With two games left, Flames control playoff fate

With two more wins, the Lodi High football team can assure itself a playoff appearance after missing out on postseason action the last two years.

At 6-2 overall and 2-1 in the San Joaquin Athletic Association with two games to go, the Flames are battling for second place in the SJAA, tied with Chavez and Tracy with 2-1 league marks. Lodi will attempt to take the first step toward achieving its playoff goal when it travels to Chavez tonight.

Despite a heartbreaking loss to Lincoln last week, when the Flames almost pulled off an upset of the SJAA's top team, Lodi is happy with its positioning heading down the home stretch of the season.

"We are right where we wanted to be," Lodi head coach Todd Dillon said. "In control of our own destiny."

The Flames have gotten there behind a strong offensive line that has helped Lodi average nearly 30 points per contest. Most of the offense has come from sophomore running back Jordan Perkins ,who has amassed 1,222 yards and nine touchdowns this season.

Even though the Flames found success in the air last week against Lincoln, Dillon said the team plans on going back to relying mostly on its running game against the Titans.

Lodi will be tested by Chavez (4-4), which Dillon says is big, strong and physical. The Titans feature a balanced offense led by running backs Sam Houston (904 yards, 9 TDs) and Demaieya Nelson (733 yards, 6 TDs) and quarterback Andrew Quintal (930 yards, 8 TDs, 6 INTs).

Week 9 prep football schedule

Today's Games
Lodi at Chavez, 7:30 p.m.
St. Mary's at Tokay, 7:15 p.m.
Galt at Oak Ridge, 7:30 p.m.
Elliot Christian at Stone Ridge Chr. 7:30 p.m.
Tracy at Franklin, 7 p.m.
Bear Creek at Lincoln, 7:15 p.m.
Stagg at Edison, 7:15 p.m.
McNair at West, 7:15 p.m.
Vista del Lago at Union Mine, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday's Game
Cordova at Christian Brothers, 1 p.m.

When the two teams collide tonight, Dillon expects his squad to be prepared and playing like its a must-win game.

"I think we've had a good week of practice," he said. "We understand the importance of each game we play from here on in."

The Flames will close out the regular season next week when they host Tracy.

St. Mary's at Tokay

The Tokay Tigers will face their toughest challenge of the season when they host St. Mary's tonight at the Grape Bowl. The perennial powerhouse Rams boast a 6-2 overall record and a 3-0 Tri-City Athletic League mark while Tokay's at 2-5 overall and 1-2 in TCAL.

The Tigers enter the game having broke a four-game losing streak with a 28-14 win over Edison last week. Tokay head coach Louis Franklin is hoping the victory will help fuel Tokay's bid for an upset.

"Any time you play a top team in our area you need to go into that game with a lot of confidence," he said. "Winning a sloppy game against Edison is a step in the right direction."

St. Mary's quarterback Cody Vaz is the top passer in TCAL, having totaled 1,914 yards in eight games and leading an offense that averages over 38 points per contest.

"They have a great offense and know they will make some big plays, so we cannot make it easy on them by making any mistakes," Franklin said.

Tokay will look to senior QB Luke McCurdy to balance the offense with a solid night passing as well as running backs Durrell Butler, Michael Hernandez and Patrick McCarthy to move the ball.

Galt at Oak Ridge

After totaling three points in the last two games, Galt will look to get its offense rolling again and stop its two-game losing streak when it travels to Oak Ridge tonight.

The Warriors (4-4, 2-2 Sierra Valley Conference) started the SVC season 2-0 before falling 6-3 to Ponderosa and 19-0 to Christian Brothers last week. Against Oak Ridge (4-4, 4-0 SVC), Galt head coach Warren Schroeder is confident his team can resume its scoring ways seen earlier this season.

"I believe they will be able to get back on track this week as long as we prevent the mental errors and physical miscues due to bad field conditions like we have experienced during the last two games," he said. Schroeder is hoping an effective passing game can help the Warriors find the end zone as well as a solid running performance from Trevor Alcoriza.

Oak Ridge will try and challenge Galt's defense with an attack led by running back Jacob Allen (738 yards, 8 TDs).

"Oak Ridge has big, fast, physical players that will be a challenge for us to compete with," Schroeder said.

Eagles at Stone Ridge Chr.

After playing a solid first half in last week's 34-27 loss to Millennium, the Eagles will be looking to put together four solid quarters of play when they travel to Stone Ridge Christian for a Harvest Christian League showdown tonight.

Elliot (2-6, 0-3 HCL) jumped out to a 27-6 halftime lead before Millennium charged back in the second half.

Stone Ridge (6-2, 2-1 HCL), the HCL's No. 2 team behind Big Valley, possesses a high-powered offense led by mobile quarterback Matthew Borges. Borges has not only completed 50 of 90 passes for 868 yards with 11 touchdowns and only three interceptions, but also leads the Knights in rushing yards with 773.

The depth-challenged Eagles will be hoping to contain Borges as well as see a consistent performance from their offense to try and pull off the upset. Against Millennium, the Eagles showed good balance in the first half, getting two TD passes from QB Mason Vickers and rushing scores from Bubba Wall and Brandon Ivy.

Week 9 kickoffs

Lodi at Chavez
When/where: Today at 7:15 p.m. at Chavez High School
Records: Lodi (6-2, 2-1 SJAA); Chavez (4-4, 2-1 SJAA).
Last week: Lodi lost to Lincoln 28-17; Chavez beat Franklin 55-0.
Last season: Chavez won 53-3 at the Grape Bowl.
Key matchups: Lodi running game vs. Chavez running game. Lodi averages 305.9 yards a game on the ground and Chavez 295.3 yards. The team that has the most success running should win the game.
Notes: The Titans have won three of four, with their only defeat a 28-27 loss to Tracy two weeks ago. Chavez is averaging 28 points per game for the season but 44 in its four victories. The Titans allow 19.6 points a game. The Titans have multiple big-play threats in running backs Sam Houston (904 yards, 9 TDs) and Demaieya Nelson (733 yards, 6 TDs). QB Andrew Quintal has thrown for 930 yards (8 TDs, 6 INTs). ... The Flames average 29.8 points a game and allow 18.1. The run-heavy Flames opened it up in the loss to Lincoln, with QB Patrick Armstrong completing 7-of-14 passes for 136 yards. Matt Clark had five catches for 72 yards and a score. Jordan Perkins went over 100 yards again (135), bringing his season total to 1,222 (9 TDs).
Directions: Take Highway 99 south to Hammer Lane and go west. Turn left on Holman Drive and the school is a few blocks down at 2626 Windflower Lane in Stockton.

St. Mary's at Tokay
When/where: Today at 7:15 p.m. at the Grape Bowl.
Records: Tokay (2-5, 1-2 TCAL); St. Mary's (6-2, 3-0 TCAL).
Last week: Tokay beat Edison 28-14. St. Mary's beat McNair 41-19.
Last season: St. Mary's won 42-0 at St. Mary's.
Key matchups: Tokay defense vs. St. Mary's offense. The Tiger defense needs to create turnovers to have a chance at the upset.
Notes: Tokay ended a four-game losing streak with last week's victory. The Tigers scored 28 points despite having less than 200 yards of offense against Edison. LB Patrick McCarthy leads Tokay with 10.7 tackles per game, followed by Michael Hernandez (10.6). Esteban Chavez has a team-high seven sacks. ... The Rams average 38.8 points a game and allow 21.8. Maurice Howze leads St. Mary's in rushing (737 yards, 8 TDs) and Josh Harper is the team's leading receiver (38 catches, 599 yards, 6 TDs). QB Cody Vaz of Lodi, who has verbally committed to Oregon State, has completed 60 percent of his passes for 1,914 yards (14 TDs, 5 INTs). LB Jon Sarris leads Rams with 6.9 tackles per game.

Elliot Christian at Stone Ridge Christian
When/where: Today at 7:30 p.m. at Golden Valley HS in Merced
Records: Elliot (2-6, 0-3 HCL); Stone Ridge Christian (6-2, 2-1 HCL).
Last week: Elliot lost to Millennium 34-27; Stone Ridge beat Sierra Ridge Christian 48-12.
Last season: Elliot won 31-21 at Lincoln High School.
Key matchups: Elliot's defense vs. Stone Ridge's offense. The Eagles, who are giving up an average of 36.5 points per game the last four contests, will need to make big plays and big stops against a mobile and strong-armed Knight QB in Matthew Borges.
Notes: After starting the season 2-2, Elliot has lost its last four games. ...The Eagles are led by QB Mason Vickers who has 983 yards passing and 11 TDs this season. ...Stone Ridge is averaging 34.6 points per game this season. ... The Knights are led by quarterback Matthew Borges who has completed 50 of 90 passes for 868 yards, 11 TDs and 3 interceptions. ... Borges is also the team's leading rusher with 773 yards for a 9.7 per-carry average and eight touchdowns. ... Knight running back Kyle Moore has 591 yards with 10 TDs on the season.
Directions: Take Highway 99 south to the East Childs Avenue exit and go east for one third of a mile. The school is on the north side of the street at 2121 E. Childs Ave. in Merced.

Galt at Oak Ridge
When/where: Today at 7:30 p.m. at Oak Ridge High School.
Records: Galt (4-4, 2-2 SVC); Oak Ridge (4-4, 4-0 SVC).
Last week: Galt lost to Christian Brothers 19-0; Oak Ridge beat Vista del Lago 28-0.
Last season: Oak Ridge won 45-14 at Oak Ridge.
Key matchups: Galt offense vs. Oak Ridge defense. The Galt offense needs to return to the form that saw the Warriors average 33 points during their four-game win streak.
Notes: Galt lost its second straight last week following a four-game win streak. The Warriors have struggled on offense, only scoring three points in the last two games. The defense continued to play well, only allowing 25 points combined in the two losses. Galt RB Trevor Alcoriza is closing in on 1,000 yards (868, 9 TDs). ... The Trojans have won four in a row after opening the season with four straight losses. Jacob Allen leads Oak Ridge in rushing (738 yards, 8 TDs). LB Taylor Reiben leads the Trojans with 10.3 tackles per game.
Directions: Take Highway 99 north to Highway 50 and go east. Take the El Dorado Hills Boulevard exit and go north for two miles. Turn right on Harvard Way and the school is on the right at 1120 Harvard Way in El Dorado Hills.

Reader Feedback

RUFKM wrote on Nov 7, 2008 12:14 PM:

" Good luck Flames in getting to the playoffs.

Good luck Tigers in trying to keep the game close. "

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