30 years ago: October 16, 1988 – Manteca’s Tony Dominguez hardly gave his chanting, screaming fans a chance to sit down after they gave him a roaring, standing ovation before his fight in the Stockton Civic Auditorium Saturday night. Dominguez didn’t disappoint his fans, flooring Brian Rapier twice in the first round of their scheduled six-round fight as he improved his professional record to 3-0, all three via knockout.

For thousands of young men, playing in the National Basketball Association is a dream. For Lathrop’s Scott Brooks, that dream has turned into reality. Brooks, a graduate of East Union High, donned a Philadelphia 76’ers uniform for the team’s first pre-season contest of the 1988-89 season. The 5-11 sharp-shooter is the first local athlete ever to make it on an NBA team.

Three lost fumbles were the key to a 22-13 football loss to Ceres High that sank East Union High’s VOL mark to 1-3 Friday night. Robert Randall scored one Lancer touchdown on a 25-yard run, while Armando Avina later passed to Allan Martinez for a 20-yard score. Avina kicked one conversion.

Host Oakdale High rallied for two touchdowns in a 90-second span in the fourth quarter, turning back a snake-bitten Manteca High 17-10 in a Valley Oak League football contest Friday night.  Coach Bob Lee’s Buffaloes are now 0-4 in league play. Jose Perez kicked a 35-yard field goal and quarterback Jason Van De Pol passed to Heath Hitzman for an 82-yard touchdown. Perez kicked the extra point.

A delirious Manteca High crowd witnessed the Lady Buffs rally from a 2-0 deficit to pull out a hairy 12-15, 13-15, 15-9, 15-8, 15-8 volley ball win over upset-minded Sonora High Thursday night at Winter Gym. Coach Scott Eckerle’s girls are now 4-0 in league play.

The East Union High volleyball team recovered from a shaky start to win their 13th straight match and improve their overall mark to 17-1 with a 15-9, 15-3, 12-15, 15-5 win over Ceres High Thursday evening. Kim McCreath finished the game with eight kills for the Lady Lancers.

Manteca High’s tennis team, despite three wins by junior Randi Sousa, fell short in a quest to knock off VOL favorite Los Banos High 6.5-8.5 during action Tuesday at the MHS courts.

Success struck both local boys cross-country teams as Manteca High easily coasted past Los Banos High, while East Union High tamed Ceres High on Monday. Also, the Lady Buffs tallied wins at Los Banos, but the Lancers were unable to field a full girls’ team. The undefeated boys  team took the first seven places in their race, in fact, all seven runners crossed the finish line together, with an identical 17:58 clocking for a 15-50 win. In the EU victory, the team was paced by runner-up Mike Zarevich, who clocked 17:37 at Modesto’s Legion Park. The Lady Buffs swept to an uncontested triumph, heralded by sophomore Carmen Perez, who finished in at 21:17.

  – With a 4-1 win against Oakdale High on Thursday, the Manteca High tennis  team holds third place in the VOL. Buffalo singles winners were Laurie Toy and Broni Steves, while doubles duos of Brenda Hand y/Robin Wilson and Kim Davidson/Debbie Schettler were also winners.

Jerry Standifer ran in touchdowns of 94 and 44 yards, gaining a total of 156 for the night, but it wasn’t enough for East Union High as they dropped a 26-21 decision to Modesto’s Central Catholic High during VOL action Friday night.

After failing to emerge victorious in four previous games, Manteca High used their Homecoming festivities as an occasion for their 16-14 win over VOL opponent Sonora High. Louis Small and Scott Morris scored the touchdowns for the Buffaloes. Dave Cardoza kicked a pair of extra points and in the final quarter, Don Neuner tackled a Sonora ball carrier in the end zone for a safety.

Manteca High, with one of the top cross-country teams in the Central Valley, took a 23-36 win over East Union High and also dominated the women’s division.  Lancers’ top runner, Rick Cuevas, edged star Buffalo runner Sergio Aguilar by 12 seconds. Cuevas finished in 16:08. In the women’s race, Denise Negley of MHS won in 12:29, followed by EU’s Julie Johnson with a 13:04 time.

Serving by DeeDee Shawen and Barbara Van Mater was all that saved East Union High’s volleyball team during a Tuesday night match with Oakdale High. The Lancer team squeaked by in straight games, 16-14, 15-9.

Despite a near-fatal second-string substitution, Manteca High’s volleyball team nabbed a victory over Los Banos High Tuesday. The Buffalo spikers won 15-5, 12-15 and 17-15.

Defeating Oakdale High 3-2, the East Union High tennis team racked up their first victory of the season Tuesday. It was the first league win for the Lancers in two years. EU winners were Vergie Tabaco, Lilia Arellano and the doubles team of Isabel Barroga/Kim Yee.

60 years ago: October 16, 1958 – the Manteca High Buffaloes faced a tough Franklin High team last Friday night in Manteca and the visitors came out on top, 18 to 13. Manteca scored first as Tim Holbrook tallied on the final play of the first quarter. Holbrook also scored the other Buffalo touchdown from two yards out in the final quarter.