NEWMAN, Calif. – Orestimba High football head coach Aaron Souza is hoping another trip to the east side of San Joaquin County will be better this time.
After beating Delhi 33-0 in the first round of the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Football Playoffs – Division VI on Friday, No. 5 seed Orestimba hits the road to play at No. 4 Linden. The game time this Friday is 7 p.m.
Orestimba (7-4) plays Linden (8-2) that won a share of the Mother Lode League title with Calaveras and Summerville.
“They are a good football team,” said Orestimba head coach Aaron Souza of Linden. “I anticipate a very tight matchup on Friday.”
Linden will have to contend with the Warriors’ offense, led by quarterback Jacob Valenzuela, who has completed 115 of 212 passes for 1,947 yards and 20 touchdowns.
The Warriors, who are averaging 28.4 points per game, have five receivers who have 200 or more yards this season. Wide receiver Dylan McCauley leads the way with 45 receptions for 775 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Orestimba receiver Alan Gamboa follows in yards at 302 on 21 receptions. Richie Rivas, along with Devon Bell and running back Nicolas Cuevas, each have 200 and more yards.
On the ground, Warrior running back Allen Garcia has 105 carries for 637 yards and six touchdowns. Cuevas, a double threat, has 71 carries for 543 yards and eight touchdowns.
The Warrior defense has given up an average of 18.5 points per game.
Cuevas, as a linebacker, leads the Warriors with 119 total tackles. Colby Cabral, another linebacker, follows at 70 tackles, Garcia, also at linebacker, at 57 and defensive lineman Nathan Ceja at 50.
Linden’s pistol offense is led by quarterback Matthew Schallberger, who has completed 122 of 184 passes for an amazing 2,340 yards and 27 touchdowns.
One of Schallberger’s targets is wide receivers DeAndre Smith, who has hauled in 40 receptions for 821 yards and 8 touchdowns, and Braden Busalacchi is 36-788 and 9 touchdowns.
“They’ve got really good athletes,” said Souza of Linden. “They like to get these athletes in space.”
The Lions have four players who have more than 200 yards rushing. Running back Landen Ly leads the way with 89 carries for 773 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Linden averages 45.6 points per game on offense.
In the MLL finale at Summerville on Nov. 1, the host Bears posted a 28-7 win over the Lions, whose only score came on defense.
“They actually shut out Linden’s offense,” Souza said. “Summerville just had a good game plan of being very physical. They did a good job of playing pass coverage.”
On defense, the host Lions run an even front on the line with a lot of man coverage. Their defense has yielded 16.3 points per game.
Orestimba played at Linden in the first round of the 2021 D-VI playoffs. The Lions roared to a 42-28 victory.
Souza remembers that game well.
“It was a close game,” Souza said. “We turned over the ball six times.”
Linden increased its lead to 35-28 when a Lions player scooped up an Orestimba fumble and returned it for a touchdown.
“We still had an opportunity late in the game to win,” Souza said.
If Orestimba needs some motivation entering Friday’s quarterfinal game, it can turn to the Internet.
According to CalPreps’ website, which lists all California high school football teams playing 11-man and 8-man football, Linden is predicted to post a 35-24 win over the Warriors.
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.
