Lions All-Star Football celebrates 50 years with state champions, flag competition
Mark Tennis says all-star games are part of what makes high school football great.
Some of the most prominent names in Sac-Joaquin Section and California high school football light up when talking about the Lions All-Star Senior Football Game. It has been played at many locations, from the University of the Pacific to Modesto JC to Lincoln and now Tracy high schools. There have been changes, like the adaptation from a weeklong “camp” experience where participants stay among each other in college dorms, to just a week of practice at a host high school. But the weight the game carries has only increased through the years.
This year marked the 50th anniversary of the local version of the Lions game. Tennis says it is one of the longest-running summer all-star football events in the state.
“Part of high school football’s tapestry is having an all-star game in the summer,” Tennis said. “Even if you don’t get the D-I kids, that’s OK. There’s still a vehicle for kids to get discovered and keep playing.”
The inaugural girls flag football game went off without a hitch. The top graduated female players from Merced to Stockton and the Mother Lode put on their cleats again for their version of the North vs South game. Tennis said adding the girls game was a “no-brainer” due to the growth and excitement around the sport in its infancy as an official CIF sport.
Aaron Judge’s All-Rise Foundation and former Tracy High football coach Wayne Schneider were honored at halftime of the tackle football game.
The Lions Club presented Judge’s family with a jersey from what would have been his senior Lions Game. Judge’s family and foundation are still heavily involved in the local community. A Linden High graduate, Judge respectfully declined participation in the game to begin his baseball career. “Obviously that was the right decision.” Tennis said.
He played at Fresno State before he was drafted by the New York Yankees.
The Tracy football stadium is named after Schneider. The former longtime head coach has worked on each game since the inaugural competition in 1974.
“It’s been 50 years and it’s lasted,” Tennis said of the game. “It’s still going and I don’t think it’s going to stop.”
Defensive player’s versatility leads North to victory
After an illness and a first-half injury, the North team was forced to scramble. Both quarterbacks, Escalon’s Logan Huebner (illness), who did not suit up, and Bradley Blankenheim (injury), who was carried off by teammates and did not return to the game, went down. With only two quarterbacks on the roster, head coach Andrew Beam was forced to scramble.
All week, St. Mary’s defensive back Mason Eagal joked that he could throw it. The plan was for him to play defensive back and receiver in the all-star game, and the North team had a “Philly Special”-style receiver pass play in its back pocket. While the play was never used, Beam chose Eagal as the replacement signal caller.
“I don’t know if he took a single snap at practice all week, but credit to him,” Beam said. “Being a great athlete that understands the game of football. I don’t even know what his stats were, but they were pretty dang good.”
What started as a joke on early install days Monday turned into a 50th Lions All-Star Game MVP by Saturday night. Eagal played defensive back, quarterback and kicker. He made two field goals, threw a pair of touchdown passes, was perfect on extra points, returned a punt more than 40 yards and had a handful of tackles. His North team won 34-14.
As if it was not already impressive enough, Eagal will play a sport in college, but not football. The graduated senior will head to Arizona to play lacrosse. After a decorated senior campaign for the Rams that included 44 goals and 34 assists (78 points) for a Rams team that went 13-4 overall. Eagal was one of two players in California to finish in the top 30 in ground balls, assists, points, takeaways and goals.
Eagal, a state champion with the Rams, started the scoring with a first-quarter field goal before Offensive MVP and back-to-back state champion from Sonora Cash Byington scored twice on runs to push the team’s lead to 17-0. Eagal had a hand in the rest of the North’s points. In the second half, he completed touchdown passes to Ciah Freeman-White of Stagg and Steven Morfoot of Sonora and made a field goal in the fourth quarter.
“It felt amazing just to be back out there playing football again,” Eagal said. “The season ended six months ago, so it felt nice to be back out moving around.”
The South, coached by retired Hilmar coach Frank Marques, got on the board in the second quarter on a scoop and score defensive touchdown by Mariposa’s Laten Butler. In the third quarter, Merced quarterback Vicente Cortez found Golden Valley’s Jaden Smith for a touchdown.
Football All-Star Awards
Wayne Schneider MVP — Mason Eagal (St. Mary’s)
Bob Mattos Defensive MVP — Raul Diaz (Los Banos)
Charlie Washington Offensive MVP — Cash Byington (Sonora)
South Most Inspirational — Laten Butler (Mariposa)
North Most Inspirational — Francis Ta’amu (Edison)
First girls game introduces top flag football players to all-star competition
For the first time in the game’s 50-year history, the girls joined in.
The Lions Game committee added a flag football game that kicked off at 5 p.m. Saturday and was a success. Like the boys, teams practiced all week and arrived at the field ready to compete.
The South team was littered with some of the Stanislaus District’s top seniors from the 2025 fall season while the North team was filled with playmakers, including one of California’s top passers in All-Star Game MVP Emma Coronado of Kimball. Coronado threw four touchdown passes in her final game representing Kimball High and rushed for a score. She completed 13 of 20 passes for 248 yards, according to CalHi Sports.
The game brought together players from different teams across the southern part of the Sac-Joaquin Section. Most will not continue playing flag football in college as most colleges do not have it as an interscholastic sport, but a lot will play at the collegiate level in other sports. Gregori’s Audrey Pacheco and Alanah Lopez will play softball at Southern Oregon and basketball at Modesto JC, respectively and Pitman’s Ivy Butler will play softball at Yuba College.
Butler was an All-CCAL First Team flag football player and an All-League Second Team softball player. She had an interception in the game, but her South team fell 44-6. Butler was the South team’s most inspirational player.
“I think it’s great that flag has something like this and it’s getting the recognition just like regular football,” Butler said. “I just think it’s really cool that we get to be out here.”
Pacheco started the game at quarterback, but after a head-to-head collision early in the first half, sat out the rest of the contest. She was joking and conversing with teammates on the sideline.
After years of competing as CCAL rivals, the Pacheco-Lopez-Butler trio stood on the same side of the field. A switch-up, Butler admits, but a welcome change of pace, giving her a new appreciation for former opponents.
“We got a good bond in a short time together and that was really cool,” Butler said. “It’s cool to see them from a different aspect. It’s cool to get to know somebody for who they are rather than just as an opponent.”
The South team scored its only touchdown in the first half when Olivia Costa of Livingston found Avnoor Bains of El Capitan on a deep pass on the right sideline.
The North dominated the afternoon showcase. The team took a 30-0 halftime lead and scored 14 unanswered second-half points to win.
“I’m really blessed and grateful to be part of the first one, and it’s even better that I had a great team alongside me,” Butler said. “The coaches and the girls made it a fun experience.”
Flag Football All-Star Awards
Elizabeth Gibbs MVP — Emma Coronado (Kimball)
Norma and Francis Bognuda Defensive MVP — Sosefina Hunkin (St. Mary’s)
Jane Williford Offensive MVP — Izzy Gutierrez (Tracy)
South Most Inspirational — Ivy Butler (Pitman)
North Most Inspirational — Kiera McCulley (Manteca)
This story was originally published June 22, 2026 at 1:03 PM.
