It’s been months of waiting since the ribbons were cut and their new home stadiums were unveiled this past winter. Tonight the lights will shine as the Buhach Colony and El Capitan high football programs will finally get to host their first games in their new stadiums. 

 

Buhach Colony will look to bounce back from a season-opening 8-0 loss to Gregori as the Thunder host Johansen. El Capitan opened its season with a 43-28 loss to Grace Davis and will play Central Valley.

 

How excited are the programs to play their first games in their new stadiums?

 

“I'm not even sure words can describe it,” said Buhach Colony head coach Kevin Navarra, who has been at the school since it opened in 2001. “The very first Friday Night Lights football game here at Buhach Colony. I think it's got everybody excited. It's got everybody on edge. I think it's got everybody guessing what it's going to be like. I've had more alumni, former coaches, and even just community members, kind of reaching out like, ‘Hey, this is really going to happen.’”

 

The feeling is similar at El Capitan. “It’s exciting,” said Gauchos head coach Xavier Ramirez. “I think everyone's just excited to get after it. That's the only word coming out of my mouth right now is excited.”

 

The Gauchos showed glimpses of a team that can move the ball on offense. Quarterback Jesse threw for 220 yards and four touchdowns. Joshua Reid caught five passes for 121 yards and a touchdown and Austin Gooding pulled in two touchdown grabs. 

 

Ramirez is just looking for some consistency and a defense that can come up with some stops. “They love to battle,” Ramirez said. “There was no quit in this team. They played four quarters of football and that's all you ask from them. They're a resilient team and they will bounce back. We understand that we didn't do our job, and we’re focusing on the little details now. That's been the what we've been talking about all week. We need to focus on the little things and the big things will take care of itself.”

 

Navarra says he saw grit and toughness from his team as they relied on about 35 players last week. “I told them I'm going to need every ounce of everything you have for four quarters,” Navarra said. “Some of you guys are not going to come off the field. Some of you are going to have to be ready when called upon. I was super proud of them.”

Here’s a look at the rest of the MUHSD teams in action this week:

 

Merced (1-0) at Gregori (1-0) – The Bears rallied in the second-half to erase a 14-point deficit to beat Patterson 27-24 in overtime as a blocked field goal by Isayah Arceo-Smith sealed the victory. Merced will face a Gregori defense that shut out Buhach Colony 8-0 last week.

 

Atwater (0-1) at Hughson (1-0) – The Falcons will face another tough opponent after opening the season with a loss to Vacaville. The Huskies defeated Ceres 44-7 last week. Hughson’s Titus Beers rushed for 99 yards and two touchdowns against the Bulldogs.

 

Golden Valley (1-0) at Tokay (1-0) – The Cougars opened the season with an impressive 23-6 win over Lathrop. Isaiah Welch ran for 101 yards and a touchdown and quarterback Gabe Richards connected with Damien Soriano for two touchdowns. Brayden Xiong also set a school record with a 48-yard field goal.

 

Stevenson at Livingston (0-1)  – The Wolves were tied with McNair 14-14 at the half last week and then McNair pulled away for a 34-14 victory. Livingston will try to bounce back against a Stevenson team that lost 28-6 to Leland.

 

Shawn Jansen is the MUHSD Program Manager Digital Media. He can be reached at Sjansen@muhsd.org.