PREPPING FOR POSTSEASON

Jeff Harbison opened his postgame speech at Oakdale High with a simple statement that he repeated during an interview with the media.

Squires even VOL record

CERES - East Union High's 1-2 backfield punch of Paul Fajardo and Steven Gigli shined in the Squires' 41-33 shootout victory over Ceres Friday to even their Valley Oak League record to 3-3.

Third-seeded teams confident on the road

Sierra and Ripon have tough draws to start the Sac-Joaquin Section boys soccer playoffs, but they like to think that their opponents do, too.

THEN THERE WERE THREE

One program has more Sac-Joaquin Section titles than anyone, including the last two in Division V.

MIRACLE COMEBACK

RIPON – As a sophomore, Isaac Norman still has a ways to go before he hits his full stride.

JV Spartans end season blanked by Sacramento

LATHROP - The Lathrop High sophomore squad closed out the season with a 20-0 loss to visiting Sacramento on Friday.

Frosh Buffaloes rolls over Central Valley

CERES – The Manteca High freshman football team took the opening possession in for a touchdown and never looked back, rolling to an easy Valley Oak League victory, 48-7, over Central Valley High.

T’WOLVES CONQUER CORRAL

OAKDALE - Sierra came into The Corral battered and bruised and left in even worse shape.

Second half all Buffaloes in rout of Central Valley

The effects of an emotionally-draining loss to Oakdale week ago plagued Manteca High over the first two quarters of play, but the second half was all Buffaloes in a 37-7 Valley Oak League win over the visiting Central Valley Hawks Friday.

Indians crush Riverbank to secure playoff spot

RIPON – Every team strives to get all three of its major components firing on the same page: offense, defense and special teams.

East Union completes sweep of Ceres schools

CERES - East Union completed a sweep of Ceres Unified schools with a 29-15 victory over Ceres High Friday night at Bulldog Stadium.

Spartans give Sacramento fits early in final game of season

LATHROP – The young Spartans were once again left with the promise of better days ahead.

Burrows gets nod for Central Valley game

Manteca High senior Matt Barber is out for Friday's home game against Central Valley and could miss the regular-season finale on Nov. 13 against rival East Union after suffering a concussion in Oakdale last week.

Tourney time for T’Wolves

Once the Manteca High volleyball team scored the final point of its third game victory over Sierra things changed in a hurry, giving the Timberwolves a season-sweep over the Buffaloes and a 3-1 Valley Oak League win over their crosstown rival.

WEEK 9 OUTLOOK

UNDEFEATED

Oakdale High's recent run of dominance includes seven straight Valley Oak League championships and six Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV titles in that same span.

Vasquez’s RBI hit helps Sierra bust out against EU

Sierra's Jack Thomson turned to a teenager for direction late in a 7-1 victory, and the Hall of Fame skipper was rewarded for his faith.

East Union pulls away

Isela Rivera fired the game-tying goal in the 38th minute with an angry blast from 20 yards away that knotted the game at one apiece Thursday night.

Sharp shoots 1-over in Ripon victory

Ripon junior Nick Sharp shot a 1-over 36 during Thursday's Trans Valley League victory over visiting Riverbank at the Spring Creek Golf & Country Club.

Lancers drop key match to Sonora

East Union's playoff chances took a big hit Thursday when it dropped a 5-4 decision to visiting Sonora.

RHS hurlers throw gems

One pitching gem followed another for Ripon on Thursday.

CHIPPING IN

Chris Schmitz led Sierra for a second straight day, and the Timberwolves completed their season sweep of Manteca High 227-242 Wednesday at Manteca Park Golf Course.

Ripon, Hughson settle for tie

RIPON - Sometimes the wind blows your way and sometimes it does not.

Job ‘Wells’ done

MORGAN HILL – Ty Wells stood poolside, cooled by the shade of a pop-up tent.

SIERRA SWEEPS

Lathrop's girls varsity track and field team came to compete against Sierra at Daniel Teicheira Memorial Stadium Wednesday afternoon.

East Union drubs Lathrop

Freshman pitcher Alexis Erich twirled a one-hitter, and Jordan Vinson swatted three doubles in East Union's 11-0 mercy-shortened win at Lathrop on Wednesday.

Rogers, Murphy lead Ripon Crusaders

Coming off two disappointing losses to Hughson, Ripon rebounded nicely Wednesday with a 9-1 thumping of visiting Modesto Christian.

Manteca swings by Sierra for VOL victory

Manteca's top two singles players Yok-Jing Ma and Mike Lopez didn't waste time picking up wins on Wednesday during the Buffaloes' 8-1 Valley Oak League victory over cross-town rival Sierra.

Sierra dominates swimming double dual

Sierra's boys and girls swimming teams didn't have much struggle picking up a pair of victories Tuesday afternoon over Valley Oak League opponents Weston Ranch and Lathrop.

BLUE STREAK

Sierra pitcher Kyle Oden admitted he didn't have his best stuff working for him in Tuesday's crosstown clash with visiting East Union, but he more than made up for it with the bat.