Every week brings answers. It also creates a whole new set of questions.
That’s the fun of a high school football season. There are reactions, overreactions, and takeaways as San Joaquin County teams continue to show what they might become.
And then there are the numbers that make you look twice.
Some belong in a video game, the kind you might put up with Madden or EA Sports College Football set to easy mode. Others may not seem quite as unreal but still find a way to fill nearly every corner of the stat sheet.
Here are The Record’s biggest takeaways, reactions, and top individual performances from Week 6.
Key Takeaways
Good luck picking a TCAL champion
Remember when Tony Franks said the TCAL was as talented as it's been in years? Turns out the St. Mary's coach
might have been underselling it. Non league play gave us reason to believe him, but the opening week of league action turned everything up a notch. Edison stunned Tracy 21-14 and may have just established itself as the TCAL favorite. Tracy, though, isn't suddenly out of it. St. Mary's made it 58 consecutive league wins by beating Lodi 49-13, and Lincoln backed up its "We're back" talk with a 55-6 win over Kimball. Franks has been around since the Rams' last league loss in 2013, so he knows what a tough TCAL looks like. Who's coming out on top? Your guess is as good as ours.
What a difference a year makes in the VOL
Maybe all those graduations are finally catching up with the VOL's top teams. We saw it during nonleague play when Oakdale, which lost 4,978 rushing yards and 74 rushing touchdowns to graduation, suffered upset losses to Lincoln and Escalon. Now, two Manteca teams are feeling it. East Union fell 41-31 to Patterson after beating the Tigers 27-21 last year. Manteca might have watched its three-peat title hopes slip away in a 42-13 loss to Central Catholic, a team it crushed 49-7 a season ago. Sure, Central Catholic isn't the same team it was last year. But a 29-point blowout? Didn't see that coming.
Don't count out Lathrop's three-peat just yet
Forty-five yards against Tracy. Sixty-nine against Johansen. Those weren't just bad rushing performances for Lathrop. They were numbers its Wing-T hadn't been held to in either of the previous two seasons. The 24-7 loss to Johansen in Week 4 snapped a league-winning streak dating to 2023 and threatened the Spartans' three-peat hopes. Then came Roman Duvernay. The Manteca transfer ran for 187 yards and three touchdowns against Pacheco last week and kept producing this week. Suddenly, Lathrop's ground game looks alive again. Beat Central Valley next, and the Spartans aren't out of the race.
How far can River Islands go?
Two wins in Year 1. Three in Year 2. Six already in Year 3. River Islands isn't slowing down. A 41-0 rout of Riverbank kept the momentum going, and with the Riptide favored in two of its final three games, one more victory could all but secure a playoff berth.
Video Game Numbers
Dylan Ball, Escalon — Hughson knew what was coming. Stopping it was another story. The Escalon junior ran for 161 yards on 13 carries, took a punt 70 yards for a touchdown and recorded seven tackles in a 31-14 win over one of the TVL favorites. Make that six consecutive games with more than 124 rushing yards.
Roman Duvernay, Lathrop — Three years at Manteca without a rushing yard. Now two games at Lathrop with more than 100 apiece. After making quite the first impression last week, the recently cleared senior running back followed it with 101 yards and four touchdowns on only eight carries in a 43-10 win over Livingston.
Bryson Ybarra, East Union — Sometimes, giving everything still isn't enough. Just ask Bryson Ybarra. In only his second career start at quarterback, the junior quarterback piled up 311 total yards, completing 17 of 26 passes for 124 yards and rushing for 187 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries. East Union still fell to Patterson 41-31.
Alonzo Ward, Edison — Forget the yardage for a second. The way the junior wide receiver scored was straight out of a video game. The three-star recruit with six Division I offers turned all three catches into touchdowns for 95 yards in a 21-14 upset. He flashed his speed on a screen pass,climbed the ladder against double coverage and put his body on the line for a spectacular third grab.
Kalvin Hernandez, Mountain House — The scoreboard might not show it, but Kalvin Hernandez made Sierra work for every point. The senior inside linebacker was seemingly everywhere, recording a career-high 19 tackles, including nine solo and 10 assisted, in Mountain House's 13-0 loss.
Stat Sheet Stuffers
Kimball might be 0-6, but David Wyatt has been a bright spot. A year removed from junior varsity, he rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown on seven carries in a 55-6 loss to Lincoln, giving him four 100-yard games this season.
That's the beauty of Lathrop's Wing-T offense. More than one running back can shine. Jaylen Santos rushed for 140 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries in a 43-10 win over Livingston, his third 100-yard game this season.
Forget airing it out. Archie Sanders let his legs do the work, rushing for 101 yards and a touchdown on nine carries while throwing for 37 yards and another score in Escalon's 31-14 win over Hughson.
Give Darien East two touches, and he'll turn both into touchdowns. The River Islands junior didn't see his usual workload in a 41-0 rout of Riverbank but still scored on a 72-yard reception and a 34-yard run.
The moment never got too big for Ayden McClendon. Despite his first game under 200 passing yards, the Edison sophomore stayed composed, completing 11 of 21 passes for 186 yards and three touchdowns in a 21-14 upset of Tracy.
This article originally appeared on The Record: San Joaquin County football Week 6 takeaways and top performances
