SUMMER PRACTICES BEGIN

Press Release:   47TH LIONS ALL-STAR FOOTBALL GAME TO BE PLAYED 6-24-23 AT TRACY HIGH

For more information contact:  Mark Tennis of Cal-Hi Sports 209-608-1317

The 47th annual Central California Lions All-Star Football Game was supposed to have been played on June 14, 2020 at Lincoln High School’s Alex G. Spanos Stadium. That game, along with all high school sports at that time, were canceled due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic several months earlier.  There also was no All-Star Game in 2021 or 2022 due to the lingering after-effects of the pandemic as high school scheduling wasn’t back to normal until the current 2022-23 school year.

With dollars still on hand from the canceled game from 2020 and with most of those who were serving on the Lions All-Star Football Game committee still committed to seeing the local event honoring outstanding graduated local high school players continue, it is with pleasure to announce that the Central California Lions All-Star Football Game is returning in 2023.

The all-star game, which now will be the 47th in the series, will be staged on Friday, June 24, 2023 at 7 p.m. and will be held at Wayne Schneider Stadium in Tracy. The game had been held at Tracy High’s venue from 2013 to 2018 before moving to Lincoln High in Stockton in 2019.

Coaches from the two teams also have been selected and they are already working on their rosters. 

For the North, since he was supposed to be coaching the team in 2019, Edison of Stockton’s Booker Guyton was asked again and he has accepted again. The Vikings were coming off of a league championship team in 2019 and they are once again. 

For the South, the head coaches will be retiring Oakdale High legend Trent Merzon and Modesto Grace Coach Tim Garcia.  Merizon had never been able to coach the South team before, and the Lions All-Star Football Game committee couldn’t be more thrilled that a person of his stature is going to be involved this time. Merzon coached the Mustangs to a record of 225-62-1 in 23 seasons. His winning percentage of 78.3 is one of the highest in Northern California history among coaches with 200 wins or more. Note: Lions All-Star committee member Wayne Schneider retired from Tracy with a 224-59-5 record (almost the same as Merzon with a 78.6 win percentage). Guyton will be assisted by one of Edison’s two coordinators, former NFL wide receiver Lavelle Hawkins. Merzon will be assisted by longtime friend Tim Garcia, the Modesto Bee’s 2021 Coach of the Year from Grace Davis of Modesto.

The North won the 2019 game 19-18 and snapped a six-game winless streak in the series. The North also leads in the overall series 25-19-1. 

There will be changes to the format of the event. In order to concentrate on getting the game itself back up and running, there will be no all-star banquet and players will not be housed at a college dorm for the week leading into the game. The Lions All-Star Football Committee may look into reviving those unique qualities of the event at a later time.

The Lions All-Star Football Classic began in 1974 and was held at the University of Pacific’s Memorial Stadium until 2011. With that stadium at the time being prepared for its eventual demolition, the Lions game moved to Modesto Junior College for two years and for six years from 2013 to 2018 had been held at Tracy High’s Wayne Schneider Stadium. 

The committee, headed by Elizabeth Gibbs Olson, would like to specifically thank head coach Jeremy Plaa from Downey High of Modesto for joining the committee and offering invaluable insights as a former coach in the game and a former player in the game.

High Schools Represented In

District 4A-1 of Lions International

North – Amador (Sutter Creek), Argonaut (Jackson), Bear Creek (Stockton), Bret Harte (Altaville), Calaveras (San Andreas), East Union (Manteca), Edison (Stockton), Escalon, Franklin (Stockton), Jim Elliot Christian (Lodi), Kimball (Tracy), Lathrop, Lincoln (Stockton), Lodi, Manteca, McNair (Stockton), Merrill West (Tracy), Millennium (Tracy), Mountain House, Ripon, Ripon Christian, St. Mary’s (Stockton), Sierra (Manteca), Sonora, Stagg (Stockton), Summerville (Tuolomne), Tokay (Lodi), Tracy, Weston Ranch (Stockton).

South – Atwater, Beyer (Modesto), Big Valley Christian (Modesto), Buhach Colony (Atwater), Central Catholic (Modesto), Central Valley (Ceres), Ceres, Chowchilla, Delhi, Denair, Dos Palos, Downey (Modesto), El Capitan (Merced), Enochs (Modesto), Golden Valley (Merced), Grace Davis (Modesto), Gregori (Modesto), Gustine, Hilmar, Hughson, Johansen (Modesto), Le Grand, Livingston, Los Banos, Madera, Madera South, Mariposa County (Mariposa), Merced, Modesto, Modesto Christian, Oakdale, Orestimba (Newman), Pacheco (Los Banos), Patterson, Pitman (Turlock), Riverbank, Stone Ridge Christian (Merced), Turlock, Turlock Christian. 

Last Thursday night the 2022 football season came to its official close with a well attended varsity banquet.   Winning the prestigious Peter B. Kyne Award was Cameron Ross.  This award dates back to 1927 and recognizes the player with the highest contributions on and off the field.  It is voted on by an external committee and is the most special Tracy High Football award given each year.  Full list of previous award winners here.

Shown at the banquet was my 30 minute Season in Review Movie.  It is available for viewing online here.

Varsity Awards

V.F.W. Offensive Player of the Year - Mason Meyers

V.F.W. Defensive Player of the Year - Darrian Marieiro 

John Rita Most Improved - Noah Bennett

Richie Silva Most Valuable Lineman - Aidan Monarrez

Coaches Award - David Garcia

Tommy Greenhow  Scholar Athlete - Jake Navas 

Weeks Award Highest GPA - Antonio Espinoza (4.3)

Captains - Darrian Marieiro/Aidan Monarrez.  
On the field Captain - Noah Bennett

All League Awards:

TCAL LEAGUE MVP:  Cameron Ross

TCAL UTILITY PLAYER OF THE YEAR:  Kurtis Maynor

TCAL COACH OF THE YEAR:  Jeff Pribble

Tracy 1st Team:  

Aidan Monarrez OL/DL

Darrian Marieiro LB

Mason Meyers RB

Dylan Laderoute OL

Jeremiah Zamora DB

Isaac Salinas LB

Tracy 2nd Team

Jeremiah Costilla OL

David Garcia RB

Andres Gamboa Jr. DB

Wesley Finton DL

Damian Money DL

Tracy Honorable Mentions

Andrew Malogan

Elijah Gutierrez

Tommy Hayes

Full TCAL All League List  

Freshman

Frosh O-Back: Brian Lindt

Frosh O-Line: Aaron Munioz

D-Back: Elijah Castanon

D-Line: Allen Lamothe

Coaches Award: Victor Lozano

Captains Brian Lindt, Joshua Verduzco, Elijah Castanon, Allen Lamothe, Malachi Bartholomew

JV

O-Back: David Goularte

O-Line: Dylan Hazelbaker

D-Back: Dillon Posten

D-Line: Lucky Taupovata

Coaches Award: Derek Bogetti & Alfaro Novoa

Captains: Dylan Hazelbaker, Dillon Posten, Derek Bogetti, David Goularte, Riley Posten, Brandon MacDonald