Football roundup: Merced finishes 10-0, Southern League ends in 3-way tie
The regular season came to a close Friday night with playoff positioning and league titles on the line across the Central Valley. For some programs, it was about fine-tuning before the postseason. For others, it was one last chance to end the fall on a high note.
The marquee game in the area was a rivalry showdown between Atwater and Los Banos, a contest that carried major playoff implications for both sides. Atwater’s win provided the Falcons with a confidence boost heading into the playoffs, while Los Banos will now wait for its postseason fate in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV bracket.
Elsewhere in Merced County, Merced completed a perfect season, Stone Ridge Christian clinched a share of the Southern League title, and Golden Valley capped its year with a home win. Here’s a look at how every local team finished its regular-season finale:
Stone Ridge Christian 24, San Rafael 13 — Stone Ridge Christian closed out the regular season with a strong defensive showing and a big night from senior Daijon O’Neil, who was all over the stat sheet in the Knights’ points Friday in a road win over San Rafael.
O’Neil put SRC on the board early with a 30-yard field goal, then added rushing touchdowns of 8 and 2 yards while also converting all three extra points. His efforts helped the Knights pull away after leading 10-7 at halftime.
The victory secured a share of the Southern League championship for Stone Ridge Christian (9-1, 5-1 SL), which finished tied with Mariposa County and Denair atop the standings. Denair 59, Waterford 34 — Denair closed out its regular season with a decisive 59-34 victory over Waterford Friday night, securing its share of the Southern League crown with a strong offensive showing.
The Coyotes poured on the points and never let up, building a comfortable margin heading into the playoffs. Waterford’s late scoring could not offset Denair’s balanced attack and momentum.
With the win, Denair 8-2, 5-1 (SL) enters the postseason riding high, while Waterford wraps a challenging year with the Wildcats looking toward next season.
Mariposa County 56, Le Grand 34 — Mariposa County powered to a 56-34 win over Le Grand Friday to close the regular season strong. The Grizzlies finished 9-1 overall and 5-1 in league play — securing a share of the Southern League title.
One standout was running back Rusty Bull, who racked up 330 rushing yards in the contest, including one touchdown.
With that performance, Mariposa enters the postseason with momentum.
Merced 49, Buhach Colony 6 — Merced capped a flawless regular season with a dominant rivalry win Friday night, cruising past Buhach Colony to secure the outright Central California Conference championship. The Bears finished 10-0 overall and 6-0 in league play, marking their first undefeated regular season since 2018.
Senior quarterback Vicente Cortez led the way with two touchdown passes and a 50-yard scoring run as Merced’s offense overwhelmed the Thunder from the start. Tyson Espinoza provided a spark on defense, returning a fumble 81 yards for a touchdown, while Cammarri Jackson, Dougie Andrews, and Anthony Tacheira each added rushing scores.
The Bears will learn their playoff opponent when the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section brackets are revealed Sunday afternoon.
Golden Valley 32, El Capitan 16 — Golden Valley closed its season on a high note Friday night behind a standout all-around performance from junior Isaiah Welch, who scored three rushing touchdowns, returned a fumble for another and intercepted a pass to help the Cougars beat El Capitan at Veterans Stadium.
The Cougars jumped out to an early lead when Gabe Richards scored on a 12-yard run and Welch added a defensive touchdown just seconds later on a fumble return. Welch’s rushing scores of 4, 13 and 7 yards extended the lead as Golden Valley controlled the game on both sides of the ball.
El Capitan made a push in the second half as quarterback Gio Mendoza connected twice with A.J. Jones for touchdowns of 78 and 16 yards. Lorenzo Peters added 102 rushing yards on 19 carries for the Gauchos, who finished their season at 4-6 overall.
Johansen 21, Grace Davis 6 — Johansen wrapped up its best season since 2019 with a 21-6 win over Grace Davis in Thursday’s Western Athletic Conference finale at Downey High. The victory secured the Vikings (7-3, 6-1 WAC) the No. 2 spot in league play and kept their postseason hopes alive ahead of Sunday’s CIF Sac-Joaquin Section selection show.
Senior quarterback Anthony Torres led the way with 63 passing yards and 54 on the ground, including a 15-yard touchdown strike to Gabriel Ibanez late in the first half. Jeydan Saing provided the highlight of the night with a 67-yard touchdown run that broke the game open and later added a 5-yard score set up by a 38-yard punt return from Ibanez.
Grace Davis (6-4, 5-2 WAC) ended a four-game win streak but capped an impressive turnaround season. The Spartans scored their lone touchdown on an 8-yard run by John Castro in the fourth quarter. Both programs entered the week on the playoff bubble, with Davis sitting at No. 12 and Johansen at No. 15 in the MaxPreps SJS Division III rankings — just inside the projected 16-team postseason cut-off.
Hilmar 33, Ripon 21 — Hilmar closed the regular season on a high note Friday night, defeating Ripon to finish 3-3 in Trans-Valley League play and 6-4 overall. The Yellowjackets’ balanced attack helped them pull away in the second half to secure momentum heading into the postseason.
As of Saturday afternoon, Hilmar sits at No. 2 in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division V rankings, positioning the Yellowjackets for a favorable playoff seed. Ripon (5-5, 1-5 TVL) remained inside the top 10 in Division VI despite the loss and is still expected to reach the postseason.
Central Valley 38, Ceres 21 — Central Valley closed out the regular season with a rivalry win Thursday night, taking down Ceres in the Western Athletic Conference finale. The Hawks jumped out early, scoring 28 points in the first half to set the tone and control the pace.
Emanuel Luna rushed for 119 yards and two touchdowns, while Sebastian Maldonado added 170 yards on the ground and another score to lead a dominant rushing attack. Erick Mendoza contributed a touchdown run and Junior Gomez connected for a passing touchdown.
Central Valley finishes the season 4-6, 3-2 WAC, while Ceres finishes just behind them at 3-7, 2-5 WAC.
Pacheco 32, Livingston 22 — Pacheco closed its season with a statement win Friday night, defeating Livingston to pick up its first victory of the year. After falling behind early, the Panthers stormed back with 32 unanswered points to build a 32-6 lead late in the fourth quarter.
The Wolves fought back in the final minutes behind Mathias Valencia, who scored two rushing touchdowns, and Tony Henry, who hauled in a scoring pass, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Pacheco’s second-half surge.
Livingston finished the regular season 3-7 overall and 3-4 in Western Athletic Conference play.
Lathrop 54, Beyer 0 — Lathrop finished the regular season in dominant fashion Friday night, blanking Beyer to clinch the outright Western Athletic Conference championship. The Spartans repeated as undefeated league champions, capping back-to-back perfect WAC seasons.
The Spartans’ offense overwhelmed the Patriots from the start, scoring early and often while the defense recorded its first shutout of the year. Lathrop improved to 9-1 overall entering the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs, where it is expected to earn a top seed in Division III.
Beyer wrapped up its season at 3-7 and entered the week ranked No. 16 in Division III, sitting on the edge of playoff qualification ahead of Sunday’s selection show.
