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PREP FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS PREVIEW: WEEK 3
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D-VII Section finale

No. 1 Denair (10-1) v. No. 3 Golden Sierra (8-4), @ Liberty Ranch in Galt at 1 p.m. Saturday

Last week: Denair defeated Gustine, 39-18

Preview: The “Blitz” will be covering all the action on Saturday as the Denair High Coyotes football team are one win away from capturing the program’s first-ever section banner in their third appearance. It won’t be easy, but it is possible as this team has showed time and time again this year, rolling with an offense that has been blessed with a plethora of fast, playmaking standouts that have given the Coyotes 10 victories after 11 games played so far. With the help of their prolific running game, Denair has been able to handle opponents while outscoring them 439-201. This is more than doubling the points that their opponents have put up. On the other hand, GS has outscored their 12 opponents, 448-291, including winning three straight and four of their last five games. With the assistance of running backs Dylan De Silva, Steffin Winston and Hunter Musgrave, Denair is capable of scoring on any team in D-VII, and have done so convincingly for the entire year. Denair has scored 28 points or more in 10 of 11 games played this year. GS is coming off two of three games where they scored 50 points or more. Most recently, GS defeated Big Valley Christian in the semifinal, 24-14. This doesn’t tell the entire story, as Denair has won six straight since losing their only game to D-VI semifinalist and Southern League champions—Ripon Christian. It will be a battle with the game slated to start at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

 

D-VI Section semifinal

No. 2 Hilmar (9-2) v. No. 3 Escalon (9-2), 7 p.m. Friday

Last week: Hilmar defeated Amador, 44-7

Preview: The Hilmar High Yellowjackets are on the verge of reaching the Division-VI Sac-Joaquin Section title game for the second straight year, but they are going to be tested at all levels when they host their Trans-Valley League rivals, Escalon High, on Friday in the section semifinal. The “Blitz” will also be there covering the game. Hilmar already defeated Escalon on Sept. 21, 20-17, in an overtime thriller that can be seen on the Blitz web series. In that game, we were able to see the best and worse of each side. It almost looked like two identical teams where the outcome could have gone either way. Hilmar won and the rest is history, setting them up with a home game and a higher seed. So far after last week, Hilmar is currently ranked No. 138 in California while Escalon is No. 146. Both are 9-2 overall and 4-2 in league play. Escalon is coming off a 39-15 win over Calaveras. Since dropping back-to-back league games to Hilmar and Modesto Christian—by a combined four points—Escalon has won five straight, while scoring 38 points or more in each of those contests. Hilmar has outscored opponents, 430-127, while Escalon has outscored its opponents 387-116. What makes things more interesting are the final four teams left in the bracket, three of which are from the TVL. Either way, the section final will have at least one TVL squad playing for a blue banner. Who it will be is a mystery, but the ‘Jackets are well aware that they need to play better than their first meeting with the Cougars. This will be a battle of who has the bigger heart and determination. The bleachers will be packed and the crowd will be rowdy and loud, so expect this contest to be one of the more physical games of the night.