Roundup: Elk Grove, Sheldon endure top-10 drama; tough potatoes for Capital Christian

Every time No. 10 Grant closed the gap on No. 13 Elk Grove Friday night in Del Paso Heights, the Thundering Herd had a roaring response.

Behind Jake Jordan, who rushed for 169 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries, and Zion Thomas, who added 138 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries, Elk Grove prevailed over the Pacers 40-31 in the key Delta League battle.

The Pacers closed four times to within two points, including 33-31 with 10:52 to play, on a 30-yard touchdown pass.

But a 24-yard run by Jordan followed by Thomas’ 3-yard touchdown burst iced the game with 2:37 left.

No. 3 Oak Ridge 42, Woodcreek 14 in Roseville – Marco Baldacchino rushed for two touchdowns and threw touchdown passes to Austin Jarrad and Matt Jenner, and Davin Simmons added two rushing touchdowns as the Trojans (5-0, 1-0) defeated the Wolverines (1-5, 0-2) in the Sierra Foothill League contest.

No. 4 Inderkum 35, Yuba City 7 in Natomas – Isaiah Ward threw three touchdown passes, including 40- and 28-yard strikes to Isaah Crocker, as the Tigers (6-0, 2-0) defeated the Honkers (3-3, 1-1) in the Tri-County Conference game.

No. 5 Del Oro 42, Nevada Union 19 in Loomis – Brice Edwards rushed for three touchdowns and Dawson Hurst added two scores, including a 66-yard burst up the middle, to lead the Golden Eagles (4-2, 1-1) over the Miners (2-4, 0-2) in the Sierra Foothill League game. Del Oro has beaten the Miners 10 consecutive times dating to 2006.

No. 9 Sheldon 28, No. 8 Franklin 24 at Sheldon – With just eight seconds left, the Huskies (4-1, 2-0) scored from 1-yard out to defeat the Wildcats (4-1, 1-1) in another wild Delta League contest. Franklin had taken a 24-21 lead on a 4-yard touchdown pass with under four minutes to play before the Huskies drove 65 yards for the winning score. Francisco Salinas threw two touchdown passes to Dom Johnson for the Huskies.

Coeur d’Alene 45, No. 11 Capital Christian 7 in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho – Washington commit Colson Yankoff threw four touchdown passes and rushed for another, and the Vikings (4-2), Idaho’s No. 3 ranked team by maxpreps.com, outgained the Cougars 383 to 1 in yards as they built a 45-0 halftime lead. Coeur d’Alene lost its season opener 56-33 at top-ranked Folsom without Yankoff, who was still recovering from offseason knee surgery. Capital Christian fell to 3-2.

No. 14 Antelope 14, Oakmont 10 in Antelope – Mhari Roberts rushed for two touchdowns, including the game winner in the third quarter, as the Titans (5-0, 2-0) won their 19th consecutive Capital Valley Conference game in holding off the upset-minded Vikings (3-2, 0-2).

No. 16 River Valley 35, Rio Linda 27 in Rio Linda – Evan Strickland ran for a 53-yard touchdown, caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from Dawson McPeak and threw a 17-yard halfback option touchdown pass to Nick Barnes to lead the Falcons (5-0, 1-0) over the Knights (4-2, 1-1) in the Tri-County Conference game. McPeak and Barnes connected on touchdown passes of 60 and 40 yards. Abraham Banks returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown and also caught a Hail Mary from Tyson Ybarra on the final play of the second quarter to give Rio Linda a 14-13 halftime lead.

No. 17 Monterey Trail 49, Pleasant Grove 18 at Monterey Trail – Jehiel Budgett rushed for three touchdowns and returned a kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown and Viktor Oliver added 60- and 5-yard touchdown runs as the Mustangs (3-2, 1-1) defeated the Eagles (2-3, 0-2) after spotting Pleasant Grove a 14-0 first-quarter lead.

No. 19 Christian Brothers 52, Stagg-Stockton 7 at Hughes Stadium – Gunnor Faulk threw four touchdown passes – two each to Spencer Webb and Tyler Green ‑ and Green also added two rushing touchdowns to lead the Falcons (3-2) over the Delta Kings (2-3) in the nonleague game.

Cosumnes Oaks 36, Roseville 21 in Elk Grove – Marque Collins returned a kickoff 65 yards for a touchdown and caught 33- and 34-yard touchdown passes from Larry Frierson as the Wolfpack (2-3, 2-0) topped the Tigers (0-5, 0-2) in the Capital Valley Conference game. Frierson also threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Kahlef Hailassie.

Woodland Christian 24, Esparto 14 in Esparto – Eric Wyatt returned a kickoff for a touchdown, ran 45 yards for a score and had a key fourth-quarter interception to lead the Cardinals (4-1) over the Northern Section Spartans (1-4) in the nonleague contest.

River City 30, Pioneer 0 in Woodland – Zack Gomez rushed for two touchdowns, Mark Gokun and Josh Nelson added one rushing touchdown each and AJ Dhanda booted a 37-yard field goal as the Raiders (5-1, 1-1) beat the Patriots (0-5, 0-2) in the Tri County Conference game.

Bradshaw Christian 49, Encina 0 at El Camino – The Pride (3-3, 2-0) burst to a 42-0 halftime lead en route to the Sierra Delta League win over the Bulldogs (0-5, 0-2).

This story was originally published September 29, 2017 at 11:43 PM with the headline "Roundup: Elk Grove, Sheldon endure top-10 drama; tough potatoes for Capital Christian."