Perea to carry on tradition of the Shepherd Stick
Manteca High junior Tommy Perea has been selected as the program’s next Shepherd. He will lead the Buffaloes into the 2023 season.
By HUDSON WYATT
The Tower
The Shepherd Stick doesn’t look like it carries much significance or value, but for the Manteca High football team, that rounded and rusting pole means everything.
The Shepherd Stick began in 2004 with Eric Reis, the program’s all-time winningest coach. The player elected to carry it is anointed as the Herd’s chosen leader.
There have been 19 to carry the stick onto the field for practices and Friday night battles, including Alijah Cota this past fall, and the tradition will continue next season with linebacker Tommy Perea.
Perea was selected by Cota during a ceremony at the year-end banquet.
Perea is a junior and two-year member of the varsity team. Last season, he amassed 23 solo stops and 27 assisted tackles with two forced fumbles. Perea also played sparingly on offense.
“I feel honored to be picked for this special tradition,” Perea said. “It is a big achievement for me and one of the biggest in Manteca football history.”
Manteca High junior linebacker Tommy Perea (30) had 50 tackles last season. He has been chosen as the program’s next Shepherd.
Cota was a three-year varsity starter, guiding the Buffaloes to three Sac-Joaquin Section championships. From a deserving group of players, Cota said he chose Perea because he embodied the spirit of the Shepherd.
“I picked Tommy because I see all the adversity that Tommy has gone through,” Cota said, “and he has never let it bring him down. He has prevailed and made the most of all his opportunities throughout these last two years.”
Perea’s goal next season is to bring the team together and win another section championship. It will be a bigger test for the Buffaloes, who have been bumped up to Division I. The Buffaloes have won a section title five out of the last six years.
“I want to get the team more disciplined,” Perea said. “It is a little bit loose right now but when the season comes, we will be ready. We know what type of teams we will have to face.”
Coach Mark Varnum has had many Sheps in the past and expects a lot from Perea and this new team.
“Tommy has been waiting for this moment for a long time,” Varnum said. “I hope he carries on the tradition of the great Sheps in the past.”