Manteca is The Sporting News’ California football Team of the Week for Week 5 originally appeared on The Sporting News
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It’s a good time to be a Manteca football fan.
The Buffaloes are fresh off a CIF-SJS D2 semifinals appearance, 6-0 to start 2025, and ranked all the way up at No. 17 in California. To top it off, they’ve also already taken a stranglehold of the Valley Oak League title race after sweeping the conference in 2024.
On Sep. 26, Manteca pummeled Central Catholic 49-7 on the road as VOL play opened with a matchup between its reigning top two teams. Their 2024 meeting wasn’t particularly close as the Buffaloes more or less cruised to a 31-14 victory, but this time was a total blowout and a statement too. 3-star junior running back Nikko Juarez cooked up 293 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries (16.3 AVG), and junior DB Jayden Harris had two interceptions. Other standout performers included senior RB/LB Maava Tialavea (six carries for 59 yards and two touchdowns, four tackles, one tackle for loss) and senior LB Gael Juarez (eight tackles, two TFLs, forced fumble, fumble recovery).
For its dominant start to Valley Oak League play, Manteca has been voted SN’s California Team of the Week for Week Five with over 33% of the voting. The Buffaloes went on to annihilate rival Sierra (Manteca) 74-7 and look to move to 3-0 in VOL play this Friday at Mountain House.
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