‘They’ve put guys in the NFL’: Tough test for football in opener
(Jesus Gomez/The Tower)
By ANGEL RESENDIZ-TOLEDO
The Tower
The Manteca High football team, a nine-time Sac-Joaquin Section champion, travels to Elk Grove on Friday, August 23, for a 7:15 p.m. kickoff.
The highly anticipated season opener features two of the top teams in the section. Manteca is No. 11 in the section’s all-divisions rankings, according to MaxPreps.com, coming off an 8-4 record and reaching the Division II semifinals. Manteca’s playoff run consisted of beating No. 10 Granite Bay in the first round, 21-14, but ultimately its playoff run was stopped by No. 4 St. Mary’s, 41-12.
Elk Grove is No. 21 in the same poll and returns a veteran cast from a team that qualified for the postseason. Elk Grove and Manteca don’t have much of a past, playing once in 2004, the start of the MaxPreps era.
“I’m excited,” said Manteca head coach Mark Varnum, entering his seventh season. Varnum has a career record of 52-14. “They’re a big-time program – perennial D1/ D2. They’ve put guys in the NFL. It’s a great test for us. I’m glad we got them on schedule. We take care of business.”
Manteca enters its third season in Division II and once again, will have to prove that it can compete for a championship among some of the section’s largest schools.
“This is a good group. Man, they’ve been fun to coach so far. I tell them every day. You know, the talent round this group, it’s a lot higher,” Varnum said. “... It’s not just a couple guys that are going to carry the team. We got a whole unit. I’m excited to get going Friday night.”
Manteca has lost some players on the offensive side, such as star running back Bryson Davis (Modesto Junior College football) who last year boasted a hefty amount of work: 1,497 yards and 19 touchdowns despite missing games with an arm injury. Senior wide receiver Juju Moncada, the Buffaloes’ top target with 314 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns, also chose not to play; instead, he’ll focus on track.
Manteca also graduated quarterback Garrison Reis (682 passing yards and 5 touchdowns), and starting offensive linemen Bryson McMichael (Modesto Junior College football) and Chris King (Modesto Junior College track).
Despite its personnel losses, the Buffaloes do have a foundation of returning talent of the offensive side of the ball, including: sophomore running back Nikko Juarez, who 480 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns in eight varsity games. Lineman Tomasi Sovatabua returns as a three-year starter at tackle.
“I’m excited,” Sovatabua said. “It’s my last year. I’m ready to show out.”
True to form, Manteca’s success will likely be defined by its work on defense, where defensive coordinator Rick James must replace middle linebacker Tommy Perea, safety Jhadis Luckey, and outside linebacker Kaden MacDannald.
“I feel like our returning players got stronger and faster and we are coming back way better,” said defensive back Eddie Anthony, entering his third season at the varsity level. “For the players we lost, we filled up the spots with pretty good talent.”
Varnum is excited.
“I’m rooting up for the guys that are here,” he said, “so I am excited about the returns. We have all-league caliber guys coming back (and) four guys that been on varsity for three plus years. We have the experience. We have the talent and now it’s time to show it Friday night.”
The talent that is returning this year consists of starting middle linebacker Ruben Moreno, the team’s Shepherd with 66 total tackles; Anthony (16 total tackles); interception leader Carson Sablan (46 total tackles, 3 interceptions), a down-hill safety; three-year starting cornerback Chris Chavez (42 total tackles, 2 interceptions); and cornerback Quinn Martinez (36 total tackles, 1 sack, 2 interceptions).
The defensive line has heavy hitters like sack leader Joshua Mellion (36 total tackles, 6 sacks), and Isaiah White, the team’s top returning tackler (93 total tackles, 4 sacks).
“I’m pretty excited,” White said. “It’s my senior year. I get to play one last time with my brothers, and we get to go out there and show our team is capable of greatness.”
Elk Grove is led by quarterback David Hale, the team’s offensive leader last season. Hale is a dual-threat quarterback who amassed 393 passing yards and five passing touchdowns, 591 rushing yards and a team-high 14 touchdowns during Elk Grove’s playoff run in 2023.
Running back Dylan Archuleta rushed for 308 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns, 110 receiving yards with one receiving touchdown. Wide receiver Jermiah Williams led the team in receiving yards with 190. He also had 238 rushing yards with two rushing touchdowns.
“Defensively, the only things we have to stop is their toss and QB option,” senior captain Josiah Sagapolu said. “Other than that, I think our defense is going to strap them down. ... (Hale) can throw, but he’s fast. He's like Lamar Jackson.”