Only one local school is home for Week 3, and it’s not even playing a game.

With Lathrop (2-2) on its bye ahead of the start of Western Athletic Conference play, the rest are hitting the road.

No stranger to travel, at this point, Manteca has the longest trip of them all. The Buffs are trekking 150 miles north to Chico after their truncated 29-7 win over Chavez. The home opener was halted in the middle of the third quarter after gunshots were fired on campus near the stadium. Both schools agreed to not play out the rest of the game, and Manteca was declared as the winner.

The Buffaloes opened the season with road losses to out-of-area powerhouses — St. Francis of Mountain View and Buchanan of Clovis. Now, the winningest team in the Sac-Joaquin Section eyes its 647th all-time victory against one of the best out of the Northern Section.

Sierra kicks off action tonight in Modesto where it faces Gregori. On Friday, East Union heads to Enochs while looking to keep its perfect record intact, and River Islands has the same objective as it visits Mountain House.

Ripon and Ripon Christian have tough road assignments in with the Trans Valley League gauntlet around the corner. Ripon squares off with upstart upper-division contender Tracy, while Ripon Christian travels to Woodland to tangle with Pioneer in a battle of unbeatens.

Here’s a closer look at Week 3 contests:

Sierra (2-1) at Gregori (2-1): Jason McCoy is back at Gregori after a successful first stint from 2012-18. The Jaguars’ 2017 squad remains the most successful in the program’s 15-year varsity history, going 11-1 while winning its lone league championship in the now-defunct Modesto Metro Conference.

With more than 20 returning players, Gregori has high hopes under McCoy. So far, the Jags have beaten two winless teams in Buhach Colony and Atwater, each by eight-point margins, and lost to reigning Central California Conference titlist Merced, 29-7.

In the Atwater game, Gregori battled back from a 20-0 deficit, exploding for 28 unanswered points in the second quarter to take the lead for good. The Jaguars had scored just 15 points in the previous nine quarters.

Third-year running back/safety J’Kai Ramos is among the top returners on offense, while 6-foot, 210-pound middle linebacker Eli Struck (38 tackles, sack, interception, forced fumble) and 5-10, 235-pound tackle Luviticus Portillo (21 tackles, 4.0 for losses, 2.0 sacks, six hurries) lead the defense.

This will be the first-ever varsity football showdown between Sierra and Gregori.

Manteca (1-2) at Chico (1-2): Like Manteca, the reigning NS Division II champion Panthers have reloaded with young talented after losing a strong core of seniors to graduation.

Although the roster is lighter than in seasons past with 37 players, Chico brings up a group that went 9-0-1 at the JV level. Also like Manteca, the Panthers have tested themselves against top competition. Their losses are to Woodcreek and Jesuit, the Nos. 10 and 11 ranked teams in the SJS, respectively, according to MaxPreps. Manteca is No. 12. They outlasted Elk Grove, also of the SJS, 34-21 on Sept. 4.

Ranked fourth in the NS, Chico is led by dual-threat quarterback John Bernardez at quarterback. The second-year junior has completed 16 of 42 passes for 171 yards and one touchdown but has ran for 171 yards (6.8 per carry) and one TD. Junior Caleb Iuli (186 yards, 4.7 per carry, three TDs) and sophomore Connor Blair (115 yards, 5.2 per carry, TD) split the carries at running back. Colton Kessler (seven receptions, 102 yards, TD), another junior, is the leading receiver. Senior center Josh Barnes anchors the offensive line.

East Union (2-0) at Enochs (1-2): The Lancers take on another Modesto-based school after throttling Modesto and Johansen by a combined 85-6 score.

After suffering one-sided losses to Sierra and San Ramon Valley, Enochs picked up some needed momentum with a come-from-behind win at Buhach Colony. The Eagles trailed 15-0 at halftime and flipped the script in the final two quarters.

Running back/defensive back Mason Shaw is their lone returning All-Central California Athletic League selection.

Enochs is 1-4 all-time against East Union, and the their recent run match-ups were blowouts favoring the Lancers the past three years. The sixth sixth all-time meeting will take place at Gregori High.

River Islands (3-0) at Mountain House (1-2): River Islands has one final tune-up before its massive Mother Lode League opener with state champion Calaveras.

The Riptide stand a good chance at continuing its best start in the program’s short history.

Mountain House is coming off a 34-0 loss to Deer Valley and wants to avoid a three-game skid. The Mustangs escaped Bear Creek with a 10-7 victory in their season opener.

They lost their best offensive weapons, two to graduation and one to transfer. Third-year varsity running back Jacoby Johnson is now at Tracy.

Defensive end Rece Turner is Mountain House’s only returning All-Valley Oak League player.

Senior Brayden Carpenter and Bode Jacobson Jacobsen have split snaps at quarterback. Middle linebacker Barrett Engstrom (36 tackles, 6.0 for losses) anchors the defense.

Ripon (1-2) at Tracy (3-0): Tracy followed an impressive overtime win over San Jose power Valley Christian with dominant effort against the two-time defending Western Athletic Conference champion.

The Bulldogs stifled Lathrop’s Wing-T offense in a 56-0 throttling, whole limiting the Spartans to just 97 yards. They now shift their focus on another Wing-T attack that could be without its quarterback for a third straight week.

Andrew Shaw has been sidelined by an oblique injury, but Ripon still managed to pummel Pitman in a landslide, 49-10. This next test may be like no other Ripon will face all season, however.

Tracy, which has vaulted to No. 6 in the MaxPreps SJS rankings, has the look of a contender in the Tri-City Athletic League and Division II section playoffs.

Third-year junior quarterback Brady Brown (21 of 38, 347 yards, three TDs; 122 rushing yards, four TDs) and RB David Grisham (361 yards, 10.0 per carry, six TDs) star in the Bulldogs’ balanced offense, while linebacker Case Borges (31 tackles, 6.0 for losses, 2.0 sacks) leads a physical defense.

Ripon Christian (3-0) at Pioneer (3-0): Ripon Christian fended off a talented Stagg team at home, then mounted a late comeback against state champion Calaveras the past two weeks.

A win Friday in Woodland would be a tremendous capper to what has already been a highly-successful pre-league schedule for the Knights.

Pioneer is also off to a hot start, which includes a 20-14 triumph at Napa and a 27-14 Week 2 victory over cross-town foe Woodland.

Senior QB Talon Gill has been efficient in the meantime, connecting on 78.6 percent of his passes for 633 yards, 11 touchdowns and just one interception. Julian Barajas (24 receptions, 262 yards, five TDs), Joseph Arias (6-190-4) and 6-4, 200-pound Jayden Deliska (12-138-2) have been his main targets.

The Patriots also have great size up front, where 6-2, 300-pound interior lineman Isoa Tawaketolu paves the way.