East Union and Sierra are meeting Friday for the 31st gridiron showdown between the cross-town rivals, and there are major postseason implications for both.

They enter the contest with mirroring records, but there is some distance between the two in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV MaxPreps rankings, which is used to help determine at-large qualifiers and seedings.

A finalist last year, East Union can improve from its No. 7 ranking by knocking off both of its rivals in town — idle Manteca, No. 12 overall in the SJS and seventh in Division II, visits the Lancers next week.

Sierra has a bigger jump to make to crack the top eight from No. 14 in Division IV. The Timberwolves close the regular season at home against No. 5 Patterson.

Undefeated Johnson is ranked 12th in Division IV but can steal a spot as an automatic qualifier by winning the Greater Sacramento League championship.

There are 56 available playoff berths across seven eight-team brackets. One team in every league gets an automatic berth. Brackets are filled by at-large qualifiers, according to MaxPreps divisional rankings, but teams with less than four regular-season wins are not eligible. Top 16-ranked teams in each division are eligible to compete in one-off SJS Bowl Games.

At Wes Stouffer Field, Ripon — coming off a huge win at Sonora — has a good chance to earn its needed fourth victory against Orestimba, which has dropped four in a row.

Ripon and Ripon Christian are on a collision course for a Week 10 battle with a possible first-round playoff game on the line. The Knights are currently ranked third in Division VI, with Ripon at No. 4.

Ripon Christian has an opportunity to boost its MaxPreps rating at Hughson, the third-ranked team in Division IV.

Western Athletic Conference co-leader Lathrop looks to finish strong with its toughest opposition behind it. The Spartans can’t afford a letdown as the No. 8-ranked team in Division V. They’ll host Ceres for their regular-season home finale.

With a Week 10 bye, River Islands caps its Mother Lode League schedule Friday at Big Valley Christian in a must-win for both. The Riptide lost a heartbreaker to Linden last week and needs to bounce back for a shot at hosting their first playoff game. They’re currently No. 6 in Division VII, while Big Valley Christian is No. 10 with tough finale ahead at first-place Calaveras.

Here’s a glance at Week 9 match-ups for area teams:

Valley Oak League

East Union (1-3, 4-4) at Sierra (1-3, 4-4): The Lancers dominated Sierra last year 69-14, the largest margin of victory in the series since Sierra won 63-7 in the 2012 game.

The Timberwolves have won 21 of the 30 all-time meetings, though the two teams have evenly split the last eight.

EU toppled Mountain House 49-6 last week to snap a four-game skid, getting an efficient performance out of its two-man quarterback attack of Bryson Ybarra and Dante Tafoya. Running backs Darrion Brown and Albee Menchaca provided some balance, as the Lancers rushed for 250 yards and passed for another 177.

Sierra limps into the cross-town clash after getting thumped by the top two VOL teams. In a 42-0 loss at Central Catholic last week, the Timberwolves were limited to 96 yards.

The contest will feature two exciting receivers in East Union’s Gunnar Fay (32 catches, 593 yards, nine touchdowns) and Sierra’s Blama Kamara (30-700-6), both standout sprinters in the spring. Kamara, in fact, transferred from EU after his sophomore year.

Sierra defensive coordinator Mike James will also see some old friends. The East Union grad was head coach for the Lancers from 2004-2010.

Trans Valley League

Ripon Christian (1-3, 5-3) at Hughson (3-1, 6-2): The Knights offense has struggled to put up points so far in league play, and it was shut out by undefeated Hilmar at home last week, 24-0.

It’s the first time Ripon Christian has been held scoreless since Sept. 22, 2017, a 40-0 Southern League loss at Orestimba.

Hughson will test RC on both sides of scrimmage, as it remains in the hunt for the TVL title. The Huskies go to Hilmar in week 10. Their lone league loss was to Escalon, 31-14.

They boast a pair of standout sophomores in the backfield in quarterback Hudson Baldwin (1,799 yards, 19 TDs, two interceptions) and 6-foot, 230-pound running back Blake Hobbs (639 yards, 6.9 per carry, nine TDs).

Titus Beers is one of the most productive two-way players in the section. The 6-3, 206-pound tight end has 1,083 scrimmage yards (838 receiving) and 13 touchdowns. At defensive end, he leads Hughson with 97 tackles, 20 for losses and 8.5 sacks.

Orestimba (0-4, 4-4) at Ripon (1-3, 3-5): The stunner at Sonora’s Dunlavy Field ended a frustrating four-game losing streak for Ripon, which is set up to build a streak in the other direction with a playoff berth in sight.

Ripon has to win either of its final two games to clinch a likely at-large bid, a reward for its strength of schedule.

Orestimba beat four non-league opponents that are likely missing the playoffs and lost handily in its first four TVL tilts. The Warriors are ranked 15th in Division VI. They gave up nearly 500 yards of offense to Hughson last week, while mustering just 167 of their own.

Michael Maier has been the two-way anchor for Orestimba. He leads the attack with 715 scrimmage yards (549 rushing) and nine touchdowns. Defensively, he has 62 tackles, 14 for tackles and 4.0 sacks.

Western Athletic Conference

Ceres (2-3, 3-5) at Lathrop (4-1, 5-3): The Spartans have stacked up four consecutive victories to get themselves in contention for a third straight conference crown, but it came at a cost of injuries to key players.

They can’t afford to look past a Ceres team that can improve its playoff chances by knocking off two of the three co-leaders the next two Fridays. The Bulldogs, No. 14 in the Division V rankings, end the regular season with cross-town foe Central Valley.

Although Ceres surrenders 36.2 points per WAC game, it remains dangerous offensively with dual-threat QB Anthony Santillan (677 passing yards, three TDs, seven INTs; 808 rushing yards, nine TDs), running back Caelen Eskridge (503 yards, nine TDs) and receiver Leonardo Ayala (26 receptions, 331 yards, TD).

Mother Lode League

River Islands (3-2, 7-2) at Big Valley Christian (2-2, 6-2): Both teams are coming off losses to Linden.

Last week, it came down to a missed chip-shot field goal in the final seconds at River Islands, which came up short, 14-13.

Two weeks ago, Big Valley Christian trailed Linden 20-0 but made things interesting in the second half, twice closing to within a score before ultimately falling, 32-20. Now fresh off a needed late-season bye, the Lions have an opportunity to charge into the playoff picture. Their other loss for the season came against Summerville, 36-28.

Third-year QB Travis Lema (1,033 passing yards, 17 TDs, two INTs; 280 rushing yards, eight TDs) orchestrates the BVC offense. He’s aided by running back Ben Kirchner (746 yards, nine TDs) and multi-faceted playmaker Kai Martin (976 scrimmage yards, 17 TDs).

River Islands is 0-2 against the Lions, dropping the 2025 game, 14-6.