Tuesday will be a busy night for Denair High School’s sports teams and fans with three squads – girls soccer, boys soccer and boys basketball – all competing in the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs. Here is a quick preview of what is happening.
Girls Soccer
The Coyotes won the Southern League championship with a perfect 12-0 record, earning themselves a first-round bye and the No. 4 seed in the Division 6 playoffs. Denair (16-5-1) hosts No. 5 Bradshaw Christian (8-9-5) of Sacramento at 6 p.m. under the lights at Jack Lytton Stadium. Bradshaw defeated Rio Vista 9-0 in its first match Friday.
The winner of tonight’s match will move into the semifinals Thursday to face the winner of No. 1 Ripon Christian (12-8-1) and No. 8 Millennium (11-6-2) of Tracy.
Denair is led by sophomore star Jazmin Padilla, whose 46 goals this season rank her third in the entire Section. The Coyotes haven’t lost since they fell 2-1 to Hughson on Dec. 16.
Boys Soccer
Denair had no trouble with its first-round opponent as the sixth-seeded Coyotes coasted to a 6-1 victory at home Friday over No. 11 Vacaville Christian in the Division 6 playoffs. Denair (10-7-4) will be on the road tonight to play No. 3 Esparto (12-6-1). It is a rematch of the 2023 playoff game won 2-0 by Denair, which earned the Coyotes their second consecutive Section championship.
Tonight’s winner will move on to the semifinals Thursday against the winner of the match between No. 2 Bradshaw Christian (12-7-1) and No. 7 Woodland Christian (8-10-2).
Boys Basketball
Denair tied for second in the Southern League, earning it one of the lower seeds in the Division 5 playoff bracket. The Coyotes (15-11) were seeded 18th in the 19-team tournament and will be on the road tonight for a play-in game against No. 15 Summerville (8-16), which finished fifth in the Mother Lode League.
Tonight’s winner will have to turn around and play again Wednesday at No. 2 seed Argonaut (22-6), which finished second in the Sierra Valley Conference.
Denair junior Koby Cervantes leads the team in points (22.0 per game), rebounds (11.1) and blocks (2.3). Sebastian Esquivel is first in assists (2.4) and steals (2.6). The Coyotes come into the playoffs riding a four-game winning streak.
