Running backs have shined this fall in Merced County. Will that continue in the playoffs?
If there was one position that shined this fall for Merced-area high school football teams it was running backs.
If you look among the Sac-Joaquin Section rushing leaders this season you’ll see plenty of Merced County names.
Buhach Colony’s Jaxson Percoats (second, 1,589 yards), Golden Valley’s Jahkylle Smith (third, 1,564), Stone Ridge Christian’s Hector Esquivez (eighth, 1,386) and Merced’s Chase Smith (11th, 1,324), Hilmar’s Luis Vargas (14th, 1,213) and Pacheco’s Abel Bravo (16th, 1,199) all finished among the top running backs in the Sac-Joaquin Section through the regular season.
It’s not a coincidence that all six of those teams qualified for the playoffs.
Rushing success has equated to more wins for local teams and expect them to continue relying on their rushing attack as they open the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs on Friday.
“It’s vital to win football games that you’re able to run the ball,” said Merced coach Rob Scheidt, whose team earned the No. 5 seed in the Division III playoffs and will host No. 12 Ceres. “Even if you’re not able to move the ball through the air, you can win games playing good defense and running the ball.”
How much are teams running the ball in Merced County? Not one quarterback had thrown from 1,500 yards this season, which is an average of 150 passing yards per game.
Only Dos Palos’ Peyton Van Worth (1,428 yards) Le Grand’s Julian Bucio (1,401) have close. Only two other quarterbacks in Atwater’s Tyler Parr (1,178) and El Capitan’s Ceaser Manzo (1,276) have topped 1,000 yards. Golden Valley’s Eleazar Garza passed for 999 yards before a broken bone in his leg ended his season after eight games.
“I think you have to look at the level of experience at the quarterbacks throughout our area,” Scheidt said. “You don’t have a lot of second or third-year guys pulling the trigger. I think you have to have that and good guys around him. Eleazar is a third-year guy, but they had so much success in the running game they didn’t have to move the ball down the field through the air.”
Many teams are using their quarterbacks as another weapon in their rushing attack.
Los Banos junior quarterback David Herrera has carried the ball 138 times for 879 ‘yards and 13 touchdowns, including four touchdowns in a 49-16 win over Pacheco in the Crosstown Clash last week.
Add Tigers running back Mark Caerreiro’s 860 rushing yards and eight touchdowns and you have a duo that has combined for 1,739 yards and 21 touchdowns.
The Tigers (8-2) are the No. 8 seed in Division IV and will host No. 9 Buhach Colony (4-6) and Percoats on Friday at Loftin Stadium.
Hilmar (7-3) has a similar two-threat rushing attack with Vargas and sophomore quarterback Caden Bailey (672 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns). Together Vargas and Bailey have racked up 1,885 yards and 24 touchdowns.
The Yellowjackets used their running game to lead the way to a Trans-Valley League championship and a first-round bye in the Division V playoffs at the No. 4 seed.
“I think when you’re running the ball well you’re usually controlling the line of scrimmage,” said Hilmar coach Frank Marques. “At the high school level, if you can control the line of scrimmage, you can control the game.”
Running the ball has always been a winning recipe in football and area teams hope that will continue in the playoffs.
“When you control the ball you’re keeping the other team from scoring,” Marques added. “When you’re running the ball you’re using up the clock and winning the time of possession.”
Sac-Joaquin Section Playoffs
Friday
Division III
No. 9 Golden Valley at No. 8 Woodcreek
No. 12 Ceres at No. 5 Merced
Division IV
No. 9 Buhach Colony at No. 8 Los Banos
Division V
No. 12 Pacheco at No. 5 Escalon
Division VI
No. 12 Delhi at No. 5 Bradshaw Christian
Central Section
Division V
No. 14 West Bakersfield at No. 3 Dos Palos
Division VI
No. 10 Riverdale at No. 7 Chowchilla
This story was originally published November 3, 2022 at 12:21 PM.
