Hilmar football back in section title game

Hilmar High football coach Frank Marques uses Thanksgiving week to gauge the success of the Yellowjackets’ season.

“If we’re practicing on Thanksgiving, it’s been a good season,” Marques said.

No. 1 seed Hilmar was out practicing at 9 a.m. on Thanksgiving, preparing for Saturday’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI championship game against No. 2 Bradshaw Christian (10-2).

The game is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Alex G. Spanos Stadium at Lincoln High.

“It’s one of those things where you don’t know if you’ll get back here again,” Marques said. “It’s special to still be playing, and you want to savor every moment.”

This is the Yellowjackets’ third championship game appearance in five years. Hilmar defeated Escalon 20-17 in Division IV in 2011 and lost to Central Catholic 24-10 in Division IV in 2013.

Bradshaw Christian is no stranger to the big stage. The Pride has played in five championship games since 2008, winning Division VI titles in 2009, 2011 and 2013 and a Division VII crown in 2008.

The Yellowjackets (9-3) must try to slow down Bradshaw Christian’s offense, which features two 1,000-yard running backs in Mateo Bromstead (1,056 yards and 13 touchdowns) and Jared Kanipe (1,031 yards and 22 touchdowns).

The Pride is averaging just under 363 rushing yards per game.

“It’s a concern because we can’t be driven back,” Marques said. “We have to stay low and control the line of scrimmage. Their philosophy is to move the pile, and they’re very good at it. They’re not big, but they’re very well coached. ...”

The Yellowjackets also must be ready for everything against Bradshaw Christian. The Pride rarely punts and often onside kicks.

“That’s something we’re trying to prepare for,” Marques said. “We’ve actually seen that a lot in our league this year. We’ve seen a lot of squib kicks and onside kicks, so it’s something we’re used to seeing.”

Offensively, the Yellowjackets look to clean up some of the ballhandling issues they had in last week’s 34-28 win over Ripon Christian. Three turnovers led to 21 points for the Knights.

Marques felt most of the mishaps were because of nerves.

The Yellowjackets’ offense is led by quarterback Daniel Texeira, who has thrown for 2,214 yards and 32 touchdowns. He also has run for 707 yards and 11 touchdowns. His favorite target by far has been Alex Chavez, who has 63 receptions for 1,258 yards and 16 touchdowns.

“I’ve been playing with Alex since we were 8 years old, playing backyard football,” Texeira said. “We played Pop Warner football, and we’ve played together our whole high school career. The chemistry between us is awesome.”

Texeira got a taste of what a section title game was like as a sophomore when he was called up to the varsity for the playoffs in 2013.

“It’s definitely a very special feeling,” he said. “Only some people get to experience it in high school. I went through it as a sophomore when I got moved up. I knew my senior year I wanted to get back to that level. It’s so intense. The community, the spirit and hype are so high right now.”

This story was originally published November 27, 2015 at 5:15 PM with the headline "Hilmar football back in section title game."