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Who are the top 10 high school football teams in SJC after Week 5?

Scott Niendorf
·7 min read

STOCKTON — One thing the top squads in the area each have is players who make big plays that can swing momentum in their favor.

High school football fans this year have witnessed numerous tide-turning shoestring tackles, key interceptions, kickoff returns or electrifying touchdown catches as their teams earn wins to qualify for coveted postseason berths.

We’ve seen the Record’s Top 10 teams stay in or climb in our poll because of big plays. Here are the rankings following Week 5 as voted on by our sideline reporters.

1. St. Mary’s (4-1) 30 points

Week 6 game: home vs. Lodi (2-3)

The Rams defense came up big again in a 41-31 road win at Bishop Amat-La Puente (1-4). St. Mary’s Samson Hunkin and Omari Gayles each intercepted a Lancers pass to stop a drive and teammate Adam Taylor’s fourth quarter 40-yard pick-six broke open a tight game.

More: Which 5 San Joaquin County football players shined in Week 5?

A road loss at De La Salle, a game in which St. Mary’s led early, is the lone blemish on the Rams’ challenging preseason slate that has them ranked No. 2 in the Sac-Joaquin Section by MaxPreps and No. 23 in California.

St. Mary’s will get to open Tri-City Athletic League action this week comfortably at home against Lodi, who just endured a 48-6 shellacking by Manteca. The Flames had minus-34 yards rushing in the first half against the Buffaloes and may have to resort to an air attack against arguably the top defensive front and secondary in the 209.

2. Escalon (4-1) 27 points

Week 6 game: away at Hughson (4-1)

The Cougars open Trans-Valley League play against the rival Huskies, who beat Escalon last year 29-14 while piling up 492 yards of offense to the Cougars’ 296. It wasn’t a fluke loss as Hughson went on to a 13-2 record and a CIF V-AA State Bowl championship win against Muir-Pasadena.

This will be a very interesting matchup as Escalon, the defending CIF IV-AA State Bowl champions, and Hughson have most all their rosters back with a few exceptions from last season. Huskies junior quarterback Robert McDaniel will have four of six receivers back who reeled in 281 yards and two TDs in last year’s victory. Get there early for the clash of the state bowl champions.

Tracy's Aidan Van Os takes the snap on an extra point against Antelope High on Friday, Nov. 4, 2022.
Tracy's Aidan Van Os takes the snap on an extra point against Antelope High on Friday, Nov. 4, 2022.

3. Tracy (4-1) 24 points

Week 6 game: home vs. Lincoln (3-2)

The Bulldogs defense gave themselves a chance against Rocklin (5-0) holding the Thunder to their lowest points in a game this season, but it could not keep up with the section’s fourth-ranked team. The big play of the game for Tracy was quarterback Aiden VanOs’s 43-yard touchdown pass to receiver David Goularte, while the Bulldogs got touchdown runs from Tommy Hayes and Daniel Chavez in the loss.

The Bulldogs enter TCAL play with a crucial early matchup against Lincoln, who rallied late to beat East Union. The Bulldogs have shown they are a balanced team on offense and pack a solid defensive punch, but the Trojans have shown they never quit until the final whistle.

Manteca running back Nikko Juarez bursts through a huge hole created by the Manteca offensive line during a game between Manteca High School and Lodi High at The Grape Bowl in Lodi.
Manteca running back Nikko Juarez bursts through a huge hole created by the Manteca offensive line during a game between Manteca High School and Lodi High at The Grape Bowl in Lodi.

4. Manteca (3-2) 21 points

Week 6 game: home vs. Kimball (2-3)

The Buffaloes defense played and hit the Flames as if they were trying to get two weeks of playing into one game after a bye following a loss for a 48-6 victory at Lodi.

Manteca led 34-0 after the first quarter as the Buffaloes linemen opened up huge rushing lanes for the running backs. Manteca junior Angel Resendez had 116 rushing yards in the first half alone with a 28-yard touchdown run, threw a 46-yard halfback option pass for a touchdown to teammate Quinn Martinez, and returned a short second-half kickoff for a 65-yard touchdown to start the running clock.

Kimball, like East Union, lost a game against Lincoln in the final seconds, but is coming off a 21-7 win at Dublin.

5. Edison (4-2) 18 points

Week 6 game: home vs. Chavez (2-4)

The Vikings overcame a slow start against McNair trailing 13-6 at the half before Edison rallied to throttle the Eagles 42-21 to move to 3-0 atop SJAA standings with Linden.

Edison will host the Titans, who earned their second win of the season with a 35-0 thumping of Franklin. Edison may take out some of their frustration on their poor first half against the Eagles to avoid a similar letdown against Chavez.

6. Lincoln (3-2) 15 points

Week 6 game: away at Tracy (4-1)

The Trojans are getting good at comeback victories after rallying with three fourth-quarter touchdowns, two in the final four minutes, to edge the Lancers last week 27-26. Lincoln drove for a game-winning touchdown earlier this season against Kimball with just seconds left on the clock.

More: Lincoln football survives East Union in fourth quarter comeback

The Trojans get to travel to face Tracy in their TCAL opener against the Bulldogs, the last undefeated team in the San Joaquin region to lose when it stumbled against Rocklin.

Lincoln will have to avoid another slow start as the Bulldogs, who were just a couple of plays away from possibly beating Rocklin, will likely take any early advantage and then grind down the clock with their powerful rushing attack.

7. East Union (3-2) 9 points

Week 6 game: home vs. Central Catholic (3-2)

East Union paid the price for twice trying to convert fourth downs and failing well inside its own half of the field and giving up three fourth-quarter touchdowns to the Trojans in a 27-26 loss at Lincoln. The Lancers led 20-6 at the start of the fourth quarter and 26-13 with about four minutes left in the game before the Trojans rallied for the win.

The Lancers now enter the Valley Oak League gauntlet against the Big Three — Central Catholic, Oakdale and Manteca. The Raiders come to East Union having lost this season only to St. Mary’s and Serra-San Mateo, the latter being the 5th-ranked team in California and 23rd by MaxPreps.

East Union has gotten better each year and would like to get at least one win, if not more, against the big brothers of the VOL. It has the passing game to compete with them, but the defense will tell if they’re ready to join them or not.

8. Stagg (4-2) 8 points

Week 6 game: away at Bear Creek (3-3)

The Delta Kings are back in the rankings after a 32-14 win at Weston Ranch and are 2-1 in the SJAA.

The Bruins are coming off a 36-6 home loss to Linden and Stagg will do well to contain Bear Creek’s Jeremiah Robertson, who has seven touchdowns for the Bruins, if it wants to win.

9. Tokay (3-2) 5 points

Week 6 game: home vs. Merrill West (4-1)

Tokay drops in the rankings into a tie with Linden after its bye but gets the nod here due to a higher-ranking vote. The Tigers enter TCAL play against a much-improved Wolf Pack squad that is coming off a nice 27-7 road win at Argonaut.

The Tigers need to get every win they can in order to qualify for the postseason. This is a good chance to show they deserve it.

10. Linden (5-1) 5 points

Week 6 game: away at Franklin (1-5)

The Lions routed Bear Creek 36-6 last week to stay tied atop the SJAA standings with Edison at 3-0. Landen Ly churned out 190 rushing yards on 20 carries for the Lions, while sophomore teammate Deandre Smith caught seven passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns in the win at Bear Creek.

Linden’s busses will travel the 9.5 miles down Highway 26 to play on the Yellowjackets’ new turf hoping to add to their five-game win streak.

Others receiving votes: Sierra

This article originally appeared on The Record: Who are the top 10 high school football teams in SJC after Week 5?