After two games in Elk Grove and a bye in between, Manteca gets to finally play a game at home.
Well, sort of.
With stadium renovations ongoing at Guss Schmiedt Field, the Buffaloes (2-0) are hosting games at rival schools this season. On Friday, they’ll meet state champion Marin Catholic (0-2) across town at Sierra’s Daniel Teicheira Memorial Stadium.
“They’re ready to go,” Manteca coach Mark Varnum said. “It doesn’t matter where we play, they just want to get to Friday nights and get after it. We’ve been having great, intense practices. They’re not holding back until Friday it shows on game night.”
His Buffs have indeed been on their game, crushing Delta League teams Elk Grove, 49-9, and Laguna Creek, 46-7. Second-year sophomore running back Nikko Juarez (421 yards, 13.2 per carry, six touchdowns) is living up to the hype, while senior Preston Smith and junior Owen Gully have been splitting snaps at quarterback.
“Offensively, we want to remain balanced,” Varnum said. “We’re definitely rolling with the hot hand (at quarterback). They both do different things very well, so both are going to see time. We’ll go with whoever is hot at the moment.”
The defense, anchored by defensive linemen Isaiah White and Josh Mellion and linebacker Ruben Moreno, has also been playing to its gaudy expectations. Manteca has yet to trail or give up a first-half touchdown and locked up two teams averaging more than 40 points in their other games.
“We have a lot of returning guys, three-year varsity guys and first-team all-leaguers, so we expected them to do some special things,” Varnum said. “So far, they’ve come through. Hopefully, they can do it again this week.”
Manteca will encounter a Marin Catholic offense that has yet to get untracked. In fairness, the Wildcats previously faced and lost to Sac-Joaquin Section powers Inderkum, 26-0, and St. Mary’s 35-22. In fact, Inderkum, St. Mary’s and Manteca ranked 4-5-6 in that order in the SJS, according to MaxPreps
The Wildcats have had an impressive run since the COVID lockdown, winning three straight North Coast Section titles and state championships in 2021 (Division IV-AA) and 2023 (Division III-A).
They’ve lost much of their talent from the senior-loaded 2023 roster, however. Top returners include San Jose State commit Braiden Bachich-Dixon, a 6-foot-4, 223-pound tight end and receiver. Quarterback Caedon Afsharipour also returns but has struggled behind an offensive line battling through injuries. The Wildcats have allowed nine sacks, and Afsharipour has thrown five interceptions in two games.
Marin Catholic has even had struggles on special teams.
“That’s a great team and we have a lot of respect for them, but we’re focused on us,” Varnum said. “They got no shortage of athletes and have dudes everywhere. It’s a great program, and it’s tough to find any real weaknesses. We need our dudes and our playmakers to step up and hopefully keep doing what they did the past two (games).”
Only the three Manteca schools are in action this week, with Lathrop, Ripon, Ripon Christian and River Islands on their pre-league byes.
Here’s a glance at other Week 3 contests:
East Union (3-0) at Enochs (2-1): The Lancers are 3-0 for the first time since 2017. A win Friday makes them 4-0 for the first time since 2016 and would have EU well positioned to qualify for the playoffs.
In the way of that all-important fourth win — the minimum required to make the postseason —is a confident Enochs team. Ripon is a common opponent, with East Union outlasting the Indians last Friday, 45-38. In the previous week, Ripon was shut out for three quarters at Enochs before coming back to win, 10-7.
Senior quarterback
The Eagles of Modesto have one-sided wins over Beyer (1-2) and Buhach Colony (0-3) and are coming off a record-setting performance from senior quarterback Johnny Staggs, who torched Buhach for 312 yards and five passing touchdowns.
Staggs has completed 10 touchdown passes to six different receivers while only intercepted once. He’s also a threat on the move, as Enochs’ second-leading rusher (12 carries, 74 yards). Eric Myles, a 5-6, 135-pound scatback, has 234 yards and six touchdowns on 32 touches from scrimmage.
Staggs has some big targets in the passing game, such as 6-4, 205-pound Brennan Whitten Jr., 6-3, 185-pound Anthony Brown and 6-1, 185-pound Kaedon Kopp.
Linemen Matthew Bercham and Joshua Sharp and linebackers Caden Barnwell and Landon Johnson lead a defense that has given up 15 points or less to every opponent, so far.
East Union is 2-1 all-time against the Eagles and routed an injury-depleted version of them last year, 30-7.
Sierra (2-1) at Sheldon (1-2): Sierra flexed its explosive playmaking last week when it outraced Modesto 62-48, amassing nearly 600 yards of offense.
Zak Willson completed 22 of 29 passes for 337 yards and five touchdowns to four different receivers, while Brock Felt (162 yards, TD) and Ryan Reyes (51 yards, TD) powered the run game. The defense did surrender 439 yards, 249 on the ground. All six of the Panthers’ touchdowns were on runs.
With the start of Valley Oak League play imminent, Timberwolves will look to clean things up defensively against a team averaging just 14.7 points.
Sheldon of the Delta League is leaning on two underclassmen at key skill positions: freshman QB Gavin Workman (528 passing yards, five TDs, five INTs) and 6-2, 185-pound sophomore RB Rayshawn Cannaday (30 rushes, 110 yards). Receivers Zion Johnson (210 yards, four TDs) and Da’marea Harden (137yards, TD) are among the senior leaders.
Daylon Cooper and the Huskies defense will try to slow Sierra’s roll. The 5-5, 130-pound linebacker racked up 20 tackles and 7.0 for losses in Sheldon’s 14-12 loss to Wood last week. He has 42 tackles, 13.0 for losses and 3.0 sacks on the season.
The Huskies have made the playoffs in six of the seven last seasons.
