Notebook: MJC football wins conference opener; high school playoff picture takes shape
The Modesto Junior College football team got back on track Saturday in its first Valley Conference game against Sacramento City College.
The Pirates, who entered the game on a three-game skid, regrouped with a dominant overall performance and 44-3 win over the Panthers.
Cruz Marines (Gregori) and Keith Orona (Enochs) shared snaps after Luke Weaver and Marcus Ordunez were injured against San Mateo in the second game of the season. Marines threw touchdowns against San Mateo and started the next game against Butte. Orona pulled his gray shirt to suit up after the injuries and got the start against Sacramento City College.
The Pirates used their bye week to regroup right before conference play started, and it worked.
Orona threw for 197 yards and a touchdown and capped the game’s first drive with a 12-yard rushing touchdown. Aiden Taylor (Central Catholic) rushed for 127 yards and two scores. The offense’s catalyst all season has been do-it-all receiver Jacob DeJesus. The sophomore out of Manteca High caught eight passes for 153 yards and one touchdown. The offense gained 408 yards of total offense.
The all-around dominant performance was capped by an outstanding defensive game.
Jalon Jackson (Buhach Colony) intercepted his first pass of the season in the second quarter, causing a turnover that led to one of Taylor’s rushing touchdowns. The Pirates’ young secondary played its best game of the season, surrendering just three passing first downs and 76 net passing yards. The defense gave up just 92 total yards.
MJC will travel to Contra Costa Saturday for its second conference game at 3 p.m.
Stan State volleyball player earns Player of the Week honors: After leading the Warriors to upset wins over the weekend, sophomore outside hitter Ellison Weaver was honored as the California Collegiate Athletic Association Offensive Player of the Week. Weaver finished with 14 kills and six digs in a win over No. 18 Cal Poly Pomona and against No. 13 Cal State San Bernardino, posted a double-double with a career-high 18 kills and 16 digs. Weaver and the Warriors finish CCAA play in early November before the conference tournament begins Nov. 10.
Local girls hoops player returns close to home: Former Pitman girls basketball star Kaylin Randhawa decided she will play out her final year of eligibility close to home at Sacramento State. Randhawa played her first three collegiate seasons at Stockton’s University of the Pacific, where she appeared in 81 games, helping lead her team to the WNIT her sophomore year.
After a pandemic-shortened junior season, she transferred to Utah State, where she finished her senior year as the second-leading scorer (11.9 ppg) and was the only player to start in all 29 games. The 6-foot-2 guard will play her final year of eligibility in Sacramento, starting with the home opener at The Nest against UC Irvine.
MJC pitchers commit to play Division 1 baseball: Right-handed pitchers Adan Perez (Modesto) and Lucas Alaniz (Hughson) both announced they will be playing Division 1 baseball when their careers as Pirates are over. Perez announced on Twitter on Oct. 11 that he will attend Cal State Northridge, and Alaniz on Sept. 25 posted that he will attend the University of California Berkeley. Both made their announcements after their freshman campaigns.
Perez in 18 appearances was credited with nine starts and a 6-4 record with a 3.25 ERA and 66 strikeouts. He finished with a season-high 12 strikeouts in a win against Contra Costa on Feb. 5. Alaniz ended the season with a 3-1 record, 2.79 ERA and 19 strikeouts.
High school football playoff picture taking shape: This Friday marks Week 10 of the high school football season, which means playoffs are right on the doorstep. After nine weeks Downey (8-0, 3-0 CCAL) remains undefeated. The Knights along with Patterson, Hilmar, Orestimba and Central Catholic are either holding or are tied for first place in their respective leagues with two games remaining.
MaxPreps released its first projections for the 2022 playoffs Sunday and in the first edition, Ripon Christian (Division VII) is the only Stanislaus District team with a No. 1 seed in its division. Downey (Division II), Patterson and Oakdale (Division III), Hilmar (Division V) and Orestimba and Hughson (Division VI) all are projected to have first round byes. League winners gain automatic entries while the rest of the field is decided by other metrics including school size and CalPreps ranking.
Water polo tournaments highlight high school regular season: The Western States and Delong water polo tournaments are two of the best events on the West Coast. Both tournaments bring teams from all over California to the area as games are hosted at local pools. The Western States, a girls water polo tournament, saw Stanislaus District teams compete against some talented programs from all over the section and Oregon. Lakeridge High of Oregon beat Sanger to win the varsity Platinum Division. Oakdale won the varsity Gold Division.
The boys Delong Tournament is this weekend, Oct. 21 and 22, at Johansen, Pitman, Oakdale, Downey and Enochs high schools. Platinum and Gold division games start Friday at 8:30 a.m. and championship games will be Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Johansen (Platinum) and Oakdale (Gold) high schools.
High school volleyball playoffs to start soon: The high school volleyball regular season ends on Thursday and a number of local teams have set themselves up for prime playoff positioning. Beyer, Ripon Christian, Escalon and Pitman all are looking at taking home league championships. Pitman (No. 3), Escalon (No. 7), Ripon Christian (No. 14), Ripon (No. 23) and Turlock (No. 25) in the season’s final week all cracked MaxPreps’ Sac-Joaquin Section Top 25.
First-round playoff games begin Monday, Oct. 24, at home sites with games played until the section championships on Nov. 3 or 5.
This story was originally published October 19, 2022 at 11:15 AM.
