90 years ago: February 16, 1928 – Although rallying vigorously in the second half, the Manteca High School basketball team was unable to overcome a lead that Oakdale High School had piled up in the opening period and was defeated 33 to 29 in Oakdale last Friday night. The game was hard-fought and rough throughout. Emil Theiler was high man for Manteca with 10 points.

80 years ago: February 17, 1938 – Manteca High again broke into the win column Tuesday night when the high school basketball team turned aside the victory hopes of the Patterson High team by handing them a 41-29 defeat on the Patterson court. Captain Jim Poulos, who attained the honor of being the hottest scoring man in the league last year, hung up 19 points to become the high point man for the local squad.

70 years ago: February 17, 1948 – Manteca High achieved sweet revenge against Edison High by humbling the Vikings 59-22 Friday night. Jack Williams had his night with 22 points, making him the high man. Joel Whiteley added 11 point s to Coach Bob Theiler’s winning squad.

60 years ago: February 20, 1958 – The Manteca High grappling team returned from the Sac-Joaquin Sectional championships with a second place trophy as seven of Coach Ken Von Rueden’s boys qualified for the Stat e meet to be held in Berkeley next Saturday. They were Charlie Southwick, Tony Cardoza, Danny Southwick, Manuel Yepez, Bill Winston, Allen Elliott and Curt Luck.

50 years ago: February 15, 1968 – Tracy High got off to a cold start Saturday night but managed to catch fire in the second and third periods to take a 72-66 win over East Union High and remain in the thick of the VOL basketball race. Dean Rich led the Lancers for the evening with 14 points.

Friday night, the Manteca High Buffaloes put everything together and played up to the expectations of Coach Joe Handy. The final count showed the Buffs on the short end of a 59-54 tally at Oakdale High. Manteca’s Pat Mitchell controlled the backboards and led the Buffs in scoring with 19 points.

40 years ago: February 17, 1978 – East Union High Coach Bill Stricker knew his cagers could play a full 32 minutes of strong basketball and EU proved it Tuesday night when they did everything right against Sonora High, winning 70-65. Alvin Stewart was the Lancers’ top scorer with 13 points, followed closely by Jeff Wright (12), and Leland Garner, Joel Emperador and Chris Harvey, all with 10 points. Stewart collected 12 rebounds.

Although Valentine’s Day is one of sentimentality, there was nothing romantic about Tuesday night’s cage battle between St. Mary’s High of Stockton and Manteca High. Before a larger-than-capacity crowd, the Golden Rams trampled the Buffaloes 88-65. Manteca was led by a combination of Jim Harris and Bob O’Rourke. Both players netted 16 points, while Pete Duenas found 12 points from an assortment of driving layups against the Ram defense.

Manteca High School’s Bob O’Rourke announced Friday that he has signed a national letter of intent to play four years of football at the University of the Pacific in Stockton. In an interview Friday afternoon, 17 year-old O’Rourke, an honor student at MHS, said he made his final decision and signed the letter of intent on Tuesday.

30 years ago: February 20, 1988 – Manteca High’s Chris Culpepper, only a sophomore, turned out to be one of the pleasant surprises during first day action Friday at the Sac-Joaquin Delta sub-section Wrestling Tournament at Lincoln High in Stockton, winning his first two bouts to become one of four MHS grapplers to advance to the semi-final round.  East Union High’s Eric Schwertscharf and Angelo Gama easily made their way to the semi-finals, also. Travis Rowe (126), Kyle Kervin (154) and Loren Haworth (176) round out the MHS quartet.

Sonora High displayed their prowess in typical, dominating fashion Thursday night, utilizing its deadly fast break to perfection en route to romping past East Union High 72-51 in a Valley Oak League girls basketball game at Dalben Center. Carey Pulliam sparked the Lady Lancers with 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Michelle Taylor contributed 10 points.

Manteca High recovered from a sluggish first-half start and pulled away to a 55-27 VOL girls basketball win over host Oakdale High Thursday night. Junior forward Mary Ann Wallace enjoyed one of her finest games of the season, dumping in 20 points, including eight in the pivotal second half to spark the Lady Buffs’ attack. Mary Foehringer supplied 10 more points for Coach Butch Linn’s Lady Buffs.

East Union High led from start to finish Wednesday night as the Lancers downed Los Banos High 60-54 in boys basketball action. Dwight Young scored a game-high 18 points for Coach Bill Stricker’s EU squad. 

Visiting Manteca High bombarded Livingston High 95-52 Wednesday night in cage action. The points scored by MHS were the most ever under coach Mike Henry’s three-year tenure. David Ennes, a 6-3 junior, pumped in 25 points to power the Buffaloes. Livingston is now 1-26 on the season.

Coming back from a 3-1 deficit, East Union High’s soccer team polished off another highly successful season Tuesday with a 4-3 win over host Ceres High. Tim Hamm, Jed Phelps, Phil Diaz and Brian Soiseth each netted a goal for the Lancers.