Lathrop coach Ryan Teicheira and two of his assistants remember their last trip to Sutter fondly.

Flashback to 2015 when Teicheira was offensive coordinator for alma mater Sierra. Nashon Tamiano and Dilpreet Singh were juniors on the Timberwolves’ defensive front, which keyed a 17-13 road win in the Division IV-A NorCal Bowl Game. Sierra went on to complete its historic run to a state title week later in Chowchilla.

“It was smash-mouth football,” Teicheira said. “I remember our boys having to get after it. They (Sutter) had size, they had speed and they were physical. We were supposed to lose that game, but we matched them that night and pulled out the victory.”

Now, Teicheira is leading another historic campaign, as Lathrop treks north for its first-ever Sac-Joaquin semifinal-round appearance on Friday. The third-seeded Spartans (10-1) meet No. 2 Sutter (10-1) at Yuba College in a battle of Wing-T offenses. The game has been moved to a stadium with artificial turf with the impending rainstorm in mind.

Sutter is in its third season in the SJS after a decorated decades-long stretch in the Northern Section, where the Huskies garnered 14 championships. Half of those section titles have come under Ryan Reynolds, who has headed Sutter since 2009.

The Huskies’ lone loss of the season came at the hands of SJS Division VI top seed Bradshaw Christian, 28-21. They’ve since vanquished foes in dominant fashion, rolling to the Golden Empire League championship with six lopsided wins. After a first-round bye, they took care of No. 7 Oakmont, 47-7.

Junior quarterback Braden Scritchfield pilots Sutter’s Wing-T with precision passing (49-of-70, 941 yards, 14 touchdowns, no interceptions) and running (744 yards, 8.7 per carry, six TDs).

Seniors Marcus Meras and Dominic Souza are big-play threats who line up in the backfield, at wing or in the slot. Meras leads the Huskies with 955 rushing yards (12.9 per carry) and 14 TDs and 268 yards receiving and five TDs. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound Souza has scampered for 744 yards (14.9 per carry) and 12 scores.

Sutter averages 45.6 points per game.

“They’re a Wing-T team that runs a lot of different formations to get their guys going in every direction,” Teicheira said. “They do a really good job of carrying out fakes. Preparation-wide, we can simulate the technical side of things because we are similar, but they have athletic guys who can make plays in space. There’s a reason why they’re putting up a lot of points.”

Defensively, they’re anchored by 6-5, 254-pound defensive end Troy Bowens (71 tackles, 13.5 sacks), and hard-hitting linebackers such as 6-3, 225-pound senior Mason Cartwright (114 tackles) and Justice White (88 tackles, 6.5 sacks). Bowens, only a sophomore, already has an NCAA Division-I offer from Minnesota.

Lathrop counters with two-way standout Pablo Peña (951 rushing yards, 89 tackles), defensive end Casyn Hopping (82 tackles, 12.0 sacks) and wingback/defensive lineman Sean Teu (63 tackles, 7.0 sacks, four forced fumbles). Peña has 22 touchdowns on the season, a new program record.

Teicheira said the team is practicing with wet footballs to prepare for the rain.

“I think it’s a straight-forward game,” Teicheira said. “With the rain and cutting on the turf, it’s going to limit the side-to-side stuff, which we’re perfectly fine with. We love the smash-mouth and getting after people north and south, and they (Sutter) do a good job of it, too. It’s going to be physical game this week that will be won in the trenches.”

The winner takes on No. 1 Hughson (11-0) or No. 4 Union Mine (9-2) in the championship game on Saturday, Nov. 30 at Sacramento City College.