Playoff roundup: Elk Grove goes for win, ref calls it back, Antelope hangs on

Eighth-seeded Antelope overcame a late comeback attempt by No. 9 Elk Grove to prevail 21-20 in a wild Sac-Joaquin Section Division II playoff opener Thursday night.

Kris Brown’s touchdown on an 11-yard run with 4:04 to play capped an 18-play, 91-yard drive to put host Antelope (10-1) ahead 21-14, its first lead of the game.

But Elk Grove’s Carter Harris blocked a punt at the Titans’ 2-yard line with under a minute to play. After an Antelope penalty moved the ball to the 1, Elk Grove (5-6) quarterback Devin Sullivan dived into the end zone for the score, and coach John Heffernan elected to go for the winning two-point conversion.

But Sullivan was ruled by the referee to have stepped over the line of scrimmage after tossing a shovel pass to Tre’von Frazier for what appeared to be the go-ahead points.

Antelope then recovered the onside kick to advance to next Friday’s second-round game at top-seeded Granite Bay.

Antelope had the ball for most of the game but trailed for much of the riveting contest because of an 80-yard touchdown burst by Matthew Horne early in the first quarter, then a Kazuel Pride 55-yard interception return early in the second quarter that gave Elk Grove a 14-0 lead.

Division I

No. 1 Folsom 76, No. 16 River City 9 in Folsom – Kaiden Bennett completed 10 of 15 passes for 295 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 90 yards and two scores as the Bulldogs (11-0) rolled over the Raiders (7-4). Joe Ngata had 56- and 2-yard touchdown receptions and Daniyel Ngata a 58-yard touchdown catch and 54-yard touchdown run.

No. 2 Oak Ridge 63, No. 15 Lincoln 12 in El Dorado Hills - Matt Jenner passed for 314 yards and six touchdowns, including 69- and 67-yard strikes to Austin Jarrad, and Cooper Crick tossed two touchdowns as Oak Ridge (10-1) beat the Stockton visitors. Trojans star quarterback Marco Baldacchino sat out with a knee strain.

No. 5 Vacaville 43, No. 12 Monterey Trail 27 in Vacaville – Timothy Jackson rushed for three touchdowns and Dylan Warfield added two as the Bulldogs (7-3) broke open a close game with the Mustangs (6-5) in the fourth quarter. Zach Larrier rushed for two touchdowns and threw a 45-yard touchdown to Brandon Hwa to lead the Mustangs.

No. 6 Sheldon 38, No. 11 Cosumnes Oaks 8 at Sheldon – Rohan Bell returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown and Francisco Salinas and Dom Johnson teamed for a 70-yard pass play to highlight the Huskies’ (9-2) romp over the Wolfpack (5-6). Salinas also rushed for a touchdown and picked off a pass.

No. 7 Gregori 45, No. 10 Franklin-Elk Grove 20 in Modesto – Bobby Avina threw four touchdown passes to lead the Jaguars (11-0) past the Wildcats (7-4). Brandon Rundgren threw touchdown passes to Brady Johnson and Jalen Lampley for Franklin.

Division II

No. 1 Granite Bay 42, No. 16 Burbank 20 in Granite Bay – Jade Foddrill threw a 27-yard scoring strike to Matt Barron and Evan Tattersall and Jared Harper rushed for touchdowns in a 21-point second quarter that allowed the Grizzlies (9-2) to build a comfortable lead and coast past the Titans (6-5).

No. 2 Inderkum 35, No. 15 Vintage 24 in Natomas – Destynd Lewis rushed for two touchdowns and the Tigers (11-0) rallied from a 24-21 halftime deficit against the Crushers (7-3) from Napa to remain unbeaten.

No. 4 Del Campo 50, No. 13 Buhach Colony 21 in Fair Oaks – Greg Cabral’s 92-yard touchdown run led a parade of highlights for the Cougars (11-0) in their win over the Thunder (7-4) from Atwater.

No. 5 Sacramento 49, No. 12 Wood 3 in Dixon – Jamie Cousey rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns and Derek Shelton completed 14 of 17 passes for 176 yards and three scores, two to Anthony Bradley, as the Dragons (7-4) rolled the Wildcats of Vacaville (5-5). Sherman Gaye also returned an interception 33 yards for a touchdown for Sac High.

No. 6 Rocklin 37, No. 11 Downey 7 in Rocklin – Hunter Gonzalez rushed for a pair of second-half touchdowns and Ricky Purvis booted three field goals to enable the Thunder (7-4) to pull away from the Knights (8-3).

No. 7 Del Oro 16, No. 10 Lincoln 14 in Loomis – Ryan Whalley booted a 53-yard field goal with two seconds to play to lift the Golden Eagles (6-5) over the Fighting Zebras (8-3). Tommy Turner threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Devin Coffer that gave Lincoln a 14-13 lead with 1:31 to play. Whalley also converted 41- and 33-yard field goals.

Division III

No. 2 Manteca 62, No. 15 Rio Americano 21 in Manteca – Gino Campiotti threw three first-half touchdowns and Trabron Russell rushed for two touchdowns as the Buffaloes (9-2) beat the Raiders (6-5). Maximus Davis and Savion Ponce combined on a 72-yard pass play for Rio Americano.

No. 7 American Canyon 17, No. 10 River Valley 10 in American Canyon – Eddie Brydsong rushed for two touchdowns and the Wolves (7-3) intercepted a pass late in the fourth quarter to preserve the victory over the Falcons (7-4).

No. 9 Vanden 34, No. 8 Yuba City 33 (2OT) in Yuba City – The Vikings (6-4) scored a touchdown, then ran for the two-point conversion to top the Honkers (6-5) in the second overtime. Both teams traded field goals in the first overtime, then Major Niccum rushed for a 3-yard touchdown and the Honkers booted the PAT to take a brief 33-26 lead. Vanden kicked a 25-yard field goal in the final seconds of regulation to tie it 23-23. Jariah MacBath had put Yuba City ahead 23-20 on the last play of the third quarter when he returned a blocked field goal 65 yards for a touchdown.

Division IV

No. 2 Casa Roble 43, No. 7 Union Mine 13 at Bella Vista High School –Dylan DeCelle threw a 65-yard touchdown pass to AJ Ehinger and Jamil Williams rushed for a 60-yard score in leading the Rams (6-5) over the Diamondbacks (5-6).

Division V

No. 5 Colfax 43, No. 4 Orestimba 20 in Newman – Mason Ahrens rushed for 279 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries and Ryland Heimann threw four touchdown passes as the Falcons (8-3) beat the Warriors (10-1).

Division VI

No. 1 Bradshaw Christian 75, No. 8 Western Sierra 7 in South Sacramento – The Pride (8-3) jumped to a 55-0 halftime lead against the Wolves (7-4) of Rocklin.

Division VII

No. 4 Woodland Christian 17, No. 5 Big Valley Christian 15 in Woodland – Cooper Johnson rushed for a touchdown and booted a 33-yard field goal, and Eric Wyatt scored on a rush around left end with 3:21 to play to lead the Cardinals (10-1) to their first football playoff win in school history in topping the Lions (9-2).

Northern Section

East Nicolaus 46, Williams 13 in Trowbridge – Gavin McAuliff rushed for a 6-yard touchdown and threw 30- and 35-yard touchdown passes to Aidin Starr and Chris Miller, respectively, and Caleb Born recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown to lead the Spartans (11-0) over the Yellowjackets (2-9) in a Northern Section Division IV playoff game.

This story was originally published November 10, 2017 at 12:24 AM with the headline "Playoff roundup: Elk Grove goes for win, ref calls it back, Antelope hangs on."