Bright future for football: Lower levels undefeated
By ETHAN FRASER
The Tower
Cheering. Yelling. The clash of helmets and pads. Football is a violent sport that attracts hundreds of thousands each week to its stadiums. At Manteca High, each Thursday and Friday evening, the crowd roars with excitement and passion. More and more people show up to the games, rooting the Buffaloes toward victory. The JV and Freshman football teams at Manteca High had successful seasons going undefeated.
The JV and freshman football teams had successful seasons with both teams combining for 21 wins and no losses with 845 points scored and 116 conceded. These stats at the lower-level levels hint at a bright future for Manteca High.
“We have great talent,” freshman football coach Vincent Bordi said. “We have guys fighting to get the chance to play football at Manteca High.”
Cameron Jimenez lines up at defensive back on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, at Gus Schmidt Field. (Quinn Martinez)
The freshman football team has had an amazing season going 11-0 overall for the first time in seven years. The team scored 389 points and only conceded 26 points, conceding, on average, less than a field goal a game. The freshmen have been through thick and thin together, Bordi said, suffering some losses of players due to grades and not having enough willingness to fight on the field.
"Some players quit because they couldn't handle the heat,” Bordi said. “That's fine because we were left with all the dogs."
There were many standout players on the freshman team, one being David Grisham.
Bordi said: “He was unreal for us.”
Grisham had an amazing season, averaging 106.2 rushing yards a game. He finished with 1,062 rushing yards on 122 carries and 17 rushing touchdowns. He also had five receptions for 99 yards with two receiving touchdowns. Although Grisham had an amazing season, he couldn’t have done it without some key players.
“Some standout players were Erick Cortez, Josiah Martinez and Nathan Slikker,” Grisham said. “I couldn’t have done it without them.”
Cortez had 17 carries for 211 yards with four rushing touchdowns. Martinez had 15 carries for 90 yards with four touchdowns. Slikker had seven receptions for 253 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
“Throughout the season we worked hard and did everything we could,” Grisham said. “We had a great coaching staff and everything we could ask for.”
Manteca High sophomore Cameron Jimenez trains on the field at Gus Schmidt field on Oct. 4, 2023. (Quinn Martinez)
The JV football team had a great season as well, going 10-0 for the first time since 2019. They conceded 90 points all season and scored a total of 456.
Motivation is key to playing at a higher level and the JV team was highly motivated this season. Cameron Jimenez is a star wide receiver on the team and is proof that motivation comes from a variety of sources. Jimenez gained his motivation from a setback last season.
Jimenez said: “My motivation this season was our loss against Oakdale last season.”
He took the loss personally and turned it into motivation for the season. Many players have their own motivation but for Manteca High’s JV team they stick with a simple team prayer before a game. Winning games doesn’t just take a simple prayer, but it takes a willingness to work a fight as a team.
“Our success came from our effort and our work ethic,” Jimenez said. “We took it seriously at practice.”
Jimenez was a wide receiver who led the team in receiving yards. He couldn’t have done it by himself, though, and credit his relationship with quarterback Owen Gully.
“I think everybody stood out in their own ways and contributed to the team,” Jimenez said.
Manteca High students Janson Pineda and Jonathan Aleman contributed to the report.