Championship preview: These three Stanislaus District teams will compete for banners
This weekend is what every team in the Sac-Joaquin Section hopes to reach. Friday and Saturday, the best in the section will play for blue championship banners at Golden 1 Center, home of the Sacramento Kings.
Three Stanislaus District teams qualified, two No. 1 seeds and one underdog reached the pinnacle of their respective divisions.
In the boys brackets, Modesto Christian, the top seed in Division I, is in its 27th section title game and a fifth straight in Division I. The Crusaders’ seven D-I titles are the most the program has won in any division. Beyer upset its way to the Division III title game just a year after suffering a first-round upset to El Capitan, which ended up being last season’s runner-up.
In girls championships, Central Catholic, along with Faith Christian, has the best win percentage of any boys or girls team remaining in this section’s playoffs. The Raiders’ 27 wins and 1 loss are also a program record. They used pressure defense, depth and shot making to win their three playoff games by an average of just over 27 points a game.
Here is a preview of each Stanislaus District championship game happening this weekend.
No. 1 Modesto Christian (25-6) vs No. 2 Sheldon (27-4) at 8 p.m.
Division: I (boys)
When: Saturday, Feb. 28
Modesto Christian
- League (Record): Tri-City Athletic League (12-0)
- Last SJS title: 2024
- Last SJS championship appearance: 2025
- Total SJS Titles (title game record): 22 (22-4)
Team Notes: The winningest program in section history, Modesto Christian, is in its fifth straight Division I title game. Four players in the Crusaders’ starting five average double figures, led by Trevor Dickson (19.8 ppg). Siincere Hudson averages 16.4 points and 7.3 assists, Cole Martin adds 12.8 points and Somto Patrick averages a double-double (11.3 points, 11.5 rebounds). Dickson has made 99 threes, 15th in California and fifth in the SJS and Hudson’s assists rank seventh in the state and second in the section. Patrick’s rebound average ranks 11th in the SJS. Modesto Christian has played in big games this season, beating Clayton Valley Charter, ranked 20th in the MaxPreps California rankings at the time, and Folsom. They also played Salesian College Prep twice and Archbishop Riordan and Crespi of Encino. They are battle tested, but just Dickson and Seve Archuletta have section title game experience. Elijah Payne is still out with an ankle injury.
Sheldon
- League (Record): Delta League (11-1)
- Last SJS title: 2020
- Last SJS championship appearance: 2022
- Total SJS Titles (title game record): 7 (7-5)
Team Notes: Sheldon has seven Sac-Joaquin Section titles. All are in Division I. All five runner-up finishes are also in Division I. Sheldon is the last team to four-peat as CIF-SJS D-I champions, winning their blue banners in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. Their last appearance in 2022 was a loss to Modesto Christian. Like the Crusaders, Sheldon’s leading scorer is a junior. Baron Sabir pours in 24.2 points a game with 5.7 rebounds. Seniors Teyjuan Carter and Zach Beatty each average just over 12 points a game. Beatty is the team’s leading rebounder (8.4) and Carter leads the team in assists and blocks, posting 6.4 and 2.0, respectively. The Huskies lost just one Delta League game and finished first before winning three playoff games to reach Saturday’s final.
No. 1 Placer (28-3) vs No. 7 Beyer (26-6) at 4 p.m.
Division: III (boys)
When: Saturday, Feb. 28
Beyer
- League (Record): Western Athletic Conference (14-0)
- Last SJS title: None
- Last SJS championship appearance: 2018
- Total SJS Titles (title game record): 0 (0-2)
Team Notes: The Patriots are riding high into Saturday’s championship game. They won their first league championship in the Kyle McKim era, are riding a program-best 19-game win streak and are coming off upsets of the D-III No. 2 and No. 6 teams. In their thrilling 55-53 semifinals win over East Union, Keimani Thompson scored 24 points and Curtis Harmon added 16. Harmon, Thompson and James McGee all average double figures. The Patriots went to section title games in back-to-back years, playing Whitney in 2017 for the D-II championship and Central Catholic in 2018 in D-III. Beyer is the only Modesto City Schools program to make multiple section title games.
Placer
- League (Record): Foothill Valley League (10-2)
- Last SJS title: 1988
- Last SJS championship appearance: 2018
- Total SJS Titles (title game record): 1 (1-2)
Team Notes: The Hilmen finished second in the FVL but earned the top seed in D-III and delivered. They knocked off Burbank, Central Catholic and Christian Brothers in their first three playoff rounds to reach Saturday afternoon’s championship. Senior guard Emmett Rose is a three-point threat. His 116 threes are 19th nationally, fifth in California and first in the SJS. Rose (17.6 ppg), Rector (16) and Joe Manley (13.1) each average double figures. Junior Kannon Rector is ninth in the section in assists (5.7). Like Beyer, Placer’s last championship appearance was in 2018. The Hillmen fell in the Division IV title game to West Campus.
No. 1 Central Catholic (27-1) vs No. 3 West Campus (20-3) at 2 p.m.
Division: IV (girls)
When: Friday, Feb. 27
Central Catholic
- League (Record): Valley Oak League (11-1)
- Last SJS title: 1998
- Last SJS championship appearance: 2000
- Total SJS Titles (title game record): 1 (1-2)
Team Notes: It has been a season of firsts for the Raiders. They won their first VOL title, won the most games in recent school history and reached the section title game for the first time in over 25 years. Hannah Garcia, Samantha Nichols, Ayla Parcon, Marissa Garcia and Mia Cardoza lead the team in most major statistical categories as part of a well-balanced attack. Entering the championship weekend, the Raiders have the best overall record of any team, boys or girls, with just one loss on the season, a league game against East Union that they avenged later in the season. East Union plays in the Division III title game Saturday. The Raiders’ lone championship came in 1998 as part of a four-year stretch where they won four straight Southern League titles in 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000. They went to three section title games (1997, 1998, 2000). They beat Denair for the 1998 title and lost to Ripon Christian in 1997 and 2000 in Division V.
West Campus
- League (Record): Greater Sacramento League (12-0)
- Last SJS title: 2019
- Last SJS championship appearance: 2019
- Total SJS Titles (title game record): 3 (3-3)
Team Notes: Naomi Johnson leads a three-headed scoring attack, averaging 22 points a game with seven rebounds. Loismary Justice adds 16.4 points and 14.2 rebounds and Zoya Ahmad scores 11.3 points. Justice’s rebound average is 24th in the state and sixth in the section. Johnson is seventh in the section in scoring. A dominant force in the Greater Sacramento League, the Warriors have not lost a league game since the 2019-20 season, finishing as undefeated league champions every year since 2021-22. To get to the title game, West Campus knocked off No. 2 seed and defending section champion Liberty Ranch, 63-53 in the semifinals. Their most recent Sac-Joaquin Section title was in 2019, the last of a three-peat when they won Division IV championships also in 2017 and 2018.
This story was originally published February 26, 2026 at 11:34 AM.
