Modesto High football on the hunt for first Sac-Joaquin Section playoff win

Modesto High School will head south in search of its first Sac-Joaquin Section postseason football victory.

The 10th-seeded Panthers will make their eighth playoff appearance Friday night against No. 7 Merced at Veterans Stadium at Golden Valley High School in their Division I opener. It’s the only first-round matchup of Stanislaus District teams in divisions I or II.

Modesto is 0-7 in the postseason, while Merced is widely regarded as one of the most successful programs in the southern half of the section. The Bears have won three consecutive Central California Conference titles and sport a 27-19 playoff record with two Division I titles (1989-90).

Modesto is one of eight playoff teamswinless in the postseason, five of which hail from the Stanislaus District. The others are Orestimba (0-7), Lathrop (0-0), Gregori (0-1), Central Valley (0-1), River Valley (0-3), Woodland Christian (0-3) and Kennedy (0-2).

“Everyone keeps talking about the north, but I think we’re going to the south buzzsaw,” first-year Modesto coach Donnie Wallace said. “They (Merced) have some athletes. We have our work cut out for us, but we’ll go down and give them heck.”

Don’t count out the Panthers. Wallace’s senior-laden squad has defied the odds all season.

Not much was expected of Modesto after it graduated 2014 conference co-MVP Nate Phillips, a dynamic and charismatic quarterback, and then lost popular coach Richie Alkire at the start of the summer. Alkire moved to Michigan in July to be closer to his ailing mother. Wallace, a former basketball coach and the school’s athletic director, stepped in as Alkire’s emergency replacement.

Amid the uncertainty, the Panthers were picked to finish fourth out of seven teams by MMC coaches. Gregori was expected to hoist its first championship banner, snapping Downey’s run of three titles.

Neither scenario materialized.

Instead, the MMC finished with a three-way split for the title involving Downey, Beyer and Modesto. Gregori tumbled to fourth. All four qualified for the postseason.

If not for a stunning second-half collapse in a 20-17 loss to Beyer, Modesto would have been the outright champion.

“They’re excited,” Wallace said of the mood in his locker room. “From where the year started, losing their coach, this is an honor to be where we’re at. No one thought we’d be here. Some people had us 3-7 or 4-6 and we’re coming out of it 7-3 and one bad game from being perfect in league.”

Wallace said Merced’s spread offense bears a striking resemblance to Downey’s in terms of the formation, tempo and athleticism. While Downey fancies the pass – the Knights average 30 pass attempts per game – the Bears like to attack teams on the ground. Merced rushed for 365 yards in a 49-12 win over rival Golden Valley last week and did so without its top running back.

Junior Ulonzo Gilliam Jr. (127 carries, 705 yards, six touchdowns) is out indefinitely because of a high ankle sprain. Rayveon Slaton stepped up in his absence for 201 yards and three touchdowns in the win.

“We’re going to have to play like we did the first half against Downey,” said Wallace, whose team topped Downey 42-34 on Oct. 2, “come out and do everything right and play with that emotion.”

Wallace isn’t concerned about the late-season hiccup against Beyer,which overcame a 17-7 halftime deficit for a win that created a logjam atop the standings. The loss served as a teaching moment for Wallace and his staff.

Modesto rebounded with a 39-20 victory over Davis last week.

“We came out stronger,” Wallace said. “That’s what we talked about the week against Davis: ‘That loss is going to define what kind of character and what kind of men you are.’ They bounced back really well, and they didn’t like that taste of a loss. They wanted the title all to themselves, but hey, it is what it is.

“They learned from it; we moved on. They had a great week of practice (after the loss), and now they’re excited about this week.”

This story was originally published November 10, 2015 at 6:03 PM with the headline "Modesto High football on the hunt for first Sac-Joaquin Section playoff win."