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RISE OF FALL
Prep season begins Aug. 19 with Manteca-Lathrop flag football
Fall sports
Sierra ball carrier Sofia Montes tries to avoid and Manteca’s Sari Lawson. - photo by SEAN KAHLER

Changes to the shortened football schedule take effect this year in the Sac-Joaquin Section, and the rest of fall sports are getting a head start.

Flag football leads off with first official contests next Wednesday, Aug. 19. Cross country, girls golf, girls tennis, girls volleyball and water polo follow on Friday, Aug. 21.

The Peter J. Saco Foundation Games for flag football and girls volleyball are also next week. These exhibitions do not count against records but serve as a fundraisers for the section’s A. Dale Lacky Scholarship and Women in Sports Conference.

Area schools participating in flag football Foundation Games: Sierra (vs. El Capitan, Aug. 17), Manteca (at Lincoln, Aug. 18), River Islands (at Enochs, Aug. 18) and Ripon (vs. Edison, Aug. 18).

Sierra will host Lathrop on Aug. 19 for a girls volleyball Foundation Game. Also participating: East Union (vs. Orestimba, Aug. 18), River Islands (vs. Edison, Aug. 19), Ripon (at Gregori, Aug. 19) and Ripon Christian (at St. Mary’s, Aug. 19).

Football scrimmages will be held on Aug. 21-22. Six of seven local schools kick off the regular season Aug. 28, while East Union starts with its bye.

Last year, the section voted in favor of trimming a week off the postseason football schedule, which also meant a reduction in bracket size — from 12 to eight — for each of the seven divisions. This coincided with the introduction of the SJS bowl games, one-off, regionally-based contests for teams finishing with a No. 9-16 MaxPreps ranking for each division.

The first fall event in the area pits two flag football squads, as reigning Western Athletic Conference champion Lathrop (18-4) hosts Manteca (11-9) next Wednesday at 6:15 p.m. Sierra (10-10) opens its season an hour later at Daniel Teicheira Memorial Stadium, where it will face three-time Central California Conference champion Atwater (18-6) for the first time.

The first girls volleyball match in the area takes place Aug. 21, when Sierra (7-23) welcomes Trans Valley League titlist Ripon (28-6).

Fall sports
Ripon libero Kennedy Everhart makes the pass in a non-league match against East Union. - photo by SEAN KAHLER

Also on Aug. 21, East Union’s boys and girls water polo teams head to Amador, while Ripon’s boys travel to Atwater to compete in the 99 Ignite Tournament. Cross country teams from Manteca, Ripon and Ripon Christian are toeing the starting line at Lodi Lake for Lodi High’s annual Flame Invitational.

Two big tournaments will be held Saturday, Aug. 22.

Manteca, Sierra and Ripon have entered the Orestimba Run and Shoot Flag Football Tournament. Meanwhile, the Stockton Preseason Girls Volleyball Classic will be spread across different sites in San Joaquin County. Manteca, Sierra, Lathrop, River Islands and Ripon Christian are penciled in for the 18th annual event.

The regular season ends in the final two weeks of October for all sports except for football (Nov. 7).