The football season is here with big matchups for Merced, Buhach Colony. Who wins?

The high school football season is finally upon us. Players have been grinding in the weight room, many of them since January, waiting for their opportunity to get back on the field.

Now it’s their time.

In Merced County we have plenty of major storylines going into the 2017 season. The biggest one maybe the five new coaches who will be patrolling the sidelines for El Capitan, Atwater, Dos Palos, Stone Ridge Christian and Gustine. Most of them longtime time assistants who will finally get their shot to run a program.

We have teams like Merced, Chowchilla, Hilmar and Stone Ridge Christian that will try to continue their string of recent success.

Meanwhile, other teams will try to rebound from losing seasons and compete for playoff spots.

It all kicks off on Friday night with 14 local teams in action. Each week I’ll offer my predictions for each game. The first week is one of the toughest because I don’t have much to go on. I might be better off flipping coins, but here we go.

Downey vs Buhach Colony (at Atwater High): The Knights are the five-time defending Modesto Metro Conference champions. This game features a great matchup with Downey’s UCLA-bound senior Isaiah Johnson possibly matching up against Buhach Colony’s Colorado-bound defensive back L.J. Wallace.

The Thunder brought up seven sophomores last year and six of them return. (Kyle Beaudry transferred). This should be one of the top matchups in the first week.

Prediction: Downey.

Del Campo at Merced (Veterans Stadium): Two teams that played twice last year with the Cougars defeating Merced to open the season and the Bears then knocking Del Campo out of the playoffs in the second matchup. The Bears lost a lot of seniors from last year’s team that reached the semifinals of the playoffs. Merced does return a dynamic quarterback in Dhameer Warren. There will be a lot of new faces in key spots for the Bears.

Del Campo returns quarterback Tyler Dimino and running back Greg Cabral, who rushed for a section-leading 2,417 yards and 21 touchdowns last season. The Cougars also return top receivers Trevor Brouhns and David Joseph.

Prediction: Del Campo

Golden Valley at Gregori: The Cougars have an almost entire new cast of characters with only a few returning players that saw significant time last year. Gone are three-year starters at quarterback Armando Muzquiz and running back Isaiah Montanez.

Golden Valley coach Dennis Stubbs does like his defense and the Cougars looked impressive during their scrimmage, keeping a very big and athletic Edison team out of the end zone. Gregori is the first of four nonconference games against playoff teams from last season for Golden Valley.

Prediction: Golden Valley.

Atwater vs Central Valley (at Ceres High): Falcons coach Seneca Ybarra is one of the five new coaches this year as he tries to help Atwater rebound from an 0-10 season last year. Ybarra’s first step was to make sure his players hit the weights hard to get bigger and stronger. Atwater was outmanned last season.

The Hawks are coming off one of their best seasons in school history after a 9-2 finish and a Western Athletic Conference championship.

Prediction: Central Valley.

El Capitan at Calaveras: Frank Solis will coach his first game as the Gauchos new head coach. Calaveras defeated El Capitan 25-7 last season. Calaveras is always a physical team. El Capitan made strides on defense last season, but are still looking for its first winning season in its fourth year.

Prediction: Calaveras.

Hilmar vs Beyer (at Modesto Christian): The Yellowjackets lost one of their top players when running back Joshua Lee Jennings injured his knee in this game last year. Hilmar will be young this season after losing a talented senior class. Look for a breakout season from Justin Rentfro for Hilmar.

Prediction: Hilmar.

Livingston at Delhi: This is another tough game to pick. I’ve gone back and forth on this one. The Wolves are looking to bounce back from a 1-9 season. The Hawks doubled up the Wolves 42-21 in last year’s matchup. Livingston returns quarterback Eduardo Mendoza and running back Anderson Guzman. Delhi has some size up front, but will miss senior Jesse Flores.

Prediction: Delhi

Los Banos at Madera: The Tigers have to replace a lot on offense with quarterback Christian Corral and running back Christopher Kyles graduating. Potential quarterback Kody Cardoza also opted to focus on baseball. Los Banos does return receiver Daniel Guerrero.

The Coyotes are coming off an 0-10 season.

Prediction: Los Banos.

Madera South at Pacheco: The Panthers play the first of seven home games this season. Aric Barton returns at quarterback and Pacheco feels its defense should be improved. The Panthers held their own in a three-way scrimmage last week against Golden Valley and Edison of Fresno.

Prediction: Pacheco.

Yosemite at Le Grand: The Bulldogs will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony before Friday’s game as they host their first game in the new Fontes Geary Athletic Field. While Le Grand hopes to pack the stands, it won’t be as crowded on the sideline as the Bulldogs enter the season with a roster of 17 players.

Prediction: Yosemite.

Fresno Christian at Stone Ridge Christian: The Eagles handed the Knights a 20-12 loss last season. The SRC defense will have to contain Tyler Villines, who rushed for 937 yards and 16 touchdowns last season. Running back Shane Casillas looks healthy this season for Stone Ridge Christian and should see plenty of carries.

Prediction: Stone Ridge Christian.

Chowchilla vs Roosevelt (at Sunnyside High): This is Chowchilla’s first game as the Tribe. The trio of Asa Shields, Justin Cantrell and Damon Perry will be tough to stop out of the backfield for Chowchilla. Cantrell and Perry will also be the backbone of the defense at middle linebacker.

Prediction: Chowchilla.

Sierra Pacific at Dos Palos: The Broncos won a tough game on the road last season, coming home with a 34-28 win over the Golden Bears. Get to this game early because both teams like to run the ball.

Sierra Pacific returns running back Phillips Jackson, who was third on the team with 984 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns. the Broncos will look to pound the ball on the ground with their running back by committee of Brandon Doucette, Nick Lopez, Isaac Adams and Maximus Gaona.

Prediction: Dos Palos.

Last season: 119-25 (.826). This season 0-0.

This story was originally published August 23, 2017 at 4:02 PM with the headline "The football season is here with big matchups for Merced, Buhach Colony. Who wins?."