Three weeks of Friday night lights have come and gone, and the Summerville Bears and Sonora Wildcats, both still undefeated, are set to kick off their respective league campaigns this week.
What better time, then, to take a stab at a few informed guesses as to each team’s performance throughout the rest of the season, including league and postseason play?
These predictions are based on a combination of each team’s body of work thus far this season and what I have seen on the ground, covering both teams throughout their first three contests.
Summerville may not win league, but they will run away with D-VII section football title
For the first time in a decade, the Mother Lode League title is anyone’s for the taking, and no one wants it more than the Summerville Bears, who have finished as the league runner-up in both of the last two seasons to Sonora.
But the league title might not be quite as wide open as some fans believe. The Calaveras Red Hawks and, more notably, the Linden Lions, pose a very real challenge to the Bears’ hopes of being crowned the MLL champs.
This writer projects that Summerville will take down Calaveras in Week 7 somewhat handily. Linden on the other hand, the Bears’ Week 11 foe, will be a load.
Outside of the Hilmar Yellowjackets, whom the Bears scheduled to replace their canceled game against Millennium in Week 9, Linden is the only team Summerville will face that throws the ball more than it runs.
Despite having plenty of talent in the secondary, an efficient, pass-heavy offense is simply not something the Bears come up against often, and without experience comes costly mistakes. I anticipate that Summerville will fall just short of Linden in a shootout in their final league contest.
But while the path to a league title will be a difficult one, the outlook for Bears fans ought to be considerably more cheery as they look forward towards the postseason.
Summerville sits firmly in the No. 1 spot in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division VII rankings in MaxPreps, and is the only undefeated team left in the division.
The Waterford Wildcats, whom the Bears thumped 46-12 in Week 3, come in at No. 4. Denair, a team Summerville blanked 38-0 in Week 2, comes in at the No. 9 spot.
The only team anywhere close to within striking distance of Summerville in the entire division is the Stone Ridge Christian Knights, who boast a 2-1 record but were defeated soundly by Calaveras, 27-7 in their opener.
SRC defeated Summerville 34-26 in a preseason classic in Tuolumne back in 2022, the same year the Bears came within 1 point of winning an elusive blue banner emblazoned with the words “Sac-Joaquin Section Champion. “
If there was ever a year to expect the Bears to go back and seal the deal, this is the one.
Bears’ potent offense will average 42 points per game in league
The Summerville Bears have been quite efficient on the offensive side of the ball through their first three contests, putting up 24, 38 and 46 points, in wins over Ripon Christian, Denair and Waterford, respectively.
That build in offensive momentum is sure to continue into the MLL season, with only two teams, Calaveras and Linden, capable of slowing the Bears down.
Bret Harte, Riverbank, River Islands and Big Valley Christian all project to be massive blowouts in Summerville’s favor, which should buoy their scoring average even if it dips in their more competitive matchups against the Red Hawks and Lions.
Moreover, the Bears’ offense hasn’t been some boom-or-bust affair. Built on an established run game from running back Isaac Biggs and a gifted cadre of slot backs, including Colton Cash and Orlando Lopez, the Summerville offense is consistent and repeatable, week-to-week.
With junior quarterback Bryce Leveroos just getting better and better, this year’s Bears offense will be something to behold.
Week 5, Sept. 20: Summerville 49, Bret Harte 0
Week 6, Sept. 27: Summerville 42, Riverbank 12
Week 7, Oct. 4: Summerville 35, Calaveras 22
Week 8, Oct. 11: Summerville 42, River Islands 7
Week 9, Oct. 18: Hilmar 24, Summerville 21
Week 10, Oct. 25: Summerville 56, Big Valley Christian 14
Week 11, Nov. 1: Linden 35, Summerville 29
Sonora will shock the TVL, dethroning Hughson and Escalon to win league title
Quite a bit has to go right for this prediction to come true, but this writer believes a Trans Valley League title is in the cards for Sonora.
Since the early goings of the Sac-Joaquin Section realignment cycle, much has been made of the Wildcats’ jump into the ranks of the vaunted TVL. They will make their long-awaited league debut this Friday against the Escalon Cougars — the team that defeated them 35-34 in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V title game two years ago.
“In our league, you could call everybody a rival,” Sonora football head coach Kirk Clifton said. “I look at our league, our track record and what is going on in the preseason, and I think it is everything that everybody has built it up to be.”
One loss in this stacked league could cost any team their shot at the TVL title. The Wildcats are particularly aware of that this week, facing off against Escalon.
“They are a very well-coached team,” Clifton said. “They are the benchmark of the league. I don’t necessarily think anybody has to get excited to play them. I think if you are not excited to play them, then you have got something wrong with you.”
If Sonora can take down Escalon this week, their eyes will turn towards an even tougher challenge — a Week 8 matchup with the Hughson Huskies.
Hughson is coming off of a 40-39 Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI title win last year over the Bradshaw Christian Pride — the team that knocked Sonora out of the playoffs.
University of Arizona commit Robert McDaniel is back in the gun again this season for Hughson and is flanked by a stable of dangerous targets including Malakai Sumter and McDaniel’s younger brother, Bryce.
Sonora’s play against Antelope in a Week 3 rout of the Titans, 55-6, was an encouraging sign of the Wildcats’ developing ability to defend against the pass.
Secondary players like Cash Byington, Jon Curran and Colton Gibson will be tested by the size and speed of Hughson receivers, and the Wildcats’ defensive front including ends Wyatt Ling and Caden Burd will have to pressure McDaniel and make his life difficult in the pocket.
Look out for an upset in Week 8. If Sonora can pull it off, their first season in the TVL might just end in a TVL title.
Sutton will rush for 1,000 yards in first varsity season
It didn’t take much time at all for junior fullback Tommy Sutton to make his presence known on the football field this season.
One of his very first varsity carries was a big one — busting out into the open field through a gap in the offensive line and rumbling 64 yards early in the Wildcats’ 31-21 win over Oakdale in their season opener.
He finished with 106 yards on 12 carries that game, and his workload in the two following games has shown that his production was not a fluke. Through Sonora’s pre-league campaign, Sutton has logged 33 carries for 242 yards through three games.
Running through gaps created by a stellar Wildcats offensive line, Sutton has been Sonora’s dependable workhorse at fullback.
Heading into a league schedule that will require four quarters of solid football from the Wildcats, the starters — Sutton included — will be on the field for more snaps than they have in a decade of Sonora football.
With that steady dose of carries forthcoming, the junior has a very real chance of eclipsing the elusive 1,000-yard mark this season.
Week 5, Sept. 20: Sonora 24, Escalon 14
Week 6, Sept. 27: Sonora 42, Orestimba 7
Week 7, Oct. 4: Sonora 35, Hilmar 14
Week 8, Oct. 11: Sonora 36, Hughson 35
Week 9, Oct. 18: Sonora 28, Ripon 0
Week 10, Oct. 25: Modesto Christian Forfeit
Week 11, Nov. 1: Sonora 28, Ripon Christian 7