Classes begin for the new school year on all Riverbank campuses on Thursday, Aug. 4, but for high school sports, football practice was able to get underway on Monday, July 25.
And last week, the preseason schedules for fall sports were announced.
Bruin Football
Riverbank High’s purveyors of pigskin are working out this week, under the tutelage of Varsity Head Coach Joseph Pirillo, kicking off on Monday.
“We have a bunch of kids still on vacation, so we might start 15 to 20 this week. They will slowly trickle in the rest of the week,” the coach said.
The team is practicing from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. They start in the weight room for an hour, then workout on the field, and finish by dissecting plays in the classroom for the last hour.
Their first scrimmage, against the Millennium High School Falcons from Tracy, is at home on Friday, Aug. 19. The next two weeks after that will be on the road. On Aug. 26, the Bruins travel to Delhi, to take on the Hawks, then to Denair, on Sept. 2, to face the Coyotes.
Following a bye week, on Sept. 16, Valley Christian High School will come to town, from Roseville, to finish up the preseason slate.
Lady Bruin Volleyball
Girls volleyball has a healthy round of preseason action scheduled, with a couple of tournaments and the Foundation Game set for August.
The Foundation Game is a set of games played across the California Interscholastic Federation. Here, it benefits the Sac-Joaquin Section scholarship program. These Foundation Games are varsity contests only and allow for one extra match in the preseason.
RHS varsity girls start their preseason schedule at the Orestimba Tournament in Newman on Saturday, Aug. 20, and host Johansen High of Modesto on Monday, Aug. 22, for the Foundation Game. They’ll host Central Valley of Ceres the next day, then play at Waterford the day after that. Riverbank plays at Orestimba on Wednesday, Aug. 31, then hosts Turlock Christian the next day to finish up the preseason schedule.
Lady Bruin Golf
Girls golf is in the Valley Foothill League, where the season starts right away. Their first two matches are at home, on the Escalon 9-hole course, on Tuesday and Thursday, Aug. 23 and 25, against Gustine, then Hilmar. They will start practices on Aug. 1 as they start preparing for the league campaign.
Co-Ed Cross Country
The cross country teams have the most complicated schedule set, since there is no home course in Riverbank. That means Bruin runners will be on the road for every match of the season. In addition to the three TVL Tournament runs, they’ll have five other contests, starting with a scrimmage on Aug. 30, at Angels Camp.
