High school football games to watch, schedule: Orestimba, Ripon Christian look to break 4-4 tie

Lots of Central California Athletic League and Trans-Valley League schools have byes as they prepare for the start of league play next week, but there are still some great local games this Friday.

The Western Athletic Conference and Southern Athletic League enter their second week of league play while members of the Central California Conference open their league schedule. Patterson, the reigning two-time CCC champion, went 4-0 during non-league play, now they have their sights set on yet another league title before heading to the Valley Oak League next season in section realignment.

Oakdale and Enochs face off in a matchup between VOL and CCAL opponents. Both play their final non-league game. It is a home game for Enochs that will be played at Downey High School.

Central Catholic returns from a bye week to host the No. 2 ranked team in the Northern Section in the final game of a tough non-league schedule. The Raiders enter Friday night 2-2 but advancing to 3-2 entering VOL play could be big for morale and ultimately playoff seeding come late October.

Orestimba and Ripon Christian face off in yet another installment of what has become an important rivalry. In the six of the past eight matchups, the winner of this game has gone on to win the Southern League title. Each team has 4 wins and 4 losses.

Mountain House (2-2) at Johansen (3-1, 1-0), 7 p.m.

Johansen has its first 3-1 start in four years and secured its third win in last week’s league opener against Pacheco. The Vikings have had a lot of success running the ball despite key injuries to Chad Conley and Aeric Amerel, two running backs who were expected to have big seasons after leading the team in rushing last year. In their absence, Tek Garcia has stepped up as Johansen’s premier back, rushing for 873 yards and five touchdowns in just four games. They also have a number of players that can produce out of the backfield, but Garcia is the hot hand. Head coach Rod Smith gives a lot of credit to the Vikings’ offensive line which he feels has a pair of guards in Richard Nuku and Sonny Vasquez that are as good as the school has seen since the last playoff team in 2008. Smith said last week’s game was not pretty, but he’ll take the win. He says this week against Mountain House’s balanced attack, the Vikings will have to put together a clean game, which they haven’t done yet this season.

Patterson (4-0) at El Capitan (3-2) at Merced College, 7 p.m.

The Tigers are the last unbeaten team in our Top 10 and it might also be the healthiest. They did not have to nurse any injuries during last week’s bye. This week, coach Rob Cozart and his staff focused on getting the team prepared to make a push for a third straight Central California Conference crown. They are approaching the year as two separate seasons. In the non-league season they went 4-0, now they aim for a 6-0 CCC campaign. That starts Friday night against El Capitan. There isn’t much film of the Gauchos at full strength. After a fight cut their season opener against Delhi short, El Capitan suspended about 10 players according to the Merced Sun-Star, which is about 20% of its roster, for three games. Despite the suspensions, El Capitan is having the best season in school history. It started 2-0 for the first time ever and at 3-2 has already tied its program record for wins in a season. Patterson knows it will get everyone’s best shot come league play and as a program looking for a rebirth under first-year head coach Jordan Irsik, the Gauchos pose a threat with playmakers Dejuan Franklin at running back and Diego Ultreras at receiver.

Oakdale (3-1) at Enochs (2-2), 7 p.m.

Oakdale is hoping for a bounce back game. First year coach Garrett Martin said after last week’s 41-21 loss to Escalon that the mistakes did them in. A lot of that is because of youth, however. Two of the Mustangs’ main running backs are sophomores in Wes Burford and Chase Lopez. Friday is Oakdale’s final chance to get out their last mistakes against Enochs before starting Valley Oak League play where they will have to be at their best if they want to claim a playoff spot along with projected playoff locks out of the league, Manteca and Central Catholic.

For the past year and a half, the team has relied heavily on the services of running back Aiden Muhammad, and he has been outstanding. He followed up a 1,300-plus yard 2022 season with 566 rushing yards in just four games in 2023. The Eagles coaches know that when defenses start to plan around stopping Muhammad, they need a passing attack to keep them honest. Enochs gets its QB1 this week. Junior Johnny Staggs is eligible after sitting out the section-mandated five-week transfer sit-out period after joining the Eagles from Downey High. The Eagles were able to work with Staggs and get him caught up on the system and schemes they run. Staggs could help Enochs expand its offensive attack. The Eagles used last week’s bye to heal up injuries, illness and clean up mistakes. Against East Union in Week 4, Enochs turned the ball over and did not execute well. Head coach Tracey Traub believes a matchup against Oakdale is what the team needs to learn how to be perfect. It is a good test for the Eagles before CCAL play starts next week.

Summerville (3-1) at Modesto Christian (2-2), 7 p.m.

Modesto Christian will need to minimize the self-inflicted wounds if it wants to have success against visiting Summerville. Against Stone Ridge Christian last week, the Crusaders had the ball in Knights territory three times in the first quarter and ended the frame with six points, their only score of the game. Crusaders coach Kurt Bryan said “It’s hard to defeat another team when you’re beating yourself.” They take on a Summerville team that has won its last two games against Waterford and Big Valley Christian. In each of their wins, the Bears have allowed less than 20 points. Their defense shined in their last game against the Lions on Sept. 8, coming away with a pair of second quarter interceptions. The Crusaders will take on a fresh Bears team coming off a Week 5 bye. This is each team’s final non-league game before Modesto Christian moves into Trans-Valley League play and Summerville begins its Mother Lode League season.

Pleasant Valley (2-1) at Central Catholic (2-2), 7 p.m.

The Crusaders gladly welcome Florida State commit Manasse Itete and Darius Brown to an offensive line riddled with injuries. The pair, who sat out the first five weeks due to transfer rules, missed four games, but return after the Raiders’ bye week hungry to take on Pleasant Valley in their final non-league contest. The left side of the Raiders’ line has been the most affected. Tight end Seth Van Dyk shifted to tackle to fill in a spot. Another transfer who will see his first action is Anthony Todd. He came to Central Catholic as a fullback/linebacker but impressed at noseguard, a position he could see significant snaps at in the coming games. The Raiders spent a lot of time during their bye week working on their spread offense led by coach Tim Garcia. The Raiders’ final tune up before defending their Valley Oak League crown is against the second best team out of the Northern Section. In its three games this season, Pleasant Valley beat Corning and Yuba City in their first two games and lost to Oak Ridge, 31-7, last week.

Orestimba (2-2, 1-0) at Ripon Christian (3-1, 1-0), 7:15 p.m.

Friday’s matchup between the Warriors and the Knights could have league title implications. In six of the last eight years, the winner of this matchup has gone on to take the Southern League crown. Each team has won four of the last eight matchups.

Ripon Christian has won three straight games after losing its season opener to Central Valley Christian of Visalia. The Knights are having no problems putting up points thanks to sophomore quarterback Mason Tameling, and leading rushers Grant Sonke (307 yards, 4 touchdowns), Brady Grondz (266 yards, 6 touchdowns) and Trevor Van Elderen (192 yards, 5 touchdowns). In their three wins, the Knights average 53 points a game. Tameling is in his first season as the starter and coach Phil Grams has been impressed with how he has handled the new role. The Knights lost starting guard Matthew Chapman to a knee injury in the season opener and expect Dustin Hoekstra to return from offseason elbow surgery any week now.

Orestimba head coach Aaron Souza called the season a “roller coaster” filled with fast starts and sluggish third quarters. The team enters its second game without its Game 1 starting quarterback. Alex Millan, who passed for over 2,000 yards and more than 30 touchdowns last season, injured his left collarbone on the Warriors first drive Sept. 1 against Los Banos. Since then, junior Jacob Valenzuela has led a team of young players in key spots and handled his new responsibilities very well. Souza feels like the team put together its first complete game last week to beat a previously unbeaten Le Grand team 49-36. Juan Esquivez has carried the offensive load as the offense has transitioned from a passing attack to a rushing outfit. Esquivez has rushed for 655 yards and scored 10 of the team’s 18 offensive touchdowns.

Week 6 Schedule

7 p.m.

Biggs at Big Valley Christian

Patterson at El Capitan at Merced College

Oakdale at Enochs at Downey High School

Summerville at Modesto Christian

Pleasant Valley at Central Catholic

Burton at Riverbank

Mountain House at Johansen

Beyer at Ceres

Davis at Los Banos

7:15 p.m.

Orestimba at Ripon Christian

Denair at Gustine

Le Grand at Waterford

7:30 p.m.

Liberty Ranch at Ripon