NEWMAN, Calif. – A familiar, and much improved, former Southern League foe is going to visit Warrior Stadium.
Orestimba, which finished the regular season with a 6-4 record, is the No. 5 seed in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Football Playoffs – Division VI. The Warriors will take on No. 12 Delhi (8-2), which won a share of the SL title with Stone Ridge Christian.
“You know what, hosting a playoff game is quite the fact that we were 6-4 in arguably the best league in the state,” said Orestimba head coach Aaron Souza, whose Warriors went 3-4 in league play. “I believe with our strength of schedule and the fact that we’ve played playoff teams (all seven TVL schools are advancing to the playoffs) has obviously paid itself off. Getting the (No.) 5 seed in the playoffs… it’s a special thing.”
The first-round playoff game at Warrior Stadium will be this Friday at 7 p.m.
The Delhi-Orestimba winner will take on No. 4 Linden, which has the first-round bye. Linden (8-2) won a share of the Mother Lode League crown with Calaveras and Summerville.
This is the third consecutive year that Orestimba, which has made the playoffs the last 11 consecutive seasons, is hosting a first-round playoff game.
Orestimba comes into the playoffs losing its Trans-Valley League finale to Escalon, 41-14, played at Engel Field on Friday.
“We have to move on and get better,” said Souza on what his team has to do after the Cougars won the league finale.
Now the focus shifts toward the playoffs where the winner continues to play for another week and the loser is putting away their equipment for the season next week.
“I know that when we played them last year, they were a very junior-ladened team,” said Souza, whose Warriors beat Delhi 42-14 on the Hawks’ field in the 2023 SL meeting.
Delhi finished that season with a 2-6 record. The Hawks forfeited their final two non-league games prior to the start of SL action after players were involved in altercations with players from El Capitan of Merced in a non-league and season opening game for both teams.
But now the Hawks are soaring high this season. That included beating Orestimba’s rival, Gustine, in the SL finale on Friday by a 24-21 score to claim a share of the SL title. Delhi won its first-ever league title in football since the school opened its doors at the start of the 1998-99 school year.
“I know that they have been building up for this year,” said Souza of Delhi. “It’s obviously showed with a co-championship in the Southern League. They are going to go foot-to-foot, they are going to be very physical, they are going to run the ball between the tackles. They are going to do everything they can to keep our offense off the field while moving the chains.”
Souza went on to say that Delhi will enter Warrior Stadium “not intimidated and ready to play football. They’ve played these kids for years. We both know each other.”
On offense, the Hawks like to move the chains with their running game with the Cox-Box type of offense that can produce an unbalanced offensive line and backfield.
“They are just going to try to run the football and gain yardage and bleed the clock,” Souza said. “That’s what they’ve done successfully this season.”
Hawk running back Antonio Gutierrez has 193 carries for 1,187 yards and 10 touchdowns. Two other Delhi running backs each have more than 400 rushing yards.
Delhi will face Orestimba’s offense that has been very successful in passing and running.
Warrior quarterback Jacob Valenzuela has completed 110 of 203 passes for 1,837 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Orestimba running back Allen Garcia has 97 carries for 602 yards and six touchdowns. Nicolas Cuevas follows at 66-464 and eight touchdowns.
In the air, Warrior wide receiver Dylan McCauley has 42 receptions for 720 yards and 10 touchdowns. Another receiver in Alan Gamboa is next at 21-302 and four touchdowns, Richie Rivas 13-247 and Devon Bell 15-245.
“We will be ready to go Friday night,” Souza said.
Orestimba and Delhi were members of the SL from 2014 to last spring. During the section’s league realignment meetings in early 2023, Orestimba was moved from the SL into the TVL for 2024-28 league realignment cycle that started at the beginning of this school year.
Mike Bush is a multimedia journalist in the Sacramento area resident who was born and raised in the Stanislaus and Merced County areas. Follow him on X/Twitter @MikeBMultimedia.
