Football season is not over yet for all seven Manteca-area schools.
Manteca, East Union, Ripon, Ripon Christian and River Islands are among the 56 qualifiers for the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs, while Sierra and Lathrop are part of the second-year SJS Bowl Series.
First-round contests and bowl games are this Friday starting at 6 p.m. Brackets were made public Sunday during the section’s annual unveiling on NFHS Network.
Nine-time section champion Manteca (7-3) is eager to end its run of three straight semifinal exits in the brutally-tough Division II bracket. Seven of the top 12 teams in the SJS overall MaxPreps rankings are in the D-II playoffs.
Although it’s not an easy road ahead for the No. 7 Buffaloes, they don’t want to waste this rare opportunity to host as a lower seed. That’s because second-seeded Rocklin (6-4) was sanctioned by the SJS for illegal participation of non-high school players with the football team during a 7-on-7 passing league at Sierra College.
The Thunder’s punishment includes ineligibility to host postseason games for 2025 and 2026. Rocklin finished fourth in the highly-competitive Sierra Foothill League but lost to annual Division I favorite Folsom in double overtime. Del Oro (8-2) defeated the Thunder 41-24 last Friday to earn the top seed in Division II.
Manteca last beat Rocklin in 2022 on the way to garnering the D-II title but have lost to the Thunder twice since then. If the Buffaloes have their way on Friday, that could potentially set up a revenge game with Valley Oak League rival Central Catholic (9-1), the No. 3 seed that is matched with a dangerous Jesuit (5-5) squad that dropped its final five contests in SFL play.
The Division IV runner-up last year, East Union (5-5) will have to win two road games to make it back to the final. The Lancers are seeded seventh with a tough opener against Yuba City (8-2), the second-place team out of the Foothill Valley League.
In fact, half of the D-IV bracket is from the FVL, including top-seeded Twelve Bridges (8-2), No. 5 Roseville (5-5) and No. 6 Placer (7-3). It Roseville that edged out East Union on a last-second field goal in the 2025 title game.
If East Union can pull off the first-round upset, it would have an opportunity to avenge one of its regular-season losses whether to either No. 3 Patterson (6-4) or Placer in the semifinals.
In Division VI, Ripon (5-5) earned the No. 3 seed, as expected, following its Week 10 victory over rival Ripon Christian (5-5), which is No. 4.
The neighboring schools will be lit up simultaneously on Friday for their playoff opener. Ripon plays host to No. 6 Colfax (6-6), while the Knights welcome Pioneer Valley League runner-up Center (9-1). Second-seeded Lincoln (9-1) eked out a 35-34 win over the Cougars.
Top-seeded Liberty Ranch is one of six remaining undefeated teams in the section.
River Islands (8-2), rested from a Week 10 bye, is ready to make its postseason debut. The Riptide are seeded fifth in Division V and travel to No. 4 Denair (9-1), the outright Southern League champion.
Top seed and reigning champion Calaveras (9-1) is the likely semifinal opponent for the winner. The Red Hawks handled River Islands 48-6 earlier in the season en route to repeating as Mother Lode League champion. Sierra Delta League king Golden Sierra (9-1) is the No. 2 seed.
Section championship games will be on Nov. 27 and 28 at Sacramento City College’s Hughes Stadium.
Sierra (4-6) has a chance to end its first season under coach Ryan Teicheira on a high note against visiting Livingston (1-9). Both has a loss to Lathrop, which raced away from Sierra 33-14 in its annual non-league rivalry match-up before thumping Livingston five weeks later 43-10 in Western Athletic Conference play.
Lathrop (6-4) narrowly missed the playoffs for the first time in five years, ending the regular-season ninth in the Division V rankings. The Spartans will rekindle their old rivalry with former WAC member Los Banos (5-5), which is ranked 10th in Division IV.
Teams ranked 9-16 in their divisions are bowl eligible, and match-ups are regionally based.
