Julian A. Lopez: Modesto Christian’s Carlton could miss Hilmar game pending appeal

What happened in the first quarter of Modesto Christian’s 46-7 win over Livingston on Friday may have a big effect for the Crusaders (8-0, 4-0) as they head into their showdown at Hilmar (6-1, 2-1) next week.

Junior defensive end Xavier Carlton was ejected after a push-and-shove confrontation with a Livingston player. The Livingston player was not ejected.

“It lasted two seconds,” Crusaders coach Mike Parsons said Saturday morning. “It was borderline. We are going to appeal it and see what happens.”

Carlton, who’s had scholarship offers from USC, Notre Dame and Oregon, among others, leads the team with 3.5 sacks and three fumble recoveries. If the appeal is denied, he will miss the important Trans-Valley League game against the Yellowjackets.

The appeal would go through the TVL and not the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section.

“He is a great kid who made a mistake,” Parsons said. “I’ve never had an issue with him. He is just going to have to learn to walk away.”

Davis gets first WAC win

Davis (2-5, 1-3) won its first Western Athletic Conference game on Friday with a 55-28 victory over Lathrop at Modesto Junior College.

“We are trying to improve week in and week out,” Garcia said. “We like the matchups physically down the stretch.”

Part of the Spartans’ early struggles in the WAC was the fact that they faced Mountain House, Los Banos, and Pacheco in their first three league games. Mountain House and Pacheco are a combined 13-1 and Los Banos is 3-1 in league.

“We had a rough stretch,” Garcia said. “We have been competitive with quality opponents.”

One of the reasons why the Spartans are starting to find success has been the play of their offense, which has scored over 30 points in each of their last three games.

Last week, senior quarterback Xavier Rodriguez broke the school record with 473 passing yards but on Friday, the Spartans found success on the ground. Senior running back Francisco Mercado ran for 250 yards and five touchdowns.

“They (Lathrop) tried to take away our passing game so it was good for us to execute on the ground,” Garcia said.

Rodriguez threw for three touchdowns, giving him 23 on the season. The Spartans face winless Beyer next week.

Health update on Beau Green

Downey freshman quarterback Beau Green looks to be on track to return next Friday against Gregori.

“He is throwing again,” Knights coach Jeremy Plaa said after Downey’s 47-14 win over Enochs on Thursday. “He is cleared already by the doctor. It is just a matter of how far he can throw and how strong is his shoulder.”

Green suffered a shoulder sprain on Sept. 14 against McClymonds and hasn’t played since. He was wearing a sling last week against Turlock but on Thursday, Green was spotted without it and was giving quarterback signs to junior Bryce Gouker.

Plaa said Green threw “40 to 50 balls a day” during the week.

Gouker threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Enochs.

This story was originally published October 6, 2018 at 12:13 PM.