Manteca is latest Stanislaus team to take on powerhouse Placer

Over the past nine seasons, Placer High has bounced up and down between the Sac-Joaquin Section’s Division III and Division IV playoffs.

Under coach Joey Montoya, who has guided his team to the postseason in all but the first of his 10 seasons at the helm, the Hillmen have become a small-school power.

But Placer hasn’t won a section banner since 1981, when it captured the Division II title for the fifth time in a seven-year span under Bill Miller.

The Manteca Buffaloes hope to extend that drought when the top two seeds in the Division IV playoff field will square off at 6 p.m. Saturday at Lincoln High in Stockton.

The game is one of two finals at Lincoln High featuring Stanislaus District schools. No. 1 Amador will play No. 2 Bradshaw Christian for the D-VI title at 1 p.m.

The D-IV No. 2 Hillmen are very familiar with the Stanislaus District.

Last season, in the Division III semifinals, a 12-0 Placer team, fresh off a 65-52 win over Patterson, ran into perhaps the greatest team in Central Catholic history and fell 48-14 at David Patton Field in the semifinals.

In 2012, the Hillmen blasted Hilmar 59-3, then lost 27-26 to Escalon in the D-IV quarterfinals.

The year before, Placer beat Patterson 48-28 before bowing out the next week, and in 2010, the Hillmen lost another heartbreaker, falling 7-6 to Oakdale in the D-III quarters.

In 2009, Placer lost the D-IV final to Modesto Christian 61-40 after wins over Calaveras and Sonora. And in 2008, the Hillmen topped Oakdale 27-14 on their way to runners-up in D-IV.

“We have our hands full Saturday,” said Montoya, who has compiled an 85-36 record in Auburn. “We’re definitely the David in this David and Goliath matchup.”

David, perhaps. But the Hillmen have plenty of stones for their sling.

“We’re a No. 2 seed, so we’re not exactly the Sisters of Mercy,” Montoya joked.

Placer runs the Wing-T and attacks defenses with a trio of running backs.

Mario Perez, a 6-foot, 215-pound junior, is the team’s leading rusher with 1,116 yards on 208 carries, an average of 5.4 yards. His 15 touchdowns are tied for the team lead with Morgan Rein-Robinson, a 5-11, 225-pound senior who has totaled 635 yards on 105 attempts (6.0). Anthony Kerrigan, a 5-7, 155-pound junior, has rushed for 967 yards and nine TDs, but he’s also the team’s leading receiver, with 28 receptions for 566 yards and three scores. He’s averaging 10.5 yards every time he touches the ball from scrimmage.

Carter Benz, a 6-3, 180-pound senior, and Hugh Hanson, a 6-3, 205-pound senior, have 21 and 19 receptions, respectively, and combine to average nearly 16 yards per catch.

Manteca (11-1) has yielded just 113 points this season, an average of 9.4 per contest. Take away the one clunker – a 32-14 loss to Central Catholic in Modesto – and the Buffaloes are allowing 7.4 points per outing.

Only Central Catholic, the four-time defending state champion at the time, and Oakdale, the No. 1 seed in the D-III playoffs, scored more than 20 points on Manteca.

“Their defense has not surrendered a lot of points,” said Montoya, a Placer graduate whose father and grandfather also coached at Placer. “They’re a big, physical team that is also very athletic. We’ll have to protect football and play great special teams.

“We’re going to have to play a perfect football game.”

This story was originally published November 25, 2016 at 5:49 PM with the headline "Manteca is latest Stanislaus team to take on powerhouse Placer."