Ripon football prepares for Patterson and all that speed

The Ripon High School football team jumped to the top of The Modesto Bee’s small-school rankings with a stunning victory at Sierra last week.

The Indians’ reward: a seat at the “slot machine” Friday evening.

The Indians travel to No. 8 Patterson, which vaulted into the large-school rankings with an unprecedented show of speed and force against Escalon.

In their 53-34 win, the Tigers had two 100-yard rushers, including senior Michael Lawson, who totaled 220 yards of offense and three touchdowns. Patterson has gone from relative unknown to perhaps the scariest team in the Stanislaus District.

Coach Rob Cozart’s triple-option/spread offense has created that fear. Patterson can attack from all angles with its hybrid offense but is especially lethal in space.

“They’re legit,” Ripon coach Chris Johnson said. “They have speed all over the field. They changed up what they run on offense, and it’s definitely hard to prepare for. They’ve got three or four kids that can go 80 yards on you anytime they touch the ball. It’s not fair.”

Outside linebackers Angelo Baciocco and Matthew Dedonatis are the watchdogs in the Indians’ defensive scheme. They’ve been charged with sniffing out the rocket sweep and option.

To have any kind of success, Johnson said those two will have to redirect traffic inside or take away the pitch from quarterback Kevin Todd.

Baciocco already has proven he has a nose for the ball. The senior returned an interception 22 yards for a touchdown last week.

“We have to play assignment football. Everyone has to do their job and try not to give up the big play,” said Johnson, whose defense made Sierra one-dimensional in a 34-20 victory. “That offense puts a lot of pressure on the outside linebackers. With the kind of defense we run, we got guys between the tackles. We feel like we can handle the dive. It’s containing the rocket sweep and pitch. They have so much speed, if any of their guys get on the edge, we’re in trouble. We’re not catching them.

“It’s like sitting down at a slot machine,” he added. “You keep pulling the arm knowing that, sooner or later, it’s going to happen. I wish that wasn’t so true.”

Ripon will counter with experience and a pistol Wing-T offense that features three Teflon-tough running backs: Jacob Duxbury, Caleb McCusker and Dedonatis. Duxbury scored three touchdowns last week as Ripon shot out to a 34-13 halftime lead.

The Indians can throw with third-year quarterback Nick Price, who had a touchdown pass on the opening drive of the second half negated by a penalty. Ripon finished with 13 penalties and failed to score in the final 24 minutes. Johnson knows they must play a complete game to beat the fast-rising Tigers.

“We definitely made some mistakes,” Johnson said. “When you’re playing teams that are explosive, you have to put your foot on their throat – and keep it there. You have to put them away.”

Capital Christian at Modesto Christian – The Crusaders, with a roster of 19, are small but motivated. Modesto Christian opens its season with a rematch of the Division VI section final against the Cougars. Junior running back Chris Brown has been pining for this moment all offseason. Capital Christian dashed Modesto Christian’s hopes last fall with bookend victories – 23-22 in the season opener and 35-28 in the section final. The latter result dashed hopes of an all-Stanislaus District meeting in the CIF Division IV Northern California regional bowl.

Turlock at Oakdale – A battle of wills will unfold at The Corral. The Mustangs punished Sonora 40-15 in the 99th meeting between the rivals, as fourth-year player Adam Olsen threw for more than 300 yards and four touchdowns. At the same time across the district, the Bulldogs were whittling their own masterpiece, suffocating Enochs with their 3-4 defense. So who flinches first? Hard to bet against Oakdale, which rarely loses at home. The Mustangs are 63-6 in front of their home fans.

Calaveras at Escalon – Both teams were boat-raced by larger schools in their season opener. Small-school No. 10 Calaveras got an up-close look at a bona fide Division I prospect in McNair wide receiver/kick returner Derrion Grim (offers from Boise State and Nebraska), who torched the Redskins for seven touchdowns. Small-school No. 4 Escalon gave up the program’s most points in at least 11 years in a 53-34 loss to Patterson. This week, the action promises to settle into a more manageable pace for both teams.

Atwater at Central Catholic – Roger Canepa would love to get No. 200 out of the way. The Central Catholic coach is sitting on 199 career victories. With one more win, he will join Escalon’s Mark Loureiro (265), former Tracy coach Wayne Schneider (224) and Mike Glines (207), Canepa’s predecessor at Central Catholic, in the 200-win club. The Raiders rolled the Falcons last fall 62-13.

This story was originally published September 2, 2015 at 5:39 PM with the headline "Ripon football prepares for Patterson and all that speed."