Home of the Delta Kings

STOCKTON - Don Norton could feel the postseason slipping away.

Norton's seventh-ranked Stagg High football team led No. 10 Atwater into the third quarter before losing 18-13 in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II playoffs Friday night at Chavez High.

"It was just a change of momentum," Norton said. "You could feel it from our side jump over there. They took advantage."

The turning point came on Stagg's first drive of the second half with the Delta Kings leading 13-12. A 33-yard pass from Francisco Ortigoza put Stagg (8-3) at Atwater's 3-yard line, but the Falcons (8-3) stuffed running back Theo Wofford twice and Stagg fumbled the snap on third down. On fourth down, quarterback Aaron Raya had Wofford alone in the flat, but Wofford couldn't make the catch.

Atwater scored on the ensuing drive by going 97 yards in 15 plays. The Falcons pounded the Delta Kings up the middle and scored what proved to be the game-winner on a 1-yard run by Armando Garcia with 10 minutes, 9 seconds left in the game.

Wofford carried Stagg back down to the Falcons 10-yard line, but the Delta Kings caught another bad break when the ball was knocked loose out of Wofford's hands at the 5-yard line on a run to the left. Players scrambled to recover it, but the ball went out of the end zone for a touchback.

Stagg stopped Atwater on the next drive and had one more chance to score inside the red zone, but Wofford was stopped on a fourth-and-3.

"In all my years coaching this is probably one of the toughest losses I've experienced," Norton said. "I mean, we dominated the game, but just couldn't score."

Wofford led all rushers with 199 yards on 25 carries, including a 10-yard touchdown. He caught two passes for 53 yards and a 49-yard touchdown. In the first half, Wofford accounted for 200 of Stagg's 214 yards of offense.

"I'm just disappointed, disappointed in myself," Wofford said. "I couldn't carry the team on my back."

Wofford shared the backfield with fellow senior Ty Minkin much of the season, but Minkin did not suit up Friday. Also missing was defensive back Jamen Jones.

"They just weren't here," Norton said. "I'm going to leave it at that."

Chris Ortega was the Delta Kings' second leading rushing with four carries for 35 yards.

Andrew Morgan had an interception return for a touchdown to put Atwater up 12-7 in the second quarter. He also had two catches for 30 yards.

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STOCKTON - The Stagg High football team has earned the right to anxiously wait.

Thursday's 18-0 victory over McNair virtually assured the Delta Kings of a home playoff game next week after the CIF releases the Sac-Joaquin Section playoff brackets Saturday evening. Stagg (8-2, 3-2 Tri-City Athletic League) moved the final game up a day since it is sharing the Chavez High field while its new facility is being built.

"We'll find out soon enough," Stagg coach Don Norton said. "We're going to keep our routine the same and lift weights tomorrow and condition."

The win marks Norton's first record above .500 since he took over in 2005 and sets up the school's first playoff berth since 1999. Norton was an assistant under Delta Kings all-time winning coach Joe Nava for 18 years and worked with Edison legend Charles Washington before that.

"Since 1992, there's only been one record better than this (at Stagg)," Norton said. "That's the team that went 11-0 in 1999. So in 20 years, they're one of the top two teams."

Senior running back Theo Wofford put Stagg up in the final minutes of the first quarter. He capped a 68-yard drive on an 18-yard toss outside and scored standing up. He set up the touchdown up the previous play on a 32-yard gain, which was helped by a McNair horse-collar penalty.

Wofford later scored on a 32-yard run on a toss to the right. He shook tacklers at midfield and was gone.

Wofford finished with 136 yards rushing on 13 carries and has rushed for 100 yards or more in five consecutive games.

"Theo is a player," Norton said. "You don't get that many players like Theo."

Ty Minkin was second for Stagg with 26 yards on 10 carries. He ended a six-play, 80-yard drive in the fourth quarter and scored on a 1-yard run.

Meanwhile, the Eagles (1-9, 0-5) moved past the Delta Kings' 39-yard line just once. McNair had 80 yards of offense in the first half. Sophomore Dalemaria Williams finished with 69 yards on 22 carries.

"I thought we had a good game plan," McNair coach Scott Swartz said. "Defensively we did, but when you lose three of your starting five linemen, it's a pretty tough deal."

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STOCKTON - Theo Wofford didn't celebrate with his team after Friday's victory.

He was too tired.

As his Stagg High football teammates hoisted coach Don Norton on their shoulders, Wofford sat catching his breath after willing the Delta Kings over Edison 28-20 at Chavez High.

Wofford, a senior running back, capped a 10-play, 83-yard drive with 1 minute, 7 seconds left in the game with a 4-yard run up the middle. One play later, he intercepted a pass by Edward Chavez over the middle to seal the win.

"I was tired at the end there," Wofford said. "But I knew I had to get back in the game on defense to help my team."

Wofford helped to the tune of 104 yards on 16 carries, including a 53-yarder up the middle to keep the final drive going. The drive ate up more than four minutes and took the life out of the Vikings.

"They were able to wear us down physically and mentally," Edison coach Andre Horace said. "But our kids never quit."

Ty Minkin led the Delta Kings (7-2, 2-2 TCAL) with 136 yards on 18 carries and two first-half touchdowns to answer Edison's 14-0 lead.

"The running game was the biggest part for us," Wofford said. "We did good passing in the beginning, but then they took that away from us."

Stagg outgained Edison 174-51 in the first half but only led 21-20 at the break. The Delta Kings committed 10 penalties for 99 yards and gave the Vikings (5-4, 3-1) the ball three times inside their own 35-yard line. Edison scored touchdowns on two of those occasions.

A 34-yard interception return for a score by Chris Ortega followed a 3-yard touchdown run and a 30-yarder by Minkin to give Stagg its first lead at 21-14. Marced Kelly answered on the ensuing kickoff with an 89-yard touchdown return.

A sideline infraction moved Edison back to the 18-yard line for its conversion attempt and Chavez's pass was intercepted by Ryan Wood.

The Delta Kings are almost assured of a playoff spot now with the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section's new expanded playoff format.

"This win is huge for us," Wofford said. "If we get one more win, we get a home playoff game."

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TRACY - The Stagg High Delta Kings made some big plays Friday night, but none were bigger than the last.

With 1:50 remaining in the game and West High driving toward the end zone, Stagg sophomore Brian Wood stepped in front of the Wolf Pack's Darin Fleming to knock down a pass inside the 20-yard line and preserve a 27-21 victory for the Delta Kings.

West had been gifted 30 yards in penalties on the final drive before turning the ball over on downs for a third time in the game at the Stagg 25-yard line.

"I'm happy for the victory," Stagg coach Don Norton said. "Our kids battled and fought all the way to the end. It was a heck of a win for us. That's what happens when you have a young team; you get relaxed and complacent then the next thing you know you're fighting for your life."

Stagg jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead when Jamin Jones picked up Dexter Alcala's fumble and ran it back 55 yards for a touchdown less than three minutes into the ballgame.

In the second quarter, Theo Wofford broke off a 78-yard scoring run and Ty Minkin ran 96 yards for a touchdown to send Stagg (6-2, 1-2 Tri-City Athletic League) into the half up 21-0.

As explosive as Stagg's offense was in the first half, West's offense, in contrast, couldn't hold on to the ball, and when it did, drives ended with turnovers on downs.

Alcala, who rushed for 259 yards on 37 carries, lost three fumbles in the first half and two were inside the 10-yard line.

"We moved the ball well in the first half," West coach Steve Lopez said. "We just fumbled, fumbled, fumbled and that killed us. Our offensive line was blocking real well. We just told them they had to forget about the mistakes and go at it. Big plays were killing our defense. If we were able to stop those, we would have been OK."

In the second half, the Wolf Pack (2-6, 1-2) mounted its comeback, scoring 21 points in the fourth quarter starting with Alcala's 9-yard touchdown run.

Following a successful onside kick, Jake Peterson connected with Kyle Lambert on a 39-yard strike to bring the Wolf Pack within 21-14. But Stagg responded when Francisco Ortigoza found Nate Davis in the end zone.Davis, who had slipped and fallen to the ground, made what turned out to be the game-winning catch while lying on his side.

Alcala concluded the scoring on a 42-yard run.

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