Lathrop is keeping the Old River Rivalry paddle for another year and headed to the postseason for just the second time in school history.

The Spartans ends the regular season as the Western Athletic Conference runner-up and may have even secured a first-round home game after their 19-14 win at Mountain House.

Lathrop (6-1, 7-3 overall), which also set a new program record for single-season wins, will find out where it’s seeded in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V bracket today. The Mustangs (4-3, 6-4) find themselves on the bubble for Division III.

Andre Muqhar scored the deciding touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter, trotting 9 yards. The hard-running wingback finished with 189 yards on 26 attempts, accounting for the bulk of Lathrop’s offensive production (316 yards). Julio Garcia added a 1-yard touchdown run, and quarterback Jordan Blase found Adrian Padilla for a 31-yard touchdown pass as time expired in the first half. The Spartans led 14-0 at halftime.

A week after struggling to contain Los Banos and its dual-threat quarterback, Lathrop’s defense clamped down the Mustangs. Mountain House was limited to 97 yards of offense and relied on defense and special teams to score its points.

The Mustangs had a pick-six and a blocked punt that set up a short-yardage touchdown, pushing them ahead 14-13 in the third quarter.

Ripon Christian 35, Delhi 0

The Knights (7-0, 9-1 overall) honored their seniors with a seventh shutout win and an outright claim to the Southern Athletic League championship.

It’s their final game as a member of the SAL, as they move into the daunting Trans-Valley League next year.

Senior flyback Brady Grondz scored three touchdowns on the night, including a 79-yard punt return. He ended with 82 yards on eight carries and caught a 20-yard pass.

Grant Sonke added a 2-yard touchdown run, and Amos Cady hooked up with Ethan Schenk for a 60-yard score on a halfback pass with 49 seconds left in the second quarter.

Linebacker Preston Zuidervaart led the defense with eight tackles, and Andrew Mensonides recovered a fumble.

Central Catholic 63, Sierra 7

The Valley Oak League champion Raiders (5-0, 8-2 overall) scored 42 points in the first half before host Sierra (1-4, 4-6) got on the board with Tim Sarginson’s pass to Tali Vaipuna.

Tyler Wentworth led Central Catholic with 264 yards and three touchdowns on 8-of-11 passing and was supported by a run game that produced 236 yards.