The 106th meeting between Manteca and Oakdale will be a winner-take-all brawl at The Corral on Halloween night.

The visiting Buffaloes are in reach of back-to-back outright championships in the Valley Oak League. In the way on Friday is their oldest rival led by Wes Burford, the new all-time rushing leader in the Sac-Joaquin Section.

“We know them, they know us. There’s a huge amount of respect between both programs,” coach Mark Varnum said following Manteca’s 43-7 win over Patterson last Friday.

“It’s Oakdale-Manteca for all the marbles, and that’s the way it should be.”

Also on Friday, Ripon Christian has an opportunity to snatch a piece of the Trans Valley League title but will have to do so at undefeated Sonora’s famed Dunlavy Field. Meanwhile, Ripon aims to end a three-game slide against longtime rival Hilmar in a TVL finale with postseason implications for both squads.

Lathrop already has its second straight Western Athletic Conference crown wrapped up and can secure sole possession with a win against visiting Beyer.

Back in the VOL, East Union is fresh off its late-season bye following consecutive losses to the three league powers. The Lancers are tuning up for the playoffs against Mountain House. Across town, Sierra wraps up its season of growing pains against Central Catholic, which is bound for the Division I playoffs.

River Islands closes out its second regular season of varsity play tonight against Riverbank. The Riptide will bid farewell to their first senior class.

Here’s a closer look at what area teams are up against in Week 10:

Valley Oak League

Manteca (5-0, 9-0) at Oakdale (5-0, 8-1): The Mustangs own a 53-48-4 lead in the all-time series, but Manteca has been closing in.

The Buffaloes have won the last four and eight of the last nine, including the 2021 SJS Division III title game. In last year’s edition, they stampeded their way to to a 36-24 victory thanks to a 22-0 outburst in the second half.

While Manteca has dominated most of opponents this season, with its 15-14 thriller at Marin Catholic being the only one to come down to the wire, Oakdale has caught fire since opening the year with a 32-14 loss to Sonora.

Not even Central Catholic has been able to slow down Burford as the Mustangs’ prolific Wing-T. The Air Force-bound fullback has the second-most rushing yards in the state with 2,095 yards and is the state leader in points scored with 193. He has 28 touchdowns on the season.

Wingback Richard Flores (1,072 yards, 20 TDs) is also among the top rushers in the SJS, and they’re complemented by Chase Lopez (735 yards, nine TDs).

The Mustangs look to test a stout and tested Manteca defense has allowed seven or less points against five opponents, averaging just 11 points allowed.

Mountain House (1-4, 3-6) at East Union (2-3, 6-3): Ranked No. 2 by MaxPreps in the SJS Division V column, at one point, East Union has slipped to the fourth spot with its successive defeats to Oakdale, Central Catholic and Manteca.

The Lancers want to stay in the top four to earn a first-round playoff game, making their league finale a must-win with traditional powers Placer and Escalon nipping at their heels.

Will Friday mark the return of quarterback Kirk Simoni? The senior strained an Achilles in the loss to Central Catholic three weeks ago, and with playoff qualifiers getting next week off, EU may choose to allow him the additional time to recuperate.

Mountain House has had a rough go in its first two seasons in the VOL, but has one of the league’s top athletes in quarterback Erin Foster (566 passing yards, six TDs, no INTs; 899 rushing yards, seven TDs), who is also a big-time threat on special-teams returns.

Sophomore RB Jacoby Johnson (700 yards, three TDs) did not play in the Mustangs’ 56-7 loss last week. Six-foot-3 tight end Callahan Healy (540 yards, five TDs) is Foster’s top receiver.

Central Catholic (3-2, 4-5) at Sierra (0-5, 2-7): The Timberwolves have been plagued by injuries to key upperclassmen this season, but sophomores Darien East (1,261 scrimmage yards, 11 TDs), Jaysen Martinez (1,037 passing yards, eight TDs) and Ozias Siga (46 tackles) offer a promising peak into the future.

They have one more major challenge to face this season in a revamped Central Catholic team that has been boosted by a big-time transfer.

The Raiders have welcomed reigning VOL Offensive Outstanding Player Max Medina, who quarterbacked Patterson’s varsity squad the past three seasons. He’s splitting time behind center with fellow baseball standout Kayden McHenry, who is committed to Sac State. Medina is headed to Cal Poly for baseball.

Central Catholic does have football commits in three-star recruits Carter Meeks (Sac State) and Chase Perino (Fresno State).

Trans Valley League

Ripon Christian (4-1, 8-1) at Sonora (5-0, 9-0): Not only is a slice of the TVL championship at stake for the Knights; they’re also playing for a top-two seed in the SJS Division VI playoffs.

A head-to-head victory would give them the edge in the seeding process. They’re currently ranked No. 3 behind Sonora and Liberty, according to MaxPreps ratings.

Sonora, in fact, is ninth in MaxPreps’ overall SJS rankings, placing itself just behind some large-school giants such as Grant and Rocklin. The Wildcats have non-league wins over successful upper-division foes Oakdale and Turlock, and they’ve been mostly dominant in the TVL, save for a 22-21 comeback win at Hilmar.

What the Wildcats of done has been impressive considering the early-season loss of fullback Tommy Sutton, who missed their last six games with a broken arm. The hope has been for him to return for this Week 10 match-up with RC.

The reigning Division IV-A state champions’ triple-option attack has fared well without him, using a strength-in numbers-approach led by Cash Byington (882 scrimmage yards, 15 TDs) and quarterback Eli Ingalls (635 passing yards, eight TDs; 454 rushing yards, 11 TDs).

Hilmar (2-3, 5-4) at Ripon (1-4, 5-4): The Indians are coming off consecutive losses to Ripon Christian, Sonora and Escalon, but they can gain some needed momentum at home Friday with a win over another tough opponent that has also hit a rough patch.

Hilmar dropped three of last four, with the lone win coming against last-place Orestimba. Like Ripon, the Yellowjackets are young at the skill positions with second-year sophomore running back Adam Branco (740 yards, 13 TDs) leading the way. He’s supported by the junior trio of Jorden Jacobo (440 passing yards, five TDs), Cohen Felber (581 passing yards, two TDs; 626 rushing yards, six TDs) and Nathan Ayala (593 receiving yards, five TDs).

Thanks to its strength of schedule, Hilmar is ranked No. 2 in Division V. Ripon is sixth in Division VI.

Western Athletic Conference

Lathrop (6-0, 8-1) at Beyer (1-5, 3-6): The Spartans are on a 15-game winning streak in WAC play, and they’re hoping a positive result on Friday is good enough to hold off Pioneer Valley League champion Lincoln for the No. 4 seed in Division V.

Beyer is battling for a postseason bowl game and currently hold the final available spot in Division V as the 16th-ranked team.

The midseason emergence of sophomore Tanner Kulina has been a boost for the Patriots offense. Despite playing in just five games, he’s their leading rusher with 580 yards and six touchdowns and leading receiver with 218 yards and two touchdowns.

Beyer’s only victory in the WAC came two weeks ago against winless Pacheco, 20-7.

Mother Lode League

Riverbank (2-4, 3-6) at River Islands (2-4, 3-6): River Islands is coming off an unscheduled bye, because Week 9 opponent Millennium canceled the rest of its season.

Although they’re credited with the win, the forfeiture does the Riptide no favors when it comes to MaxPreps ratings. They’re currently on the outside looking in as the 18th-ranked team in Division VI, and they’ll need to finish in the top 16 qualify for an SJS bowl game.

Riverbank, on the other hand, is 15th in Division VII and got to have its game with Millennium back on Oct. 3 — a 36-0 blowout win.

The Bruins boosted their chances to make a bowl game with their 21-14 win over Bret Harte last week.

Led by Manteca grad and former Lathrop coach Joe Pirillo, Riverbank finished 6-4 last year and dominated River Islands in Week 10, 34-8, to guarantee its first winning season since 2004.

Adrian Montes (493 yards, four TDs), Alex Melo (403 yards, four TDs) and Gabriel Sandoval (296 yards, four TDs) spearhead the Bruins’ run-heavy offense.