Every season, two high school football programs from Placer County gauge their success and progress against each other.

Del Oro and Granite Bay represent the best in prep rivalries these days, and it came as no surprise that the Sierra Foothill League crowned two Sac-Joaquin Section champions last weekend at Sacramento State.

Del Oro beat Granite Bay 28-24 in an SFL showdown on Oct. 21 and picked up momentum from there, capping a 13-1 title run with a 21-7 win over previously undefeated Oak- dale in the D-III title game Friday. Del Oro now awaits its bowl fate, seemingly a formality given its body of work.

Granite Bay regrouped after that Del Oro loss and ran the table. The Grizzlies went 6-0 down the stretch in the regular season and 4-0 in the playoffs for an overall 12-2 mark. In that playoff march, the Grizzlies toppled the top two Division I seeds, No. 1 Lincoln of Stockton 28-21 in a semifinal and No. 2 Pleasant Grove 30-24 for the D-I title Saturday.

It was also noted by fans, media, coaches, administrators and players not tied to Del Oro or Granite Bay how each team finished its title game. Del Oro took a knee inside the Oakdale 5-yard line with over a minute to play to run out the clock, as did Granite Bay inside the Pleasant Grove 5-yard line with just under a minute to play.

So ends the debate as to which league was the section's best as Pleasant Grove and Folsom of the Delta River League lost in title games (Folsom 39-35 to Vacaville).

It was Del Oro's eighth section title since 1989 and second straight in D-III (and third for coach Casey Taylor in his 10 seasons). It was Granite Bay's fourth title since 1999 and first in D-I, all under coach Ernie Cooper.

Cooper and Taylor sought each other out after the games to embrace, ham it up and celebrate the SFL's success.

"Once all the smoke clears between Del Oro and Granite Bay, we truly admire each other," Granite Bay quarterback Brendan Keeney said.

Said Taylor: "We were pulling for them. We know how good they are."

Said Cooper: "We lost to Del Oro, and it was gut-wrenching. We knew that game was for any chance at a state bowl. It took us two or three days to overcome that loss. We didn't lose again."

Bowl hopes – Del Oro is in position to land a D-II bowl bid when the state's 10 commissioners meet Sunday. Section and state playoff enrollments differ, which is why Del Oro plays D-III in the section and D-II in the state bowl.

Section Commissioner Pete Saco will lobby for Granite Bay in D-I, but he knows the Grizzlies have two losses (Vacaville and Del Oro) and it will come down to San Jose's Bellarmine, which lost only to Open-bowl favorite De La Salle in overtime, in the D-I Bowl, with the opponent to be determined.

Saco will present a case for 13-1 Vacaville, but understands how the voting goes.

"My new name is Pete 'No Win Situation' Saco," he said. "We'll put Vacaville in the conversation, and nothing has been decided, but when asked by other commissioners who is our section's No. 1 team for a D-II bowl, it'll probably be Del Oro.

"I told the Vacaville players and coaches that it'll be hard to get Vacaville in, and they understand that. I had a player tell me, 'Thanks for being honest.' I can't tell Vacaville it has a great shot if it's not true, because I don't live in that world."

Trosin TD passes – Folsom quarterback Tanner Trosin finished with 49 touchdown passes this season, third in section history behind Dano Graves (Folsom), who had 62 last season and 52 in 2009.

Chad Elliott had 47 for Grant's D-I section title team in 1996. Nate Ray of Colfax had 41 for Colfax in 1999.

THE BEE'S TOP 20

Final 2011 rankings

Rank School W-L

1. Del Oro 13-1

2. Granite Bay 12-2

3. Pleasant Grove 12-2

4. Folsom 11-3

5. Elk Grove 12-1

6. Grant 8-4

7. Franklin 8-4

8. Nevada Union 7-4

9. Casa Roble 10-3

10. Oak Ridge 7-5

11. Burbank 9-2

12. Placer 9-3

13. Whitney 10-3

14. Inderkum 10-2

15. Vista del Lago 8-4

16. Liberty Ranch 9-4

17. Colfax 11-1

18. Del Campo 8-4

19. Cosumnes Oaks 8-4

20. Bradshaw Chr. 11-1

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