Games to Watch: The area’s best return to the field in the second round of the playoffs
Seeds 1-4 in each division take the field after a week off, which some coaches welcome and others can do without.
Central Catholic hosts Lodi, who came into Modesto and upset Downey last week, while Escalon hosts a Woodland team that is no stranger to big offensive performances.
There also are big match-ups between four and five seeds, including league champion Patterson traveling to take on Yuba City.
Here is a list of the Stanislaus District playoff games this week:
No. 8 Woodland (9-2) at No. 1 Escalon (9-1)
After a first-round bye, the Trans-Valley League champion Cougars enter the Division V playoffs as the top seed. Escalon is originally a Division VI team but competes in the Division V section playoffs because it won the TVL, a Division V league.
The Cougars’ youth hasn’t bothered them all season. They start four sophomores and one freshman but head coach Andrew Beam says he doesn’t treat them like underclassmen. He holds them to the standard of players with varsity experience. Sophomore quarterback Donovan Rozevink has 1,192 yards and 18 touchdowns, and freshman Ryan Lewis leads the team with seven sacks.
Beam knows the field is deep, but they took the bye week this late in the season as an opportunity to get players rested up and embrace the extra week of preparation for Woodland.
The Golden Empire League’s fourth-place-finishing Wolves’ offense can be as explosive as any in the section. They have put up 70 or more points twice this season, including a 79-6 win against Mira Loma.
The Wolves beat Colfax for the second time this season on Friday, 22-19, to advance to the quarterfinals.
No. 9 Lodi (8-3) at No. 1 Central Catholic (9-1)
The Raiders are in the postseason for the 20th straight season, and for them, it’s just business as usual. They welcomed the bye week as a time to recover and fix parts of offensive and defensive schemes they couldn’t work on toward the end of the season.
Coach Roger Canepa knows Lodi is going to present a tough challenge after finishing third in the Tri-City Athletic League that features playoff teams St. Mary’s and Lincoln-Stockton.
Lodi’s game is based on possession, but running back Bryce Powell was ejected after a hit on Downey quarterback Conner Stoddard. If he can’t play, it will greatly affect the Flames’ offense, which is just as run-heavy as the Raiders’.
No. 6 Waterford (10-1) at No. 3 Livingston (6-4)
According to the Merced Sun-Star, Livingston is hosting its first playoff game in over 30 years, so the atmosphere will be electric.
Quarterback Aaron Adams and the high-powered Wildcats offense are averaging 41 points a game, 10 more than the Wolves, and beat Summerville in the first round, 48-25.
While Waterford’s offense draws all of the eyes, its defense always is up to the task, allowing an average of just 21 points a game.
No. 9 Roseville (7-4) at No. 1 Oakdale (7-2)
Oakdale has confidence going into the postseason, especially at home. The days of one back getting the majority of the carries are gone for possibly the rest of this season as Yahir Ayala will be sidelined with a knee injury.
Coach Trent Merzon will rely on the same backfield depth that powered the Mustangs to a 28-0 win over Manteca, which also was missing its two top rushers.
The Mustangs’ playoff record at the Corral is daunting for any opponent, but the coaching staff knows that one slip-up could be the difference between a win and a massive upset.
No. 5 Patterson (9-2) at No. 4 Yuba City (7-3)
The Central California Conference champion beat No. 12 Burbank 38-6 in the first round and will make the 126-mile trip to Yuba City.
The Tigers benefited from a balanced offensive attack and their defense dominated with 6.5 sacks and two interceptions. They will need to duplicate that output against 35 points per game.
The Capital Valley Conference second-place finisher, Yuba City, has won four straight games and earned a bye in the first round.
Patterson is in the second round for the fourth straight season.
No. 5 Ripon (7-4) at No. 4 Pioneer (8-1)
The Indians easily handled Ceres in their first round match-up, 39-13, getting back on the winning track after losing their final two Trans-Valley League games.
Despite moving up a division, the Indians won the Section D5 championship and state title in 2019. Ripon has high expectations for this year’s playoff run.
The journey continues with a 91-mile trip to Woodland to face the Golden Empire League’s second-place team.
Ripon’s defense will have to show up ready to play, as Pioneer put up 39 points in a shutout victory against Vacaville’s Will C. Wood, which plays Kimball in the Division IV playoffs.
No. 6 Hilmar (9-2) at No. 3 Sonora (6-3)
The Yellowjackets are rolling as of late, winning four straight, including a first-round dismantling of Los Banos, 61-27. Hilmar is in the second round of the playoffs for the fifth time in the last six seasons.
The Yellowjackets will have their work cut out for them as they travel to take on the Mother Lode League’s top team, Sonora, which is not stranger to playoff success in its own right.
These two teams matched up earlier this season, with Hilmar edging out a 28-21 win.
Winners of five straight, the Wildcats earned a first-round bye after going undefeated in their league . They have played the likes of Oakdale, Ripon and Escalon as part of a tough nonleague schedule.
No. 5 Rosemont (9-2) at No. 4 Hughson (7-3)
The TVL’s fifth-place team earned a bye in Division VI and this week hosts the Wolverines, who beat Delhi, 49-13, in the first round.
Hughson’s offense will have to show up again this week against a Rosemont team that has shut out McClatchy, Natomas and Ygnacio Valley in nonleague match-ups.
The Huskies bounced back from a 28-0 loss to Hilmar to beat Ripon, 18-13, in its final game of the regular season.
No. 6 Big Valley Christian (4-6) at No. 3 Le Grand (5-5)
Big Valley has made the playoffs every year since current head coach Brian Berkefeld has taken over, but is in search of its first win since 2015.
Berkefeld has been confident in his team all season. He feels even though the Lions won only one nonleague game, the tough schedule they played was in preparation for the teams they would eventually face in the playoffs.
The top team in the Central California Athletic Alliance has matched up with Le Grand before in the first round of the 2019 Division VII playoffs. Le Grand won, 41-21.
