A look at the Cal-Hi Sports/ESPN football NorCal Top 15. Nine section teams in the top 15 is further proof that this section is loaded.
Northern California Top 15
1. (1) Grant (Sacramento) 10-0
2. (2) De La Salle (Concord) 8-2
3. (3) St. Mary's (Stockton) 10-0
4. (5) Rocklin 10-0
5. (6) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) 9-0-1
6. (7) Bellarmine Prep (San Jose) 8-1-1
7. (10) Nevada Union (Grass Valley) 9-1
8. (11) Tracy 10-0
9. (12) Deer Valley (Antioch) 10-0
10. (9) Palma (Salinas) 8-1-1
11. (4) Amador Valley (Pleasanton) 9-1
12. (13) Inderkum (Sacramento) 10-0
13. (14) Del Oro (Loomis) 8-2
14. (15) Granite Bay 8-2
15. (NR) Vacaville 9-1
Breakdown:
Amador Valley's upset loss to Foothill of Pleasanton last Friday night not only helped clear the way for Deer Valley of Antioch to secure the No. 2 seed behind De La Salle in the North Coast Section Div. I playoffs but it also dropped them down in the NorCal overall rankings.
With Rocklin moving up from No. 5 to No. 4, this means that three of the top four teams in the CIF North Open Division rankings will all be involved in the same Sac-Joaquin Section playoff. Only one will get on the board in Carson when teams are picked for this year's games on Sunday, Dec. 13, which further aids in the likelihood that whichever team wins that section title will get the open division bid from the North.
Still, no one should count out De La Salle even with two losses. For even Grant, St. Mary's and Rocklin, beating either Don Bosco Prep of New Jersey of Lakeland of Florida would be very tough and De La Salle still hasn't lost a game to any other NorCal school (at least from the CIF's definition of NorCal) since 1991.
Newly-ranked Vacaville, led by 1,300-yard rusher Jimmy Hines, ended its regular season last Friday with a seventh straight comfortable win as the Bulldogs beat Wood of Vacaville, 54-13, to finish undefeated in the Monticello Empire League.
Since suffering their only loss of the season to an impressive Granite Bay squad, the Bulldogs haven't even played a close game as seven straight wins have come by more than 30 points.
It was just three years ago that Vacaville was celebrating a Sac-Joaquin Section Division I championship and with all of those other teams in the Division II playoffs the Bulldogs have to be considered one of the favorites this year along with unbeaten Tracy and 9-1 Nevada Union (which has lost only to Rocklin).
