The lofty rankings are flattering, and the national buzz with ESPN in town this week makes for a unique experience, too. In the middle of the chaos is Joe Cattolico, the Pleasant Grove High School football coach whose old-school values have helped build a championship program. And one sobering reminder from Cattolico dispels any notions from Pleasant Grove players that they top prep football's new world.

The Eagles are good, certainly, and time will tell if they're great. They may be here, there and everywhere – on TV and magazine covers – but Cattolico counters they really haven't arrived. The Eagles last played in December, he points out. One loss now could turn the glow to a glare.

Still, expectations are high, another indication of progress in a region that for years pleaded for any degree of notoriety. Pleasant Grove is ranked No. 1 by The Bee for the first time, No. 4 in the state by ESPN and No. 8 nationally by MaxPreps.

Pleasant Grove's rapid rise is contributing to the Sacramento region's growing national profile. A year after airing a Sacramento high school football game for the first time – Folsom vs. Grant – ESPN is back to broadcast the Pleasant Grove at Monterey Trail opener Saturday. One thousand tickets were bought in 20 minutes by Pleasant Grove fans Tuesday.

"We're on ESPN because of what others in Sacramento have done in the past and for what's expected of us," Cattolico said. "It'd be different if it was midseason or end of the season and we worked into that rankings spot, because we haven't done anything."

Football in this region has not been better. The players, coaching, year-round training, ambitious scheduling and community support have created a successful game plan.

Yet, unlike in many regions across the country, powerhouse programs here are public schools, proof that home-grown talent can make a difference.

Pleasant Grove's Arik Armstead, a 6-foot-8, 285-pound lineman who has verbally committed to USC, is rated the No. 1 prep recruit in the country by Rivals.com.

And Shaq Thompson, Grant's tailback and safety who also is being nationally recruited, is regarded as one of the best players in the country, according to MaxPreps national writer Mitch Stephens.

This region could produce four state bowl teams, and take your pick among the contenders. Pleasant Grove, Granite Bay, Nevada Union, Franklin and Monterey Trail all have Division I bowl aspirations. Grant and Folsom are the class of the Sac-Joaquin Section in Division II.

Del Oro, Whitney, Placer and Casa Roble are especially strong in Division III, as is Union Mine in Division IV.

From a national view, Northern California no longer ends on the outskirts of the Bay Area.

"The pendulum really began to swing from the Bay Area to the valley about the middle of the last decade," Stephens said. "I think of Grant's 40-7 domination of Valley Christian of San Jose in 2006, a program some said was second in the Bay Area to De La Salle. Valley Christian coach Mike Machado told me the Pacers were the best team he'd ever seen.

"And last year, Granite Bay put a 45-7 hurt on Pittsburg, also thought of as the Bay Area's second best program."

For decades, the divide between area Division I and II programs was huge. Now those divisions are equal. Pleasant Grove's only loss last fall was to D-II Folsom, which went on to hand state-ranked No. 1 Grant its only loss, in the section final.

Del Oro won the D-III section last season after beating large-school rivals Granite Bay and Nevada Union in Sierra Foothill League play.

Sense a trend?

"Football here is light years from where it was 20 years ago," Rio Linda coach Mike Morris said.

And from Nevada Union coach Dave Humphers: "Our section is as good as any in the state."

Franklin coach Mike Johnson said the area "plays the best football in Northern California. We're all pounding our chests to play out-of-area teams."

It's not that area teams just learned how to play football in recent years.

Cordova led the nation in wins in the 1970s. Elk Grove set national scoring and yardage totals in 1998 in its 14-0 season.

But it took a state bowl statement to really usher in a new era for Sacramento area programs.

The bowl concept was hatched by section commissioner Pete Saco last decade. He lobbied the other state commissioners for Grant to compete in the prestigious Open Bowl in 2008 – and was met with snickers and scowls.

Then Grant knocked off national No. 3 Long Beach Poly 25-20, Grant coach Mike Alberghini was named National Coach of the Year, an area first, and his team finished No. 4 in the country, the highest by any area team since Cordova of the 1970s.

In 2009, Rocklin lost a bowl game on a last-second field goal to Servite of Anaheim, which was ranked fourth nationally. Last season, Folsom beat Serra of Gardena 48-20 in a bowl to cap a 14-1 season and finish No. 5 in the country.

And now here comes Pleasant Grove.

"We love the idea of representing this area," said Pleasant Grove cornerback Desmond Lewis. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime challenge."

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