Marques has Hilmar back on the big stage again with shot at another section title.

Don’t be surprised if Hilmar High football coach Frank Marques packs a tape measure when the Yellowjackets head to Joe Debely Stadium at Turlock High on Friday night to face Ripon Christian for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI championship game.

If he’s learned anything from his previous seven championship game appearances, it’s to avoid making the game bigger than it is.

So you may see Marques steal a scene from “Hoosiers” and do his best Gene Hackman as coach Norman Dale impersonation as he measures the goal posts for his players.

“You have to stay away from the hype,” Marques said. “I remember that great scene from ‘Hoosiers’ when they measure the basket. It’s still the same game. It’s easy to get caught up in all the emotions. You try to downplay the game because there’s going to be enough hype as it is.”

It’s a matchup of two teams that have reached section title games in consecutive years. Ripon Christian (12-0) lost to Rio Vista 56-28 in the Division VII championship last season. Hilmar (10-2) is vying for its second consecutive Division VI championship after defeating Modesto Christian 42-13 last season.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Marques knows defeating the Knights will be a tall task. Ripon Christian features a balanced offense that averages 40 points per game. Running back Michael Kamps has rushed for 1,585 yards and 28 touchdowns. Cade Alger has passed for 1,244 yards and 19 touchdowns with just three interceptions.

The Ripon Christian defense hasn’t surrendered more than 17 points in a game and features two players who finished with double-digit sacks totals in Declan Van Vuren (12.5 sacks) and Drew Van Vliet (11 sacks).

“They are very fundamental. They don’t make mistakes,” Marques said. “They are huge, by far the biggest team we’ve played all year. They are as advertised. They would fit right in with us in the (Trans-Valley League).

The Yellowjackets counter with an experienced group led by running backs Isaac Sharp and Justin Rentfro. Hilmar also has a quality defense that’s allowed just over 12 points per game.

Hilmar, which entered the season with 17 returning starters, withstood the rigorous TVL, which many consider the top small-school league in the state.

The Yellowjackets also have the experience of Marques guiding them.

In his 16 seasons, Marques, 56, has led Hilmar to eight section title game appearances. If the Yellowjackets win on Friday night, Marques will become just the 17th coach in Sac-Joaquin Section history to win four section championships, joining a list that includes former Hilmar great Jerry Van Lengen, who led the Yellowjackets to four consecutive titles from 1986-89.

“I just feel fortunate to be at a place with such rich tradition,” said Marques, who has a career record of 143-49. “We had that run in the 80s. I wanted us to get back to that level.”

This is the Yellowjackets’ third championship game appearance in the last four years.

Marques took over the Hilmar program in 2003, and with the help of a sophomore quarterback by the name of Nathan Costa, took the Yellowjackets to the Division IV title game that first year.

There was Marques, a rookie head coach with a sophomore quarterback, against Escalon coaching legend Mark Loureiro, who had already won five of his seven section titles.

“We went on a good run to get to the section title game that year,” Marques said. “Everything happened so fast, I don’t think I knew what was going on until it was over. I didn’t think about going up against Loureiro.”

The Yellowjackets lost the game 21-20 when Hilmar missed a field goal on the game’s final play.

“We probably missed that field goal two feet to the left,” Marques said. “What people don’t know about that game was our kicker was playing with broken ribs after a quad accident.”

Escalon would beat Hilmar again in the 2005 title game 23-0. Marques and Hilmar would return the favor with a 23-20 win over the Cougars in 2011.

“The thing that sets coach Marques apart is No. 1, he cares about his players,” said Costa, who went on to play at the University of Oregon and is now working for Chip Kelly at UCLA as an offensive analyst. “They are not just football players to him. They’re young men in the community. Secondly, it’s his ability to adapt, whether it’s installing a new offensive system or trusting a young defensive coordinator.

“If you look at what he’s doing now with the girl trainers, using them to call in signals. He’s always been ahead of the game.”

Hilmar was one of the first programs in the Southern half of the section to change to the spread offense. Marques made the move in 2004 to play to Costa’s strength.

“He put in the time and money to go back to Northwestern University because they were running a lot of the zone-read stuff before anybody else,” Costa said. “We adapted from a power-I offense where we maybe threw the ball eight times a game to a spread offense.”

Hilmar’s first section championship under Marques came against Central Catholic in 2008. The Raiders were looking for their seventh straight section title that year and the Yellowjackets pulled a shocking 17-6 upset.

“That was special because Central Catholic hadn’t lost to a public school in forever,” Marques said. “Our team went through some turmoil during the season. Nobody gave us a chance in that game. That was probably the biggest game of my career.”

Central Catholic coach Roger Canepa says it’s one of those losses that sticks with you.

“We had beat them in league that year and they did a good job,” said Canepa, who avenged the loss with a win over Hilmar in the 2013 title game. “We had an injury or two, but I’m not one to make excuses. Their kids played harder than our kids that day. They formationed us a bit and caught us off guard. I’m a humble guy and I tell it like it is, they did a better job of coaching than us that day.”

Marques graduated from Hilmar in 1981 and started his coaching career as an assistant at HIlmar in 1983. Other than a two-year stint in which he helped Tony Lewis at Merced College in 1997 and 1998, Marques has been coaching at Hilmar since 1983.

“You look at the teams that win consistently and there’s a reason why,” Canepa said. “Granted, you have to have kids, but you have a head coach and you have a staff that sticks together. Frank and his staff have done a great job for a long time.”

Marques has 12 coaches in his program and almost all of them played for him at some point. Despite coaching for 35 years, Marques doesn’t sound like someone ready to walk away. The beard may be a little grayer, but the fire is still there.

“I take it year by year,” he said.. “I can tell around Christmas if I’m excited for the upcoming season. I’ll know when it’s time and I know one thing, I don’t want a farewell tour.”