Tigers, Flames looking to end scoring drought
California ended its drought earlier this year.
The Tokay High football team is looking to snap its 36 days of not scoring a touchdown.
Today at the Grape Bowl at 7:15 p.m., Tokay (0-2 in the TCAL, 2-5) is looking to break into the end zone against a TriCity Athletic League squad that is making its second consecutive week of playing at the bowl in Lincoln (2-0 in the TCAL, 4-3).
One word sums up the Tigers’ practices this week, according to Tokay coach Michael Holst — intensity.
“Our first three practices this week have been excellent,” Holst said. “We have been focused on the game plan, and the intensity in practice has been the best it’s been all year.”
Another perk for the Tigers is this is the first week back for Tokay students after a twoweek fall break.
“It’s nice to be in a routine and you don’t have to worry about some of the things that you do during the two-week break, such as kids getting rides to practice and staying up late,” Holst said.
Lincoln, which soundly defeated Lodi 56-0 last Friday at the Grape Bowl, enjoys moving the ball in the air. The Trojans’ offense is similar to the Air Raid style Washington State and Texas Tech use.
“They have a limited run game, but have good athletes doing so,” Holst said. “They run a lot of crossing routes and are somewhat predictable out of different formations, but they make up for their predictability by executing their offense at a high rate. That’s the give and take of offensive football.”
On Sept. 15 in Stockton, Tokay scored many touchdowns against Chavez, which led to a 58-40 win. But the Tigers scored only a field goal against McNair in a 47-3 loss at the Grape Bowl a week later.
Tracy posted a 62-0 win over Tokay last week.
Lodi at West
Big offensive plays have been huge for Lodi (0-2 in the TCAL, 3-4) this season. But now Lodi coach Robert Sperling wants to see his squad finish offensive possessions, and hopes that starts against West (0-2 in the TCAL, 1-6) in a league road contest tonight.
“We’d have four or five plays over 50 yards but we didn’t finish,” said Sperling, referring to last week’s loss to Lincoln. “We have to be able to score when we get into red zone and capitalize on field position. We also turned the ball over in the red zone. We have to clean up our mistakes and finish drives. That’s the bottom line.”
Lodi’s flexbone offense faces a West defense that likes to run a base 5-3 set. On offense, the Wolf Pack shows different formations; from the I to pro-set and at times, the option.
The Flames will be without the services of junior fullback Alfredo Estrada, who sprained his knee against Lincoln. Larry McDowell, who also plays fullback, was injured toward the end of the contest against the Trojans, and is a game-time decision, Sperling said. Cole Brooks is expected to start at fullback for the Flames tonight.
Rosemont at Liberty Ranch
In the last two weeks, Liberty Ranch (1-1 in the Sierra Valley Conference, 2-5) has averaged 44 points per game. The bye week before the Hawks started conference play has helped them get on an offensive roll.
“We emphasized getting back to the basics,” said Liberty Ranch coach Anthony Linebaugh.
Leading the way for Liberty Ranch is quarterback Thomas Thornburg, plus running back Ethan Torres. Middle linebacker Blake Ritchie leads the defense.
Tonight on the Erv Hatzenbuhler Field at Warrior Stadium, Liberty Ranch welcomes Rosemont (1-1 in the SVC, 3-4), which defeated Galt 35-6 in Sacramento last week.
Galt at Union Mine
One thing is certain about tonight’s SVC game in El Dorado — a group of players on one team will walk off the field with their first conference win of the season.
Galt and Union Mine enter the contest at 0-2 in the SVC; the Warriors are 3-4 overall and Diamondbacks 2-5. The Warriors have been led by quarterback Robert Bulahan, a sophomore standing at 6-foot-1 and 140 pounds, tight enddefensive end Giovanni Escalante and guardmiddle linebacker Andrew Bustamante.