he made big plays as a sophomore during the team’s section championship run. Now, he will get the bulk of the carries.

“He’s a combination of Ryker Peters and Logan Anderson,” Beam said. “He’s a guy that didn’t have a ton of yards or TDs but I think he can explode onto the scene on the offensive side. He’s been one of the best defensive players, now I think we’re going to see a lot on offense.”

Hughson is arguably the most experienced team in the TVL with returners from last season’s state championship team all over the field.

Quarterback Robert McDaniel returns for his junior season with a pair of Division I offers from Arkansas State and Toledo. David Burns and David Delgado will play their senior seasons in the Huskies black and yellow. Burns was third in the section in tackles and Delgado finished last season with six interceptions, 11th in the SJS. At the skill positions, Larkin Meyer and Malakai Sumter are primed to be McDaniel’s go-to targets on the outside.

Second leading rusher from a year ago Alex Villarreal is also back and will likely get the bulk of the carries after Liam Bridgford’s graduation. Sophomore Bryce McDaniel, Robert’s younger brother, also could get time at receiver.

Shaun King and the Huskies coaches are especially excited about the offensive line, led by senior Navi Arretché. Four of their five linemen are back this year. Arretché, Edwin Olivo, Ivan Flores, who missed last season with a knee injury, and Carlos Guizar, who is moving from left guard to center, will protect McDaniel, who threw for over 1,900 yards and 25 touchdowns last season.

“This could be one of the best offensive lines we’ve had, and definitely the best since I’ve been here,” King said.

With all that talent, the Huskies began fall practices ahead of schedule as the majority of their key players picked up the plays much faster after being in the system for at least a year already.

TVL Notes

Modesto Christian hopes to grow as season progresses

Under head coach Jerry Grimshaw, the Crusaders in 2022 made the postseason for the first time since 2018. Despite a narrow loss in the first round to Twelve Bridges, the season, which began with four wins in five games, was an overall success.

In the off-season, Grimshaw accepted a position to help Simpson University in Redding start its football program, and the MC program hired Kurt Bryan. Bryan is determined to help the Crusaders remain one of a handful of TVL teams in playoff contention this season.

But he will have to do that with a roster that currently sits at 16 players.

“We lost a lot of guys in the time that Jerry left and I got hired, but guys are working hard” Bryan said. “By mid-August to Aug. 31, we’re hoping to be at least at 20, if not more.”

The Crusaders lost four of their five offensive linemen to either transfer or graduation, including Florida State commit Manasse Itete, but have returners at skill positions who showed promise last season.

Senior All-District wide receiver and Cal Poly commit Jeremiah Bernard is back after finishing No. 2 in the section and in the state’s top 25 in receiving yards. Ross Widemon split time at quarterback with Raymond Corrall last season but will step into the full-time starting role in his junior year, and receiver/defensive back Eli’jah Cook has improved heading into his senior season.

Week 2 could be crucial for the Crusaders. They finish August with a bye and are hoping to have any athletes who join the team at the start of school fully acclimated.

“We will have more players ready and cleared with their 10 practices by the time we play our second football game on Sept. 1.” Bryan said.

The Crusaders open their season Friday, Aug. 18, on the road against Esparto for a season they are going to participate in despite rumors. “The only way we can’t go is if we have less than 11.” Bryan said.

Hilmar, a league champion looking to defend

It’s not every year a reigning league champion is outshined by the second- and third-place finishers, but that is the spot Hilmar finds itself in entering 2023.

The Yellowjackets enjoyed a successful season that included bouncing back from a 1-3 start by running the table in arguably the toughest small school league in California. They opened TVL play by blanking Livingston 35-0, then beat Escalon by a point and beat Hughson 49-26. It was the program’s first outright league title since 2016. They fell to Escalon in the Division V quarterfinals.

“We went into league season 1-3, and to go undefeated in the TVL is no small feat,” said Hilmar coach Frank Marques. “I’ve only seen it a couple times where a team goes through the TVL undefeated.

“The section put us against Escalon and I truly believed whoever won that game was going to win it all.”

Caden Bailey thrived as a running quarterback last season as a sophomore after being pulled up from JV when starter Hudson Azevedo went down with an injury. All he did was pass for 500 yards, rush for 800 yards and 13 touchdowns and win the league’s Outstanding Offensive Player award. This off-season, he got even better. Marques says he put on 30 pounds of muscle.

“He’s gotten faster and bigger,” said Marques. “He’s going to be fun to watch this year. … He’s one of those kids that plays at a very high pace. He doesn’t take himself too seriously and he keeps the team loose. He’s got the right personality for the role he’s playing.”

After missing his entire junior season with an injury, linebacker Devin Colston could have a breakout senior campaign for the Yellowjackets. Marques said he was cleared by doctors and is “ready to go”.

Though they will have to replace production from leading rusher, second leading tackler and TVL MVP Luis Vargas and 6-foot-5 receiver Derek Taylor, Marques and the Hilmar coaches are encouraged by the work the team did this off-season in the weight room. They’re ready to defend their league title.

“You never go into a game thinking you’re going to lose,” he said. “I expect to be league champs. I think for every coach, that should be your outlook. I tell our kids, our goal is to win a league title and win every game. Is (winning every game) going to happen? Probably not, but that’s our goal.”

A tale of two groups for Ripon

Chris Musseman can describe the personnel of the 2023 Ripon High football team in one sentence.

“We’re experienced in the skill section, but we have a lot of work to do in the line area.” he said.

Quarterback Ty Herrin, who passed for 699 yards and rushed for 116 more for the team that finished fourth in the TVL last season, enters his senior year. Junior running back Anden Ries finished last season second on the team in rush yards (501) and rushing touchdowns (eight) despite missing a handful of games due to injury. Rising senior receiver/defensive back Jesus Ochoa finished 2022 with eight interceptions and will take a leap also this season.

Sitting at the top of every team’s Ripon High scouting report for the second straight season will be rising senior Xzavier Clark. In his junior season, he led the team with 732 rushing yards and 313 receiving yards and scored 17 offensive touchdowns.

“He was our big-play guy last year as a junior,” Musseman said. “Offensively, he’s going to be a very big contributor in both the run and pass game.”

The team’s biggest question marks are the offensive and defensive lines. The coaches moved tight ends over into the offensive line. They could possibly have two sophomores starting come Aug. 18 and the majority of the line played on junior varsity last season.

“There’s a lot of youth that needs experience,” Musseman said.

The anticipated starters get the majority of the practice reps, but the coaches also have to make sure the second string is prepared.

“We need them to get more reps than normally we would need to at this time just to try and get them ready,” Musseman said. “The balancing act is how do we create some depth but also move them along quickly? And it may take a few games before they start to figure it out.”

Numbers across the program have continued to increase since football came back after missing a fall season, and Ripon has more football players this year than it had even prepandemic. It’s possible Ripon could have a 50-man varsity roster.

“When I took over in 2016, we averaged around 65 to 70 kids,” Musseman said. “As of this point, I think we have about 125.

“Our community is very supportive of the program. I think more kids are starting to play football again and we try to make it a good experience for the kids that are in our program. Kids are having a good time, and it makes more want to come out.”