Lions all-star football game special for former Hilmar coach. Here’s what to know
The 50th annual Lions All-Star Game on Saturday will be special for former Hilmar High football coach Frank Marques.
Marques, who will lead the South team, said his memories of the all-star football game don’t just come from the three times he was a coach (two-time head coach, one-time assistant). He also played in the 1981 game.
“This game has always meant a lot to me and my personal history,” he said. “One of my goals going into my senior year was I really wanted to make that Lions All-Star Game. It was super prestigious to make the Lions All-Star Game. It was the thing to do.”
He remembers the new friends he made staying a week at Stanislaus State where players camped and practiced and then played at the end of the week. He remembers using the game as a bar, seeing how he stacked up against other top players in the area.
“There’s some of the kids I played with back in ‘81 that I still have contact with,” Marques said. “Every time I see something from them on social media or see them around, there’s still memories of the game because you’ve lived together for a week and made really strong bonds.”
He has since wrapped up coaching career at his alma mater that included 23 seasons, 199 wins, four Sac-Joaquin Section championships and one state title.
The local legend will coach his second all-star event in as many weeks. Last weekend, he led the North Team in the third Merced County All-Star football Classic at Golden Valley High School. He retired from coaching after the 2025 season just one win shy of 200 career victories. The Yellowjackets fell in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V semifinals.
“I took great pride in being a Lions All-Star, and the fact that I get to be involved in the 50th anniversary is really special, and it means a lot to me personally.”
Game logistics
When: Saturday, June 20, 2026
Where: Tracy High School’s Wayne Schneider Stadium
Time: Flag football at 5 p.m., tackle football game will follow (scheduled for 7 p.m.)
Admission: $15 general admission tickets are available on GoFan.
Adding a flag football game
This year’s event features a new element: girls flag football.
The setup is the same: North (from Escalon to Stockton and the Mother Lode) and South (Merced area to Modesto area) teams were assembled. For the first time, more than 30 of the top flag football players will take the field at 5 p.m., before the boys’ tackle football game, and a winner will be crowned. The North team will be coached by Kimball of Tracy head coach David Rios, and the South team will have two head coaches, Nathan Ramirez and Capri Abbasi of Atwater.
The newest addition to the game comes at a key time in the advancement of flag football locally, statewide and nationwide. According to the CIF’s California Sports Participation Census, during the 2024-25 school year, girls flag football continued to surge in its second season as a CIF-sanctioned sport. It had an 84% increase (19,921 participants), the biggest growth of any sport statewide. It ranked seventh overall in girls sports participation.
The week at hand
All-Stars get together every day of the week, starting Monday. They practice at the respective schools of their head coaches, North at Escalon and South at Hilmar, where they will get basic plays, get to know their coaches and build camaraderie with players they have competed against for at least four years.
“I look at my roster and across the board, there’s superstar after superstar,” Marques said. “Most of the time, we just try to stay out of the way, just give them the ball and let them perform.”
The week of hard work leads up to Saturday’s game.
Other events prior to the game included the annual banquet, put on by the Lions All-Star Football Committee. This year’s banquet, hosted Saturday, April 18 in Modesto, featured guest speaker George Visger, a member of the San Francisco 49ers’ first Super Bowl-winning team and a Stagg High graduate. He was part of Stagg’s undefeated team in 1975, played at the University of Colorado and for the New York Giants.
“It reminds me of trying to coach a college team,” said Escalon coach Andrew Beam, coach of the North team. “You’re getting the best of the best in our area.”
Rosters
North (Boys)
Head Coach: Andrew Beam (Escalon)
Moses Alexander, St. Mary’s-Stockton
Logan Huebner, Escalon
Mason Eagal, St. Mary’s-Stockton
Makana Smith, Chavez-Stockton
Bradley Blankenheim, Amador
Steven Morfoot, Sonora
Cash Byington, Sonora
Eugene Yarbrough, Chavez
Anton Williford, Stagg
Pablo Pena, Lathrop
Ciah Freeman-White, Stagg
Michael Nunes, Amador
Enrique Hernandez, Calaveras
Rylan Tuuaga, Lincoln-Stockton
Dawson Pelech, Kimball
Diego Hernandez, St. Mary’s-Stockton
Francis Taamu, Edison-Stockton
Michael Gonzales, Stagg
Andrew Juarez, Linden
Maava Tialavea, Manteca
Ruben Cornejo, Tracy
Hunter Rodriguez, Linden
Hezekiah Griffin, McNair
Channce Davis, Sonora
Tipeti Paini, Ripon
Alekisio Vakauta, West-Tracy
Jonathan Hurley, Franklin-Stockton
Sam Alderman, Sonora
Lorenzo Teixeira, Escalon
Jaiveer Grewal, River Islands-Lathrop
Leamer Walker, Ripon
North (Girls)
Head Coach: David Rios Jr. (Kimball-Tracy)
Keira McCulley, Manteca
Caliyah Lopez, East Union-Manteca
Jasmine Barron, Escalon
Isabella Gutierrez, Tracy
Anaiya Garcia, Kimball-Tracy
Presley DaCruz, St. Mary’s-Stockton
Emma Coronado, Kimball-Tracy
Angelique Gonzalez, Lathrop
Amazjah Wyatt, Kimball-Tracy
Sosefina Hunkin, St. Mary’s-Stockton
Kamali Leonard, Bear Creek-Stockton
Ella Choeun, Bear Creek-Stockton
Anjulie Navarro, McNair-Stockton
Kameiyah DePerio, Kimball-Tracy
Reagan Baker, Escalon
Aubrie Prichard, Tracy
Larissa Harries, East Union-Manteca
South (Boys)
Head Coach: Frank Marques (Hilmar)
Isaiah Maxey, Enochs
Hayden Czirban, Merced
Richard Flores, Oakdale
Alfa Tuaolo, Enochs
Vicente Cortez, Merced
Jaden Smith, Golden Valley-Merced
Isaiah Faagata, Central Catholic
Daijon O’Neil, Stone Ridge Christian
Anthony Jones, El Capitan-Merced
Kayden Brown, Enochs
Hayden Droogsma, Patterson
Gavin Estrada, Los Banos
Christopher Knight, Gregori
Jack Goodger, Los Banos
Raul Diaz, Los Banos
Gave Ibanez, Johansen
John Hinchey, Downey
Lincoln Brooks, Davis
Eli Wilbanks, Hughson
Lorenzo Peters, El Capitan-Merced
Mason Helwick, Pitman-Turlock
Andre Flores Dos Palos
Laten Butler, mariposa County
Francisco Diaz, Downey
Leo Morfin, Central Catholic
Levi Cook, Turlock
Kaleb Caudillo, Merced
Conner Brantley, Modesto
Daniel Mataele, Patterson
Andres Servin, Downey
Even Coronel, Denair
Koy Wicker, Merced
Joe Gago, Los Banos
South (Girls)
Head Coaches: Nathan Ramirez (Atwater), Capri Abbasi (Atwater)
Mischa Geske, Downey
Madysen Dietz, El Capitan-Merced
Ivy Butler, Pitman-Turlock
Saige Hercksen, Atwater
Audrey Pacheco, Gregori
Mckel Narin, Atwater
Brianna Barajas, Beyer
Amiya Brown, Merced
Riley Leonardo, Atwater
Raquel Jimenez, Riverbank
Natalia Melgoza, Atwater
Lizette Jimenez, Livingston
Savannah McGhee, Buhach Colony-Atwater
Sovannary Carter, Ceres
Gabriella Garcia, Beyer
Mikayla Arteaga, Hilmar
Valeria Salgado, Grace Davis
Yareli Vargas, Modesto
