Riverbank's varsity boys will play for the section title in soccer on Saturday.
Having just finished their Trans-Valley League seasons, both Riverbank High School girls and boys soccer teams qualified to move on, competing in the Sac-Joaquin Division Section 5 playoffs.
Last week, both teams competed in first round matches, with varying results.
Bruin boys soccer finished its TVL season with a 6-1-3 league record, ranked in second place, which gave them a first seed in D5. On Thursday, Feb. 10, they played their first round match, hosting Calaveras High School from San Andreas.
Final score was 5-0, Riverbank, so the Bruins hosted Hughson in semifinal action on Tuesday, Feb. 15 and earned a 3-0 victory in that contest. That night’s other semifinal featured Delhi, the No. 2 seed, getting a 3-2 win over Colfax to set up a Riverbank-Delhi showdown for the Section title.
The game is set for 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19 at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento.
Head coach Juan Harvey also has altered practice sessions to better be ready to play night games. Normally, practices are held right after school, but playoff matches are later in the evening, so the coach has been having his team practice after dark, to be better used to stadium lights for continuing playoff matches.
For the girls, having been ranked No. 8 in playoffs, the Lady Bruins traveled to Colfax, two hours to the north, for their Division 5 match. The host Lady Falcons finished on top, 4-1, so Riverbank is out of that competition.
Basketball Season Ends
Both boys and girls basketball seasons have ended this past week.
The Bruin boys hosted their final home game, and honored their seniors, on Wednesday, Feb. 9. The Livingston Wolves came to town and took early command of the game, at one point leading by as many as 15 points.
Riverbank fought back, but just couldn’t quite overcome the score, ending in a disappointing 56-52 loss. On the bright side, they finished out their TVL season on the road on Friday, Feb. 11, with a 68-64 win, over Hilmar’s Yellowjackets.
Lady Bruin basketball finished its season on Thursday, Feb. 10, at home, also honoring their senior players, before the game against Hilmar’s Lady Yellowjackets, finishing with a 78-30 victory.
RHS Spring Sports
At the same time, practices for spring sports have begun on the Riverbank campus, for baseball, softball, track and field and tennis. Schedules are expected to be released this week or next for upcoming games.
