Games to watch: Top Stanislaus District high school football matchups for Week 8
After a slate of high-stakes league games last week, Week 8 brings some more of the same. Two remaining Stanislaus District teams put their undefeated records on the line against top teams in their respective leagues.
The always competitive Valley Oak League and Trans-Valley League stay interesting with matchups that could affect playoff seeding.
Here are the top Week 8 games to watch.
Lathrop (5-1, 3-0) at Davis (6-0, 3-0) at Modesto Junior College, 7 p.m.
The Spartans have already tied their longest win streak since 2004 at six games, and look to put their undefeated record to the test against a talented Lathrop squad. Both teams are the only Western Athletic Conference teams without a league loss.
Both nicknamed Spartans, they matched up in 2018 and 2019 with Davis outscoring Lathrop 112-41.
Head coach Tim Garcia does see areas of improvement going into Friday and the team’s attention to detail has been the focus of practice this week.
After two impressive weeks, Beyer transfer Jayson Munthe has been named Davis’ starting quarterback, but expect Jose Sanchez to see time at slot receiver and safety.
Davis is going to have to plug up gaps and stop Lathrop’s dynamic run game led by Aaron Ramones and Jeremiah Estante who have 351 yards and five touchdowns and 344 yards and two touchdowns, respectively.
As a team, Lathrop has rushing totals of 1,263 yards and 18 touchdowns.
Ripon (5-2, 3-0) at Livingston (4-2, 1-1)
After starting the season 0-2, Ripon has won five straight, propelling the Indians to the top of the Trans-Valley League while averaging 40 points in their three TVL wins.
Livingston bounced back from a four-point loss to Hilmar with a 27-0 win over Hughson last week.
Oakdale (4-2, 1-2) at Sierra (1-6, 1-2) at Sierra High School, 7 p.m.
Oakdale started the season 4-0 but ran into a buzzsaw in Kimball to open the VOL and have since lost two straight. Despite the two losses, the Mustangs remain ranked 11th in the section.
Coming off the 32-14 loss to Central Catholic, the Mustangs’ chances of claiming another league title are slim.
The Mustangs have won 15 of 18 matchups with Sierra since 2004, but the Timberwolves have played the last two games very close. Oakdale won a nailbiter during the spring season and lost 22-19 in 2019.
After losing six straight, Sierra beat Weston Ranch 3-0 on Friday.
Kimball (6-0, 2-0) at Central Catholic (5-1, 2-0) at Central Catholic High School, 7 p.m.
Friday’s Top 10 matchup between the Raiders and Jaguars presents yet another Valley Oak League heavyweight battle.
Central Catholic is undefeated against Kinball since 2014, winning the last game 71-31 in 2019. But this is a different Kimball team that has put up big numbers, averaging 53 points a game.
The Jaguars are led by the state’s leading passer Nicholas Coronado, who slings the ball to two of the Sac-Joaquin Section’s top five receivers in seniors Willie Clifton (796 yards, 11 touchdowns) and Mason Rivera (659 yards, eight touchdowns).
The Raiders are coming off a 32-14 win at the Corral in Oakdale and will rely on the ground game led by Aiden Taylor’s 665 yards and 13 touchdowns, fifth in the section.
With senior running back Julian Lopez expected to be sidelined again this week, junior Tyler Jacklich has been a nice addition to the Central Catholic rushing attack. After recovering from an ankle injry, he has played in four games and has 17 carries for 136 yards and four touchdowns.
Turlock (2-4, 1-0) at Downey (5-1, 1-0) at Downey High School, 7 p.m.
Winners of five straight, the No. 22 Knights have hit their stride at the right time.
Head coach Jeremy Plaa is confident with how his team looks, but knows that Friday’s game against Turlock presents a big challenge. Turlock has won six of the last seven games between the two.
The matchup features contrasting styles as junior running back J.T. Foreman II anchors the Bulldogs’ offense with 108 carries for 665 yards and six touchdowns. Quarterback Conner Stoddard is among the top passers in the section with 1,024 yards and 13 touchdowns and leads the more pass-heavy Knights offense.
Though Turlock has only won two games, it is a battle tested team having played Clayton Valley Charter, the third ranked team in the North Coast Section, and Manteca, ranked fourth in the Sac-Joaquin Section.
Waterford (6-0, 3-0) at Gustine (2-3, 2-1) at Gustine High School, 7:15 p.m.
Waterford beat Ripon Christian, 28-21 after a Aaron Adams threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Matthew Brinkman with 1 minute, 20 seconds left in the game to remain undefeated.
Coming into Friday’s matchup, Adams has thrown for 867 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Though Gustine’s overall record is under .500, it is a three-way tie for second in the Southern League with Le Grand and Mariposa.
Waterford has beaten Gustine 10 times since 2004, but lost to the Reds 52-7 in 2019.
Patterson (5-2, 3-0) at Central Valley (3-3, 0-2) at Ceres High School, 7 p.m.
After starting the season 3-0, Central Valley has been on a three-game skid, including losing its first two Central California Conference games to Buhach Colony and Golden Valley on the road.
The Hawks are hoping some home cooking will do them some good but they don’t have an easy week against the CCC’s top scoring team, Patterson.
The Tigers have scored 162 points in their three league wins against El Capitan, Merced and Atwater.
Central Valley, which features a run-heavy offense with season totals of 944 yards and eight touchdowns, has defeated Patterson once in the last 10 years.
Ripon Christian (4-2, 1-1) at Le Grand (3-3, 2-1)
Ripon Christian looks to move up in the Southern League standings Friday facing off against Le Grand, which is in a three-way tie for second place.
Quarterback Trey Fasani leads a balanced offensive attack with 855 yards and 12 touchdowns but the run game has produced 1,343 yards and 16 touchdowns led by Grant Sonke’s 425 yards and seven touchdowns.
This is the 12th matchup between the two teams with Le Grand leading 6-5.
This story was originally published October 7, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
