With scrimmage games set for this Friday, Aug. 15, the Pacheco Panthers (Dos Palos scrimmage) and the Los Banos Tigers (Downey H.S. scrimmage), football teams are preparing for their upcoming 2025 high school football seasons.
The Panthers, who are coming off a 5-5 overall record with a 3-4 mark in the WAC conference, will open their 2025 pre-season schedule with a trip to Stockton to tangle with Cesar Chavez High School on Aug. 22.
Pacheco will open the season with a 38-man roster (including 13 returning players),
and will feature Raul Moreno leading the offense at the quarterback position.
Moreno will have a pair of wide receivers in Brenton Siemiller and Hezekiah George, along with tight ends Issac Garcia and Jonathan Shryock, he can throw to.
Aiden Pikas moved from quarterback to running back this year and will be joined by Jacob Sanchez as the two featured runners for the Panthers.
Providing the up-front work for the Panther offense will be Donovan Castro, Devon Avila, Zack Perkins, Antonio Torres and Jose Garcia.
The Pacheco defense will be led by three-year starter at linebacker Thomas Price, who will be joined by Joseph Valencia and Brayden Soto.
Robert DeLeon, Andrew Rodrigues, Sanchez and Pikas will patrol the defensive backfield for Pacheco.
First team all-league tackle Robert Crawford and Jayden Angel will anchor the defensive line for the Panthers.
Across town the Los Banos Tigers will hope to improve on their 2-8 overall record, going 1-4 in their first year in the Central California Conference, with a squad of 42 players (with 14 returning players) featuring a very talented group of skill position players, that the Tigers will be counting on to improve their record this year.
Leading the Los Banos offense will be last year’s starter, Donovan Greer, and transfer student Gavin Blackwood-Estrada, who will be handling the quarterback duties for the Tigers. The pair will be throwing passes to Jack Goodger, Joshua Gargano, Ryan Jones, Martin Pena, Carmello Smith and sophomore, Elijiah Chiapetta.
Three-year varsity starter, Raul Dias, will handle most of the running back duties for Los Banos, joined by juniors, Adrian Rivas and Alan Moran.
Los Banos hopes for a stronger offensive line in 2025, relying on returning starters, Dylan Brandi and Alex Vanderveen will pace the line play, and combined with several players up from the junior varsity team, they hope to mesh into a strong unit.
Dias will lead the Tigers on defense, joined by Gargano, Goodger and Chiapetta in the backfield, while (transfer student) Jon Snapp will join James Jones, Adrian Montes and Rivas to form the linebacker core.
Los Banos will feature a strong defensive line with (transfer student) Joe Gago joining John Tevis, Isis Villagrana, Emmanuel Alvarado and Gustavo Riveria along the defensive front for the Tigers.
Elias Salvatier will handle the place-kicking duties, while Gargano will be the punter.
The Tigers kick off their 2025 pre-season schedule by hosting the rival Dos Palos Broncos on Aug. 22 at Loftin Stadium.
