FLAMES, TIGERS READY TO BATTLE

Sure, you stunned Tracy and played Lincoln as tough as anyone they’ve seen.

Or you’ve notched a pair of wins and sport a .500 record after a few bad years. Solid accomplishments, all of those. But tonight is the one that people in Lodi will talk about — the Lodi vs. Tokay rivalry game.

Lodi coach George Duenas and Tokay coach Michael Holst have both experienced the rivalry as a player and as a coach.

“As a player, you want to go and beat them because it’s your only chance to beat them, so you’re focused on that,” Duenas said. “And as a coach, it feels like that’s the only game people talk to you about. So as a coach, it’s like man, what the heck.”

Holst said he sees a difference in how he approaches the game even from when he was a young coach.

“Obviously it’s still abig game, but it’s not as fiery as what you experienced as a teenager or even as a young coach still trying to figure things out. It’s the next game,” Holst said. “But this is what people want to know, and what people talk about. We don’t prepare any different, but it’s about controlling emotions and hopefully being able to use that positively.”

Duenas’ Flames come into the game with a 3-1 record, with wins over Linden, West and Tracy. Last week’s loss against Lincoln is the only blemish so far in this short spring season.

Holst’s Tigers, coming off 2-8 and 1-9 seasons, are 2-2 with a chance to notch their first winning season since 2014.

But it won’t come easy. Lodi has big linemen and knows how to use them to pave a road.

“They’re physical. They get after you up front, they double team you until the whistle, they’re gonna lay on top of you,” Holst said. “They’re OK with chunking you for 3 yards and moving on. They don’t even need big plays, they’re going to try to control the clock. You won’t get get a lot of chances with the ball. That’s the type of offense they run, and it makes it difficult from that standpoint.”

The Tigers will have their biggest weapon back — running back Joseph Filippini missed Tokay’s loss to Tracy last week with a nagging injury, but will be back to join Jose Bravo, who ran 19 times for 105 yards and a touchdown in Tracy.

“They’re going to try to give it to Filippini — that’s their dude,” Duenas said. “We’ll have to shut him down or slow him down a little bit. Defensively, it depends what they come out on, we just need to bring the fight to them. We have to be physical up front.”

One thing will be a little different from the past weeks — there will be an actual crowd. With the district allowing 20% attendance, the game was moved to Tokay, for a total crowd of 823 spectators, as well as the ability to have the crowds on opposite sides of the field.

The game is already sold out.

“I think everybody’s excited. It’s the last game of an odd season,” Holst said. “Just to get here and play five games, I don’t think we had expectations that we’d get here. We were hopeful.”