LODI FOOTBALL FACES TOUGH TASK
Offensive linemen can make the difference.
That’s how Lodi High football coach George Duenas sees it. Today, the Flames are looking to heat up against defending Tri-City Athletic League champion St. Mary’s. Game time at the Grape Bowl is 7:15 p.m.
St. Mary’s, which whipped West 49-0 in their league opener on Sept. 28, played a beast of a pre-season schedule; Bishop O’Dowd of Oakland, Damonte Ranch of Reno, Nev., Mater Dei of Santa Ana, Central Catholic and Pittsburgh. The five teams have a combined record of 256.
“Some of the teams they were playing are pretty good,” said Duenas of the Rams. “They are just talented, all the way around.”
In six games this season, Lodi (0-1 in the TCAL, 1-5) has averaged 23.6 points per game. That is second best among all six schools in the league; Tracy is averaging 48.1 points per game.
Duenas gives credit to the offense because of the lineman. Those players are center Adrian Martinio, guards Kent Powell (6-foot-4 and 325 pounds) and sophomore Gabe Biagioni, and tackles Ethan Bronson and Jonas LatteriBrown. Another sophomore in tight end Isaac Bishop (6’1 and 195) rounds out the list.
“I think our offensive line is doing a little better this week,” Duenas said. “They’ve been playing with a little bit more intensity.”
This week’s practices have been Duenas and his assistant coaches stressing the fundamentals, which St. Mary’s (1-0 in the TCAL, 2-4) does well and beyond in all aspects of the game.
“We’re going to stick with what we’re doing,” Duenas said. “We’ve been working on the fundamentals this week.
In its TCAL opener at Lincoln on Sept. 28, the host Trojans led only 18-6 at halftime. But Lincoln kept on scoring that led to a 38-6 win over the Flames, who had offensive drives that stalled and led to punts and turnovers.
“With the growing pains, there’s a lot of ups and downs,” Duenas said. “If we can minimal our turnovers on the offensive side, have no turnovers when we have exchanges in the backfield, I
think we can move the ball (tonight).”
Tokay
The theme for today’s game between Tokay at West is who’s going to win their first TCAL game of the season. Tokay (0-1 in the TCAL, 0-6) travels to the west side of San Joaquin County to face West (0-1 in the TCAL, 2-4).
A trio of sophomores are helping the Tigers find consistency on offense. That starts with quarterback Jacob Varney, who was moved up to the varsity squad earlier this season. He has completed 28 of 66 passes for 391 yards and three touchdowns. His rapid growth of maturity on the field has impressed Tokay coach Michael Holst.
“We have been pleasantly surprised with Jacob,” Holst said. “He has been consistent in his leadership and progress at quarterback. For a guy we had no intention of playing varsity this year, he’s done very well in some tough circumstances.”
Other Tiger players are wide receiver/free safety Joseph Filippini and offensive/defensive tackle Dharuv Walia.
“Filippini, or Flip as we call him, has been one of our best all-around players,” Holst said. “We’ve asked a lot from him on offense, defense and special teams this year. He is only going to get better with more experience and has a solid career ahead of him. Dharuv is a big kid (6-foot and 251) who is learning how to use his size and be a force. All of these kids are extremely hard workers. They check all the boxes you want in a high school football player and they will reap the rewards of having a difficult year down the road.”
West runs what Holst calls a 21 personnel team offense; two running backs and one tight end. The Wolf Pack likes to establish their running game.
“Their fullback is a physical runner and blocker,” said Holst, who talked about West’s defense. “They run a 3-3 stack on defense and will bring pressure to try and confuse you.”
Galt
The Warriors are one of two Lodi area football teams that still have a shot of earning a Sac-Joaquin Section playoff berth.
Tonight at 7:30, Galt (0-1 in the Sierra Valley Conference, 4-2) plays at Bradshaw Christian (1-0 in the SVC, 4-2) on the Pride’s field in Elk Grove.
Galt quarterback Robert Bulahan Jr. is inching closer toward throwing for a 1,000plus yards this season. A junior who started as a sophomore last fall, Bulahan Jr. has completed 63 of 116 passes for 940 yards and 14 touchdowns. The last time a Galt quarterback passed for more than 1,000 yards was in 2011; Harrison Stone passed for 1,792 yards.
Other offensive weapons for the Warriors are running backs Jonah Delrio, who has 72 carries for 501 yards and Anthony Sanchez (58-395). They have combined to score nine touchdowns. Marcelo Lopez has 20 receptions for 300 yards for Galt, while teammates Sanchez and Alex Rodriguez are close to 200 yards each.
Although it has an overall winning record, Galt must win all, if not three of its four remaining conference games to be considered for a playoff berth.
Under the new criteria, there are 78 high school football teams that will make the playoffs for Divisions I through VII. Divisions I through VI will have brackets of 12 teams with Nos. 1-4 having first-round byes. Division VII will be a six-team bracket, with Nos. 1 and 2 seeds having first round byes. The first 12 schools with the largest enrollments will be Division I, followed by the next 12 in D-II and all the way to D-VI.
According to the section’s website, Galt has an enrollment of 958 students. Should the Warriors win out all of their remaining SVC games, if not three of the four and get some help from other schools that have similar enrollments, and make the playoffs, they would be placed in D-V or DVI.
Liberty Ranch
Today at 7:30 p.m. at Hawk Stadium, Liberty Ranch (0-1 in the SVC, 2-4) welcomes Union Mine (1-0 in the SVC, 14).
Running back Gabriel Nino is also closing in the 1,000yards for the Hawks; he’s rushed 617 yards on 62 carries and four touchdowns. The senior has a combined seven touchdowns. Jonathan Thomas and Matthew Hopper have scored four touchdowns each.
Liberty Ranch must win out all of its SVC games or three of four, and get lots of help from other football programs that have a similar enrollment, to be considered for a playoff berth. The school has 1,211 student enrollment, per the section.