Playoffs give Merced and Stone Ridge Christian rematch opportunities

When it comes to movies, sequels hardly ever surpass or even measure up to the original movie.

Sure, there have been some outstanding ones to hit the big screen, such as “The Godfather Part II,” “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.”

More often than not, you’re stuck with “Dumb and Dumberer” or “The Hangover Part II.”

The Merced High School football team is hoping the sequel trend doesn’t translate to football. The Bears (8-3) are hoping their second matchup against Del Campo (6-5) goes better than their season-opening 26-21 loss to the Cougars.

Fifth-seeded Merced travels Friday to No. 4 Del Campo in Sacramento for a Sac-Joaquin Section Division III quarterfinal matchup. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

“I think the best approach for a rematch is to have a positive approach with it,” said Merced coach Rob Scheidt. “It’s tough to beat a team twice in a season. On the other hand, we still have to make that bus trip again. They’re a very good football team and they’re playing as good as they were in the beginning of the year.

“But every game is different. I’ve lost games where we beat the team earlier in the season. Turlock in 2002 comes to mind. So it can go either way.”

Stone Ridge Christian (9-2) is also playing a rematch in Saturday’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division VII championship game at Bear Creek High against Brookside Christian (7-4) at 1 p.m.

Just as new characters are often introduced in sequels, new players can make an impact in rematches.

Enter Reuben Lee.

The Brookside Christian running back was sitting out after transferring from Lincoln High when Stone Ridge Christian defeated Brookside 33-26 on Sept. 24.

Lee made his season debut in the following game and has rushed for 1,419 yards and 17 touchdowns in just six games. The junior is averaging over 20 yards per carry.

The addition of Lee gives Brookside Christian a three-headed monster on offense with quarterback Quincy Glasper (2,771 passing yards and 34 touchdowns) and receiver Justin Williams (61 catches for 1,159 yards and 17 touchdowns).

Stone Ridge Christian also has a key player who didn’t play in the first game in running back Shane Casillas, who has worked his way back from a leg injury. Casillas will help shoulder the offensive load with star back Jonathan Collazo, who has racked up 1,376 yards and 21 touchdowns.

Adding drama to the rematch will be the absence of Stone Ridge coach Keith Borges, who was ejected at the end of the last week’s 47-0 win over Delta and is serving a one-game suspension.

The Merced-Del Campo game will also see some players playing different roles in the rematch this week.

“They got bigger,” said Scheidt, who was already concerned with Del Campo’s size before watching recent game film this week. “I’m not joking. Against us, they went with quicker, smaller guys. Now they are playing a 320-pound nose guard (Shavian Fiatoa-melei) and he’s a good football player.

“We’re different, too. We have a two-quarterback system, which we didn’t have when we played them. We played without our right tackle (Clifford Johnson), and we had some younger guys (Xavier Stewart and Dhameer Warren) who were playing their first games. When we play them, those guys can change the game.”

Merced did all of its scoring late in the first matchup against Del Campo. The Bears are hoping a better start could lead to a better outcome.

“We had missed opportunities in the first half,” Scheidt said. “The game totally changes if we’re able to take advantage of those opportunities. Our ability to surge at the end gives us confidence that we have the opportunity to play against this team.”

This story was originally published November 17, 2016 at 3:02 PM with the headline "Playoffs give Merced and Stone Ridge Christian rematch opportunities."