THE SEASON A-TO-Z

A – Antelope. Will the young Titans break through?

B – Burbank. The Titans will at long last play their first true home night game.

C – Competition. It's never been better in this area.

D – Domination. Will it be by Pleasant Grove? Folsom? Grant?

E – ESPN2. Look for Saturday's Pleasant Grove-Monterey Trail game on the worldwide leader in sports.

F – Folsom. Expectations will be high for the state bowl champion Bulldogs.

G – Girl kicker. Bradshaw Christian's Jennifer Lawson made 71 extra points last season, and she's back.

H – Homecoming. Fans and alumni love the annual game. Many coaches cringe because of the added distractions for their players.

I – Interceptions. Grant quarterback Terry Shine threw only seven last season, fewest among area returning starters.

J – Jesuit is coming off of back-to-back 4-6 seasons.

K – Kennedy quarterback Elijah Chestnut. He passed for 1,041 yards as a sophomore.

L – Long Beach Poly. The famed Jackrabbits will visit Grant on Sept. 3.

M – Mark. As in Jenkins, whose 2,739 rushing yards for Pleasant Grove last season ranked 20th in the nation.

N – Natomas. The Nighthawks will try to return to the playoffs after a one-year absence.

O – Offense. Namely the spread, which will continue to test opposing defenses.

P – Punter. Florin sophomore Ben Walls was third in the Sac-Joaquin Section last season with a 41.6 average.

Q – Quickness. It's the lifeblood of teams lacking massive linemen.

R – Repeat? No Division I team has won consecutive section titles since 1998.

S – Scholarships. The chase for them has never been more intense or players better equipped.

T – Touchdowns. No area junior caught more passes for them than Whitney's Corey Palin (11) last season.

U – Underdog. The role that will be played by most teams who square off against the likes of Pleasant Grove, Folsom, Grant, Del Oro and Granite Bay.

V – Violent collisions. Players are bigger, faster and stronger than ever. Sadly, injuries are inevitable.

W – Whitney. Word is, the young Rocklin program is set for a deep playoff run.

X – X-factor. There will be a second-stringer today who will play his way into an impact position by November.

Y – Yuba City. In search of an elusive first section title, the Honkers have reached the playoffs three of the past four seasons, including the past two.

Z – Zebras. Lincoln's second-leading rusher from last season, Isaac Allen (949 yards), will take aim again at 1,000 rushing yards.

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Follow Joe Davidson on @sb_joedavidson. Davidson joins Mike Finnerty each Saturday on the SureWest Sports Radio Show on ESPN 1320 from 9 to 10 a.m.

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