Grizzlies head to Linden for playoff opener

Mariposa County High School’s football season continues Friday, Nov. 13, when the sixth-seeded Grizzlies travel to third-seeded Linden for a 6 p.m. Sac-Joaquin Section Division VII quarterfinal. The game will be played at Linden High School in Linden, with both teams entering the postseason at 7-3.

The matchup puts Mariposa’s productive running game and season-long defensive record against a Linden team that finished second in the Mother Lode League at 5-1. The Grizzlies finished Southern League play at 5-2, sharing the second-best record with Stone Ridge Christian and Le Grand.

The winner advances to a Nov. 20 semifinal against either second-seeded Golden Sierra or seventh-seeded Stone Ridge Christian. On the other side of the eight-team bracket, top-seeded Calaveras hosts No. 8 Rio Vista, while fourth-seeded Denair hosts fifth-seeded River Islands. The Division VII championship is scheduled for 9 a.m. Nov. 28 at Sacramento City College. Higher seeds host through the semifinals.

Mariposa has scored 340 points and allowed 123 through 10 games, averages of 34.0 scored and 12.3 surrendered. Linden has scored 244 and allowed 209, averaging 24.4 and 20.9. The Grizzlies went 4-0 at home and 3-3 away; the Lions were 3-3 at home and 4-0 on the road.

The Grizzlies’ regular season included shutouts of Sierra, 42-0; Bret Harte, 49-0; and Delhi, 30-0. Their other victories came against Gustine, 50-6; Modesto Christian, 37-6; Stone Ridge Christian, 19-7; and Waterford, 33-7. Before last Friday’s loss at Le Grand, Mariposa’s setbacks were a 29-28 defeat at Amador and a 26-20 loss at Denair.

Linden opened with a 15-7 loss to East Nicolaus, beat Bear Creek 20-7 and Golden Valley 28-14, then fell 50-21 to Hughson. In league play, the Lions defeated Riverbank 35-7, Bret Harte 40-6, Big Valley Christian 32-20 and River Islands 14-13 before losing 42-7 to Calaveras. They rebounded Friday with a 40-35 victory at Summerville, posting 280 passing yards and 165 rushing yards for 445 yards of offense.

Bret Harte provides one common-opponent comparison: Mariposa won 49-0, while Linden won 40-6. The teams’ identical overall records nevertheless produced different postseason positions: Linden received the No. 3 seed and Mariposa the No. 6 seed.

Senior running back Rusty Bull anchors Mariposa’s offense, averaging 164.1 rushing yards per game. His posted season statistics include 23 rushing touchdowns and 24 total touchdowns, with 1,749 total yards and 146 points. Junior quarterback Austin Battles has passed for 1,065 yards and 12 touchdowns, with a 44.1 percent completion rate and an 85.6 quarterback rating. He also has 320 rushing yards, an average of 32.0 per game, and three rushing touchdowns.

Sophomore John Ogilby leads the Grizzlies’ receiving corps at 51.9 yards per game and seven touchdown catches. Junior Ezekiel Weiland averages 20.1 receiving yards and has one touchdown reception, while senior Brady Martin averages 17.1 yards. Senior Lyell Marcis has seven touchdowns — four rushing and three receiving — and 44 points. Senior Manuel Siller averages 18.8 rushing yards per game.

Defensively, sophomore Devin Coca leads Mariposa at 6.4 tackles per game, followed by Ogilby at 6.3 and Bull at 5.6. Junior Joey McGrady has five sacks, senior Ethan Briese 4½ and Marcis three. Weiland and junior Jiah Esh each have three interceptions, while Bull has one.

Senior Joe Walker, McGrady and Manuel Siller each have forced two fumbles. Coca has recovered three, with sophomore Sebastian Soto and Briese recovering two apiece. Briese has five quarterback hurries, senior Braxton Salas four and Coca three. These are the posted statistical leaders entering the playoffs; player averages reflect the games recorded for each player.

Linden counters with senior running back Isaac Ruvalcaba, who averages 125.6 rushing yards per game and has 15 rushing touchdowns and 16 total touchdowns. Sophomore quarterback Devin Hunger has thrown 16 touchdown passes, completed 66.7 percent of his attempts and posted a 111.2 quarterback rating. He averages 11.8 rushing yards per game and has two rushing touchdowns. Senior Evan Laires averages 8.5 rushing yards and has one rushing score.

Mariposa reaches the postseason after a 42-32 loss to arch-rival Le Grand on Friday, Nov. 6, at Le Grand. The Bulldogs’ victory ended the Grizzlies’ two-game winning streak and gave Le Grand its third consecutive win, leaving the Bulldogs 6-4 overall.

Bull rushed for 226 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries in the rivalry game. Battles completed six of 13 passes for 151 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Marcis caught two passes for 59 yards and a touchdown.

The Grizzlies finished with 239 rushing yards and 151 passing yards, totaling 390 yards of offense. Le Grand’s posted team statistics show 221 rushing yards and 114 passing yards, totaling 335. Despite the yardage advantage, Mariposa finished 10 points short. The available box score does not provide quarter-by-quarter scoring or a verified play-by-play account.

The final eight-team Southern League standings put Denair first at 7-0 in league play and 9-1 overall. Mariposa and Stone Ridge Christian both finished 5-2 and 7-3 overall, while Le Grand also went 5-2 and finished 6-4 overall. The standings listing places Mariposa second, Stone Ridge third and Le Grand fourth, although all three share the same league record.

Gustine, Waterford and Modesto Christian each finished 2-5 in league play. The listing places Gustine fifth at 2-8 overall, Waterford sixth at 3-7 and Modesto Christian seventh at 2-8. Delhi finished eighth, 0-7 in the league and 0-10 overall.

Entering the playoffs, the Nov. 8 computer rankings list Linden third in Sac-Joaquin Section Division VII, 56th in the section overall and 405th in California. Mariposa is sixth in Division VII, 72nd in the section and 528th statewide. Those division rankings match their playoff seeds, No. 3 and No. 6. Denair received the fourth seed despite being ranked fifth in the division; Stone Ridge Christian is seeded seventh. Le Grand, ranked 12th in Division VII, is scheduled to visit Big Valley Christian on Nov. 13 rather than compete in the eight-team championship bracket.