Games to watch: Top Stanislaus District high school football matchups for Week 8
It’s Week 8, which means by the end of the week, every team will be in the midst of league play.
Though it isn’t featured in this week’s Games to Watch, Big Valley Christian starts Central California Athletic Alliance travel to Tracy to play Millennium. Both teams have just one win on the season as the Lions’ league championship defense starts this week.
The biggest Stanislaus District matchup thus far highlights Week 8 as Downey travels to Turlock to defend its Central California Athletic League championship. The Knights won last year’s game, 38-14, but both teams are better and ready for a battle.
For the second straight week, Modesto Christian will play on a Thursday. After taking on league leader Hughson last week, the Crusaders travel to Escalon to take on a hungry Cougars team coming off two league losses. Ripon Christian and Le Grand face off in a battle of two 2-1 Southern League teams.
Ceres also takes on Western Athletic League leader Pacheco and Gregori looks to continue its success after a one score win last week in overtime over Enochs.
Here is a look at some of the key games this week:
Thursday
Modesto Christian (5-2, 1-2) at Escalon (3-3, 0-2), 7:30 p.m.
The area’s biggest surprise might be that after two league games, Escalon has zero TVL wins. The Cougars have played two of the “big three” to open in Hughson and Hilmar and will hope to turn their league woes around against Modesto Christian. The Crusaders are in the middle of their toughest stretch of the season. After a loss to Hughson last week, they make the trip to Escalon and on the 21st, take on Hilmar. Crusaders head coach Jerry Grimshaw admits Thursday “is not the best time” to be playing a team even hungrier for a league win after the way the TVL season has started.
Friday
Central Catholic (2-4, 1-0) at Kimball (3-3, 0-1), 7 p.m.
The Raiders took their first step toward turning around their season last week in a blowout win over East Union, a game in which the offensive line took a giant step forward. This week, they’ll travel to Tracy for a game against last year’s surprise team of the VOL, Kimball. While this year’s team doesn’t have the same firepower as last year’s team that featured the state’s leading passer, the Central Catholic staff knows this year, the Jaguars still have big play ability. The defense will have to stop quarterback Jayden McKey and top receivers Darius Doyle and Travis Marierro. Kimball is great in the passing game, but well-rounded with 1,074 passing yards and 1,095 rushing yards.
Friday’s game starts a crucial stretch of league play as the Raiders play Oakdale and Manteca in Weeks 9 and 10, respectively. They still need two more wins to meet the four-win minimum to qualify for playoffs, so they will have to come out with a win against one of those tough opponents.
Downey (6-0, 1-0) at Turlock (3-3, 1-0), 7 p.m.
Both teams are ready for this matchup and know what it means for the final CCAL standings. Downey coach Jeremy Plaa says the Knights enter Friday’s matchup the healthiest they’ve been all season as they get back a key member of their defensive line, which he notes will assist in stopping the Bulldogs’ successful run game. Turlock is happy to benefit from a mostly healthy year after going into last year’s game with Downey when quarterback Cole Gilbert was in and out of the lineup with injuries and illness. Coach James Peterson knows that the key to a league championship is going a perfect 5-0 and both teams will do all they can to keep its unbeaten CCAL record intact after two opponents.
Le Grand (5-1, 2-1) at Ripon Christian (4-2, 2-1), 7:15 p.m.
The Knights and Bulldogs are two teams in a four-way tie for second in the Southern League with 2-1 records about midway through the league schedule. The one league loss for Ripon Christian and Le Grand came at the hands of Orestimba, which is a perfect 3-0 in league play. The Knights fell 21-7 while the Bulldogs fared just a bit better, losing 21-14. If the matchups are any indication of Friday’s game, the Ripon Christian faithful will be in for a great game. Le Grand has benefited from the passing game, and the Knights know that. Quarterback Julian Bucio has 738 passing yards and 11 touchdowns, which is more than the team’s rushing totals.
Pacheco (4-2, 3-0) at Ceres (5-1, 2-1), 7 p.m.
The Bulldogs have had one of the best starts of any team in the area and will look to tally their second three-game win streak of the season. After dropping the Western Athletic Conference opener to Lathrop by just three points, Ceres has outscored its next two league opponents 76-20. Friday’s home matchup will be as good as it gets in the WAC because Pacheco has been on an equally hot start to league. One of two 3-0 WAC teams, the Panthers have beaten Johansen, Lathrop and Davis the past three weeks as they look to extend their streak to four. The defense will have to show up in order to stop Pacheco’s Abel Bravo, whose combination of power and shiftiness has resulted in 1,172 rushing yards and nine touchdowns in the team’s six games. Ceres’ Tarrell Lee-Gill also has nine rushing touchdowns.
Modesto (2-4, 0-1) at Gregori (3-4, 1-0), 7 p.m.
The Jaguars finally caught a break after dealing with injuries and illness during their nonleague schedule. Head coach Lamar Wallace said the team “needed” a win and got it in a 36-30 overtime win over Enochs last week. Grant Veneman returned from concussion protocols to pass for over 200 yards and three touchdowns (two to tight end Nate Dobbins), Ayden Powers had an interception and a fourth quarter game-tying touchdown and Michael Marsden rushed for over 150 yards and the game-winning touchdown. Now, Wallace is hoping they can bottle that energy and use it to propel them through the rest of CCAL play, which continues with Friday’s home game against Modesto.
The Panthers are looking to bounce back from a blowout loss to Downey last week. While the Jaguars are hoping to not drop to 1-1, a .500 record after two games for Modesto would be a step in the right direction as coach Dylan Miller says they look to “do some things we haven’t done in years.”
This story was originally published October 5, 2022 at 10:56 AM.
