Milestones were reached.

A legend of the past and a rising star of the present were each spotlighted nationally.

Brothers were adversaries for one night.  

And one of the most polarizing, yet fascinating, athletes to come out of Manteca triggered controversy with a slight touch.

We experienced, watched, heard of and read about some rare, once-in-a-lifetime type of occurrences in the last year, but the talk of the town was East Union High’s long-suffering varsity football team — the Bulletin’s top sports story of 2010.

East Union made high school football relevant in every corner of Manteca this past fall. For the first time ever, all three schools in town qualified for the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs.

East Union’s re-emergence followed Sierra’s emergence as a top program — in 2008 the Timberwolves made the playoffs for the first time in school history, and in 2009 they earned a share of their first league title.

The Lancers reached several hurdles before their benchmark victory of 2010 in Week 10. They started the season 3-0, going undefeated in the preseason for the first time since 1993. With that 21-7 win over Ceres in Week 3 came the unveiling of EU’s rowdy student section, the Red Sea.

The Red Sea, along with the school’s band, combined to create arguably the best football experience among the seven area high schools.

After crushing Lathrop 31-0 on Homecoming in the Valley Oak League opener, East Union — with the Red Sea faithfully following its team across town — visited Sierra for the first of three epic intra-city rivalry games.

It was on Week 5 that the Lancers proved they were for real, as it took a last-minute drive led by back-up quarterback Anthony Perea for Sierra to prevail, 30-28.

Five weeks later was East Union’s crowning achievement — a shocking 10-7 upset of Manteca in the city’s oldest rivalry game.

Manteca already had the SJS Division III playoffs’ top seed clinched was presumably on its way to a 10-0 regular-season finish. The Lancers, meanwhile, wasn’t guaranteed a postseason bid until winning that game.

East Union hadn’t beaten the Buffaloes since 1999, which so happened to be the last year that the Lancers posted a winning record (6-4).

History was again tied into their Cinderella 2010 season in the playoffs. The last time they were in the playoffs back in 1992, Del Oro eliminated them in the Division-II bracket.

Sure enough, it was the powerful Golden Eagles of Loomis who were matched up with No. 7 East Union.

Everyone knew Del Oro, traditionally a force in D-II, was much better than its No. 11 seeding in D-III. That was proven by its 58-7 thrashing at East Union’s Dino Cunial Field and the ensuing run to the section championship crown.

Surely a downer to an emotionally charged season, but at long last the Lancers — who finished 7-4 — had a winning season.

Their accomplishments were recognized by the rest of the VOL when Mike James, who had endured so much in his previous seven seasons, was voted Coach of the Year despite EU finishing fifth in the competitive conference.

A Manteca resident and graduate of Brock Elliot School, Gray was recognized by various publications as one of the nation’s best high school girls basketball players.

While leading St. Mary’s of Stockton to its second straight California Interscholastic Federation Division-III state championship she was named the Parade All-American co-National Player of the Year as a senior and was selected to play in the regarded McDonald’s All-American and Women’s Basketball Coaches Association All-American games.

Additionally, she was a finalist for the 2010 Naismith National Player of the Year and Gatorade Player of the Year honors and was tabbed Ms. Basketball State Player of the Year by ESPN Rise.

Gray currently averages 8.6 points per game as a true freshman for Duke University, the No. 3-ranked NCAA Division-I team in the nation.


On April 21, East Union High basketball legend Scott Brooks earned another accolade in the sport he has dedicated much of his life to, but being the NBA’s coach of the year may be his greatest achievement.

The Oklahoma City Thunder head coach had the youngest team in the league last year but still turned it into a 50-game winner and postseason qualifier after it began the 2008-09 season with a 3-29 record.

Brooks grew up in Lathrop and graduated from East Union in 1983. Before his 11-year run as an NBA player, he went on to star at Delta College, Texas Christian University and UC Irvine. He was a part of the Houston Rockets’ 1994 championship team.

As a coach, he was an assistant for the Denver Nuggets and Sacramento Kings prior to landing on the Thunder’s staff.


Love him or hate him, no one can deny the unusual talents of Kiwi Gardner, the 5-foot-7 point guard who starred on Manteca High’s varsity boys basketball team for three years.

But at the start of the 2010 Valley Oak League season, Gardner’s future on the team and as a participant of interscholastic athletics in general were left in doubt after he was ejected from a preseason tournament.

The ejection stemmed from brief and harmless contact Gardner had made with an official while disputing a call.

The Sac-Joaquin Section sanctioned a four-game suspension on top of the one game he missed immediately after the original suspension, and an additional one imposed by the team after he was cleared to rejoin the team.

Throughout the process, some speculated he could, would and should serve a lifetime ban from interscholastic sports. Rumor had it that Gardner — who, warranted or not, had developed a bad-boy image — blatantly shoved the ref.

The word-of-mouth reports were unfounded, and his return came in time for the Buffaloes’ much-anticipated crosstown contest against Sierra. Gardner checked into the game halfway through the first quarter and finished with 31 points, five assists and seven steals in a 64-48 win.

He went on to dazzle spectators with his quickness, dribbling ability and hops and was voted the VOL’s Most Valuable Player after leading the Buffaloes to a second straight conference title.

Gardner, now a senior, has since transferred to Westwind Prep (Phoenix, Ariz.) and is drawing interest from several NCAA Division I programs.


Eric Reis kept it a secret from his players.

Much was already at stake in the football rivalry showdown involving Reis’ Manteca High Buffaloes and Sierra, which had won the previous two contests between these bitter rivals after losing seven straight.

On Oct. 8, Manteca dominated the second half en route to defeating the Timberwolves 26-20, improving to 6-0 on the season behind Robert Ladiges’ 47 carries, 247 yards and three touchdowns.

It was revealed after the game that a piece of Manteca High history was also on the line.

Reis, in his ninth year, became the school’s all-time winningest varsity head football coach with his 77th victory.

The man he surpassed, former Manteca High athletic director Walker Vick (76-42-4, 1969-80), presented him a plaque as he greeted him at midfield with a hug and tears streaming. It was certainly one of the most touching moments at a sporting event in town this year.

Reis, now 80-21-2, led the Buffaloes to a share of the Valley Oak League title, their third in his tenure. The coach has guided Manteca to three Sac-Joaquin Section postseason championship-game appearances, winning two of them (2005, 2006). The 2006 team stands as the greatest in program history, as it went 13-0.

With former teammate, fellow 2004 East Union High grad and longtime friend Justin Friend (drafted by the A’s, now with the Phillies) already working his way through the professional baseball ranks, Ryan Fleckenstein got his belated shot last summer.
He played junior college ball at Chabot College in Hayward but went on a two-year hiatus for his Mormon mission.

After an unspectacular two-year run at the University of Oregon, the 24-year-old left-handed pitcher wasn’t picked up by a franchise during the two-day amateur baseball draft in June.

Not surprised, Fleckenstein visited his mom, Christine, in Weston Ranch and figured his competitive baseball career had likely come to an end.

Then, while at his mom’s house, he received an out-of-the blue phone call, and before he knew it he was headed to Fort Meyers, Fla. to report to the Tampa Bay Rays’ Gulf Coast League rookie team.

Fleckenstein was impressive. He pitched 28 innings, recorded a 2.57 ERA with a 3-0 record and nine saves, and struck out 31 batters to four walked.

There were no losers on Feb. 18 when Manteca and East Union continued their heated girls basketball rivalry.

Needing to win for a playoff berth, Manteca pulled out a 41-38 upset — its second victory in three meetings with EU last year — on the final night of the regular season.

East Union had a 32-game home winning streak snapped, but there was reason for the Lancers to also celebrate as they already had their fourth straight Valley Oak League title already clinched.

Meanwhile, Manteca head coach Andrea Hiatt was four days past her due date. Less than 12 hours after her team delivered a big victory, she checked into a hospital to give birth to her first child.

On Feb. 20, her son, Bode Hiatt, was finally born.

Michael Nunnally (East Union, Class of 2004) and younger brother James (Weston Ranch, 2008) had never played alongside or against each other in an organized and competitive setting until they were on opposites sides of two NCAA Division-I Big West Conference contests.

On Jan. 10, James and UC Santa Barbara edged Mike’s Pacific Tigers, 68-67.

But the Feb. 4 rematch at Spanos Center was special, as large contingent of friends, family and former coaches, teammates and classmates gathered to see the Nunnallys in action.

James Nunnally scored 19 points to help the Gauchos complete the sweep, 61-48. UC Santa Barbara and UOP shared the regular-season title, but the Gauchos earned the Big West postseason title and an NCAA Tournament berth.

James is currently enjoying a breakout junior season in which he has twice earned Big West player of the week honors and is averaging a team-high 19 points per game.

Earlier this month, Sierra High varsity baseball coach Jack Thomson was recognized during the California Interscholastic Federation Football Championship Bowl Game festivities at the Home Depot in Carson.

In February, Thomson was one of 13 people statewide selected to the 2009-10 class of CIF’s Model Coach Award honorees. The Model Coach Award program, which starts at the section level, is in its 10th year.

Thomson has nearly three decades worth of coaching experience at the high school level, where he has earned a reputation for his classy demeanor on top of his ability to groom young student-athletes.

Now an avid golfer, he has taken his new passion up a notch by leading Sierra’s girls golf team as head coach this past fall.

Thomson was inducted into the Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2005 serves on the Rawlings High School –American Team committee.

Sierra High 2005 graduate Jimmy Elam accomplished a rare feat in his one year at Chico State.

Last spring, he capped off a decorated collegiate career with a fourth-place finish in the NCAA Division II Track and Field Championships 10,000-meter run. Elam earned All-America recognition, which was actually his second during the school year.

In the fall of 2009, he placed 15th in the NCAA Cross Country Championships for his first All-America award. The standout distance runner, one of many in Chico State’s tradition-rich cross country and track programs, led the Wildcats to California Collegiate Athletic Association team championships in both sports.