Games to watch: Top Stanislaus District high school football matchups for Week 1
Football is finally back here in the Stanislaus District and the full 10 game season starts tonight.
Non-league games allow teams to schedule their rivals and other teams that will challenge them before they head into league play.
Here are the Week 1 games to watch:
1. Enochs at Beyer at Johansen High School, 7 p.m.
What better way to start off a new season than with a rivalry game? The Sylvan Bowl was listed in our poll of best Modesto-area rivalry games, and Beyer and Enochs always play each other tough.
They faced each other in the openers of the last two full seasons with Enochs winning 35-7 in 2018 and 28-6 in 2019.
Both teams are led by new coaches, Mike Young at Beyer and Tracey Traub at Enochs. Neither, however, is new to the rivalry. Young led his team’s defense and Traub served as offensive coordinator last season.
“It’s always a fun, exciting game when your schools are only two miles apart on the same road,” Traub said. “All the kids know each other, they have friends on each side, so we’re looking forward to that.”
2. Merced at Central Catholic, 7 p.m.
Central Catholic head coach Roger Canepa has made it clear he’s not making his non-league schedule easy and one of the best teams in the area with one of the toughest schedules kicks things off with Merced on Friday.
No. 16 in MaxPrep’s Sac-Joaquin Section rankings, the Raiders return a number of talented starters, including running back Julian Lopez, who rushed for 206 yards and one touchdown in their final game of last season against Buhach Colony. They also have a strong offensive line and a two-layered approach to quarterback with senior Dominic Perino and sophomore Tyler Wentworth.
Merced went 3-2 last spring and is led by its four captains – seniors Cody Chapman, Daniel Gonzalez and Nate Mendoza and junior Seth Scheidt.
3. Sonora at Oakdale, 7 p.m.
After not matching up during the spring, the rivalry returns as Oakdale and Sonora face off for the 104th time.
The Mustangs hold a 66-32-5 lead in the series, taking four of the last five contests. After running away with a 41-7 road victory in 2019, head coach Trent Merzon and his squad look to defend The Corral in this year’s game of the annual home-and-home rivalry.
4. Hilmar at Patterson, 7 p.m.
A MaxPreps CIF Sac-Joaquin Association preseason rankings top 50 matchup sees No. 43 Hilmar visit No. 30 Patterson.
Coaches expect Patterson to be one of the top teams in the Central California Conference this season and Trans-Valley League opponent Hilmar looks to pick up a huge Week 1 victory.
The Tigers return seven offensive and six defensive starters from spring’s 4-1 team, including key players from their offensive and defensive lines.
After a 4-1 spring of its own, Hilmar returns five starters from its offense and six on defense but looks to replace players at key spots, including quarterback and running back.
5. Downey at Manteca, 7 p.m.
Downey, which sits just inside the top 50 in the MaxPreps CIF Sac-Joaquin Association preseason rankings at 45, travels to 14th-ranked Manteca for what Downey coach Jeremy Plaa expects to be a dog fight.
Both teams return a lot of key players from the spring and like to play physical.
Downey has won the last two matchups between the two, a 44-42 road thriller in 2018 and a 54-48 shootout in overtime at home in 2019.
6. Gregori at Buhach Colony, 7 p.m.
Gregori comes into the season expected to finish near the top of the Central California Athletic League this season. Coaches say Buhach Colony has traditionally been a CCC power.
Buhach comes into the game with a strong defense led by senior Samari Russom who made the Cal-Hi Sports Sac-Joaquin section first team defense and RB/DB Jaxson Percoats, who made the second team.
7. Sierra at Hughson, 7:15 p.m.
Hughson dominated its spring season, winning all five of its games and four by double digits, including a sweep of both TVL opponents.
Friday’s contest presents a different challenge for the Huskies. Before last season, the Division V TVL team had not played a Division III VOL foe in recent history.
Last year, Hughson beat Kimball 23-18. Will the Huskies make it two straight?
8. Turlock at Rocklin, 7 p.m.
Everybody loves an opening week top 10 matchup. Rocklin is ranked No. 2 by MaxPreps, and Turlock No 10.
Both teams dominated their respective spring seasons, Rocklin at 4-0 and Turlock at 5-0.
Turlock had practice cut short on Wednesday due to unsafe air quality because of nearby fires. As of Thursday morning, the California Air Quality Index declared air quality in Rocklin as unhealthy.
Cal-Hi Sports Second team defense selection LB Ashton Baucom leads Turlock’s defense and Rocklin is led on defense by The Sacramento Bee’s 2021 spring Lineman of the Year Bobby Piland.
9. Central Valley at Pitman, 7 p.m. at Joe Debely Stadium
Returning to the CCC from the Western Athletic Conference, Central Valley comes in against Pitman looking to see how they match up against bigger opponents. . Head coach Derrick Goblirsch says Central Valley operates out of a shotgun/Wing-T based offesne and on defense they run a 4-2-5 to keep it simple and “let our athletes make plays.”
Pitman, out of the CCAL, has a new coach in Eric Reza, who served as head coach of freshman and junoir varsity teams at Pitman before accepting the new position in June.
10. Linden (0-0) at Escalon (0-0), 7 p.m.
The last time Escalon had a full season they dominated, going 14-1 and ended the season with a Division 4-A state title.
The matchup has produced its share of great games over the years and head coach Andrew Beam isn’t expecting anything different Friday. He says he thinks it “will be a competitive small school football game.”
Theses two schools that are right down the street from each other should have fans from both sides come out in big numbers.
This story was originally published August 20, 2021 at 4:00 AM.
