MODESTO – The final week of the regular season has arrived and, not too long ago, Downey High senior Joseph Ramirez gave no thought to the end of his prep career.
Alas, Father Time always wins.
“It’s winding down,” Ramirez admitted Monday during the weekly lunch meeting of the Modesto Quarterback Club. “It makes me give my all for everything. The next game is not a promise.”
Ramirez, a three-year varsity standout for the Knights, is prepared to max out until he puts away his helmet for the last time. The Knights (8-1, 3-1 Central California Athletic League), trail Turlock by a game in the conference race.
To share league honors with the Bulldogs, Downey will need a win over the Jaguars plus a huge upset win by Enochs over Turlock.
“Downey will have the only time where they root for us,” Enochs coach Tracey Traub said.
Knights coach Jeremy Plaa said a Downey victory could mean a home game in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I bracket. What it means is that Ramirez, the other six seniors who were guests of the QB club lunch and the rest of his teammates still have a job to do.
The tall and fleet Ramirez already has done plenty. His 19 receiving career touchdowns, nine rushing TDs and six passing TDs (he even served as a quarterback for several games last year while Carson Lamb rehabbed an injury) has made him one of the area’s most dynamic players.
Downey’s 66-7 win last week over Enochs was an emphatic response to its disappointing 33-14 loss to Turlock two Fridays ago. The Knights rang up numbers against the Eagles: Lamb threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns, sophomore Elias Haynes rushed for 122 yards and three touchdowns and also intercepted two passes, and receiver RayMelo Thurman caught nine passes for 175 yards and two TDs.
“These are all special young men,” Plaa said. “One of the motivations of losing to Turlock was having a good week of practice…to make it right.”
NOTES – The large Downey contingent at the QB club included Modesto Mayor Sue Zwahlen. … Logan Martin connected on a 38-yard field goal with 50 seconds left to lift Gregori over Pitman 25-22 for the Jaguars’ third straight win. The Jaguars (4-5, 3-1) also featured Alton Williams with 103 rushing yards and a TD and Emmanuel Vasquez’s 276 passing yards. “Every week is a playoff week now,” coach Lamar Wallace said. … Traub said Johnny Staggs, Enochs’ starting quarterback, is injured and will miss his second straight game when the Eagles (2-7, 0-4) travel to Turlock. …
Grace Davis (4-5, 3-3 Western Athletic Conference) allowed two touchdowns, one of them a pick-6, in less than a minute late in the first half to erase its 7-0 lead. The result was an 18-14 loss to Pacheco. The Spartans will travel across town to Johansen. … The Vikings (5-4, 4-2 WAC) trailed Livingston 7-0, then ran off 26 straight points en route to a 32-7 win. Ezekiel Rodriguez, a junior, rushed for 190 yards and junior quarterback Anthony Torres completed eight of 10 passes. …
Central Catholic (6-3, 4-1 Valley Oak League) continued its late-season push with an easy 52-19 victory over Mountain House. Joey Alcutt rushed for 168 yards and two touchdowns and Kayden McHenry passed for two TDs. The Raiders, one game behind Manteca, hope for help via an Oakdale win over Manteca to throw the VOL into a three-way tie with the Mustangs and CC. That actually happened in 2016 and 2019. Central Catholic will celebrate Senior Night against Sierra. … Modesto (3-6, 1-3 CCAL), which was beaten 42-0 by Turlock, will finish against Pitman at Downey. …
Big Valley Christian (5-4, 3-3 Mother Lode) was tied with Summerville 14-14 after one quarter but gave up 23 points in the second quarter and lost 47-21. The Lions will travel to Vallejo to meet Elite Academy. … Beyer (2-7, 1-5 WAC) and Ceres were locked in a scoreless tie in the second half until the Bulldogs separated via two long punt returns for a 28-0 win. Beyer coach Mike Young praised the Patriots defense for a good performance in defeat. Beyer will close at first-place Lathrop. … The game was bittersweet for Beyer senior Gabe Velasquez, whose great catch was saluted as the KCRA Catch of the Week. Later, Velasquez incurred a season-ending knee injury. …
Modesto Junior College stayed atop the Valley Conference standings with a 52-10 win at Reedley. Luke Weaver threw two touchdown passes and Roland Brown returned an interception 47 yards for a TD to build a 31-0 lead at halftime. The Pirates (5-2, 2-0) will meet Sacramento City on Saturday at 1 p.m. at MJC Stadium. … Contra Costa, a Valley Conference affiliate, scrapped its season due to an inefficient number of players. The Pirates filled that Nov. 23 date with a trip to Foothill of Altos Hills for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
THIS WEEK’S GAMES—Sierra at Central Catholic, Oakdale at Manteca, East Union at Mountain House, Downey at Gregori, Enochs at Turlock, Pitman at Modesto (at Downey), Orestimba at Escalon, Sonora at Ripon Christian, Ripon at Hilmar, Buhach Colony at Merced, Los Banos at Atwater, El Capitan at Golden, El Capitan vs. Golden Valley (at Merced College), Beyer at Lathrop, Grace Davis at Johansen, Central Valley at Ceres, Pacheco at Livingston, Mariposa County at Le Grand, San Rafael at Stone Ridge Christian, Delhi at Gustine, Denair at Waterford, Linden at Summerville, Bret Harte at Calaveras, Big Valley Christian at Elite, River Islands at Riverbank, Argonaut at Amador
