Modesto CC releases 2023 football schedule; wrestlers to compete in team duals Saturday
Central Catholic’s 2022 nonleague football schedule was among the toughest in California.
The Raiders started 1-4 after losses to St. John Bosco, St Mary’s, Saint Francis and Serra before bouncing back to win the Valley Oak League and advance to the semifinals of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoffs.
While they won’t play the nation’s No. 1 team or the third-best team in the Central Coast Section, their schedule will once again be one of the best around.
“You can’t replace the No. 1 team in the nation, but we gave it a good go.” Central Catholic coach Roger Canepa said.
The 2023 schedule will feature nine playoff teams, highlighted by matchups with two state championship finalists in back-to-back weeks.
The Raiders will travel to Reno, Nevada, on Sept. 1 to play Bishop Manogue, which fell to national football powerhouse Bishop Gorman in the Class 5A State Championship. They will host Open Division runner up Serra on Sept. 8.
The Raiders played the Padres close but ultimately fell 42-30 in the 2022 preseason. Serra finished the regular season undefeated and didn’t lose a game until the state championship against St. John Bosco, a team Central Catholic also played in 2022.
“Any time you can play the runner-up to the California state championship, then the runner-up for the Nevada state champion, that’s pretty good,” Canepa said.
After traveling to Southern California last season, heading to Nevada means an overnight trip for the second straight season.
Canepa said they also explored games in Washington and Oregon this year and had a school from Hawaii call to play.
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After opening the season at home against Merced, the Raiders take to the road for the Holy Bowl against St. Mary’s on Aug. 25. Central Catholic is 4-6 in the last 10 matchups and lost to the Rams 47-7 in 2022.
“We’ll be ready to play,” Canepa said of facing Holy Bowl opponent St. Mary’s. “Both of us are in Division I. They got us last year. They played well.”
After just one nonleague home game in 2022, Central Catholic also will host Pleasant Valley of Chico in Week 6, along with Merced and Serra.
“We played four games on the road last year,” Canepa said. “This year, we’re three (home) and two (road). That was the goal.”
Pleasant Valley also made a deep playoff run, advancing to the Northern California Division 4-AA State Championship before falling to Escalon.
Next season’s team will have its share of leaders with experience playing the best high school football has to offer.
Tyler Wentworth, Brooklyn Cheek, Trace Hernandez and Troy Leota were All District honorees who played against last season’s gauntlet.
While the slate won’t be as tough as that of the 2022 preseason, the Raiders nonleague opponents will provide tough matchups for the first five weeks and the Valley Oak League will once again provide adequate competition. Canepa feels like the Raiders will get everything they want from the 2023 schedule.
“We check every box,” Canepa said. “We play quality people, we got more home games than away games and we got an overnight trip.”
Beyer basketball player in school record books: Beyer High guard Deven Hodge couldn’t miss in the Patriots’ Jan. 18 matchup against Johansen. The senior led the Patriots to their third league win, beating the Vikings 77-48. Hodge scored 29 points and made nine threes in the game in one of the area’s best shooting performances this season. The display also got the 6-foot guard in Beyer’s record books with the second-most threes in a game in school history. He sits behind only Jonathan Lee, who made 12 against Johansen.
Gregori girls basketball players to play in college: Two Gregori girls basketball players will play at the junior college level next season. Sara Davis and Jaleena Shull will play at Modesto Junior College and Monterey Peninsula College, respectively. The seniors have helped lead the Jaguars to a 5-0 Central California Athletic League record with double-digit wins in each of their first five league games.
Davis leads the team in scoring (11 ppg), rebounding (8.4) and is tied for first in assists and steals. Shull returns for her final season after missing last year due to knee surgery. She has played in 21 games and is tied with Davis as the team’s assist leader.
Wrestlers to compete in Saturday’s team duals: High school wrestlers will compete in the Sac-Joaquin Section’s Team Duals this Saturday at Lincoln High School in Stockton starting at 9 a.m. A total of 21 of the section’s leagues will each qualify a maximum of two teams that will compete for blue banners in six divisions. Each division will be determined by 2022-23 school enrollment. Divisions I through IV will have eight schools each, Division V will have six and Division VI will have four schools. Last year, Turlock won its first team duals title, defeating Bella Vista in Division II. Escalon won its third title, beating Bear River in Division V, and Oakdale came in second in Division I after facing Vacaville for the second straight year. The Mustangs beat the Bulldogs in 2020.
RC baseball player signs with college: Ripon Christian High School senior Jacob Kowes signed his letter of intent recently to play baseball at The Masters University in Santa Clarita of the NAIA’s Golden State Athletic Conference. The first baseman hit .391 his junior year with one home run, 11 doubles, two triples and a team-high 31 RBIs. Kowes helped lead the Knights to a Sac-Joaquin Section Division VII playoff appearance and had two hits and two RBIs in the first round matchup with Valley Christian.
This story was originally published January 25, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
