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| Tigers to face Hilmar for second place in WAC |
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| Written by Marc Aceves / Patterson Irrigator | |
| Wednesday, 12 November 2008 | |
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At a glance WHAT: Patterson High football at Hilmar WHEN: 5:30 (junior varsity) and 7:30 p.m. (varsity) Friday WHERE: Hilmar High, 7807 N. Lander Ave., in Hilmar The Patterson High football team will try to put its disappointing loss to Central Catholic in the past when it travels to Hilmar on Friday for its final Western Athletic Conference showdown of the season. The two foes are similar in many ways. Both share identical 3-1 WAC records. And both teams’ only league defeats came at home and at the hands of first-place Central. But, perhaps most importantly, both are also jockeying for position and seeding in the postseason. The winner will earn the No. 2 seed in the WAC and a road playoff game next week against the second-place team in the Trans-Valley League, which is currently Modesto Christian. The loser faces a road game against the Mother Lode League champion, likely Argonaut. And if both Hilmar and Patterson win those first-round playoff games, they’ll play each other in the semifinals. The winner of this week’s game would have home-field advantage in the semifinals. “It is important that we focus on winning this Friday and not playing it safe before playoffs,” Patterson coach Rob Cozart said. While the Tigers were mostly outplayed by Central Catholic, they were one controversial call away from being tied at halftime. Still, there is much work to be done in preparation for the Yellowjackets. “Playing passively or defensively won’t allow us to bounce back versus Hilmar,” Cozart said. “We need to be just as intense and aggressive against Hilmar as we were against Central Catholic, if not more.” The Tigers’ offensive game plan typically calls for short passes, lots of running plays and, if the opponent’s safeties cheat up, the occasional throw downfield. This is generally a methodical and time-consuming offense, and Patterson seems to implement it well. However, when the Tigers got in a hole in the second half against Central, it was very difficult to catch up using short passes and runs, because they couldn’t get points back on the board quickly enough. That means not falling behind the Yellowjackets is critical. “Hilmar is top-notch,” Cozart said. “Their record speaks for itself.” Hilmar coach Frank Marques enjoys the luxury of returning almost every skill player from a season ago. The sixth-year coach has experienced weapons on both sides of the ball. Offensively, the Yellowjackets rely heavily on running back Hugh Ewing and receiver Neil Mitchell. Both Ewing (defensive back) and Mitchell (linebacker) also bolster a stingy defense. Hilmar’s veteran leaders include linebacker Carl Jameson as well as offensive and defensive linemen Tom Herd and Juan Alverez. Yellowjackets quarterback Christian Azevedo replaced once-anticipated starter Quinton McCown early in the season, after McCown suffered a broken collarbone in the team’s scrimmage against Manteca. The senior Azevedo has filled in nicely, tossing for 40 completions, 571 yards and seven touchdowns. “We need to be focused this week, so as to not have a letdown going into playoffs,” Cozart said. “In a way, it is a must-win situation. “We’ll be ready. “ Contact Marc Aceves at 892-6187 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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