JONAMAR JACINTO

Sophia Tovar Delgado is one of the original members of the River Islands flag football team and among the 10 who are back for what has been a mostly-dominant second season.

With three-and-a-half weeks left in the regular season, the race for the 56 playoff spots across seven divisions is heating up in the Sac-Joaquin Section.

Two Manteca natives will be featured Saturday in the home opener for the revived Stockton Thunder minor league professional ice hockey team.

Ekam Sohal was in too much pain to celebrate the biggest play of the game with his teammates Friday at Bennie Gatto Field, And that’s all right with him.

Ripon put the finishing touches on its perfect Trans Valley League season on Tuesday, winning year-end tournament at Micke Grove Golf Links.

The playoffs may already be starting for some area teams. Reigning league champion Manteca and Lathrop are fighting to stay out of the bubble in their respective divisions, while East Union and Ripon are still chasing their fourth wins — at-large qualifiers must have at least four regular-season victories.

River Islands played its final match as a member of the Central California Athletic Alliance on Thursday with a chance to go away with at least a piece of its first league title.

The 107th edition of the Manteca-Oakdale rivalry turned out to be as competitive as most have been over the decades. That didn’t surprise coach Mark Varnum, whose Buffaloes held on for a 43-35 victory on homecoming night. They repelled a gritty and opportunistic Oakdale team that trailed 36-14 after three quarters.

Cameron Seefeldt is headed back to the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Tournament.

East Union is gearing up for its first postseason appearance in girls volleyball since 2015, while Lathrop and River Islands are aiming for their first playoff victories.