Roundup: Center upsets Lincoln; Elk Grove escapes Davis; Placer, Inderkum roll; Kennedy wins

Center’s Michael Wortham threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to Emari White on fourth and nine with 2:31 to play, then the No. 20 Cougars recovered a Lincoln fumble 2 yards from their end zone in the final 40 seconds to upset the No. 15 Fighting Zebras 20-14 Friday in Antelope to remain unbeaten.

Lincoln (2-2) jumped to a 14-0 lead on two second-quarter touchdowns before Wortham scored on a 2-yard run just before the half to cut the lead to 14-6. Center then closed to 14-12 in the second half when Wortham and Lorenzo McGill connected on a 90-yard pass play.

No. 4 Placer 70, El Dorado 7 in Auburn – Marshall Chapman rushed for three touchdowns; Michael Struck threw TD passes to Cyrus O’Neal and Ian Howes; and Brad Bishop and Chase Laguana each returned interceptions for touchdowns as the Hillmen (5-0) crushed the Cougars (1-4). Placer’s vaunted wing-T has rolled up 299 points through five nonleague games.

No. 5 Inderkum 76, Bella Vista 7 in Fair Oaks – Raymond Brown rushed for 50-, 22- and 2-yard touchdowns; Joseph Sapp had 55- and 2-yard TD runs and also recovered a fumble; and Aaron Espero returned a punt 68 yards for a touchdown as the Tigers (4-0, 1-0) walloped the Broncos (0-4, 0-1) in the Capital Valley Conference opener for both.

No. 9 Jesuit 49, Rio Americano 14 in Carmichael – Isaiah Rutherford rushed for three touchdowns; Hank Harvego threw 60- and 5-yard TD passes to Connor McIntee and Cade Cunningham, respectively; and the Marauders (2-2) broke open a close game with the neighborhood rival Raiders (1-3) by scoring 28 third-quarter points. Savion Ponce returned a kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown and had an interception for Rio Americano.

No. 10 Sheldon 42, Cosumnes Oaks 19 at Sheldon HS – Tyrell Smith rushed for touchdowns of 47, 6 and 2 yards as the Huskies (4-1, 1-0) downed the Wolfpack (2-3, 0-1) in the Delta League opener. Dillon Juniel rushed for a 47-yard TD and returned an interception 50 yards for another score and Francisco Salinas hooked up with Michael Graves for an 82-yard touchdown play for Sheldon. Anthony Grigsby Jr. threw two touchdown passes and rushed for another for Cosumnes Oaks.

No. 11 Bear River 54, Encina 0 in Lake of the Pines – Calder Kunde threw a 54-yard scoring strike to Joseph Cregar and a 33-yard touchdown pass to Dylan Scott, and Jeremy Rodrigues returned a free kick after a safety 62 yards for a score in leading the Bruins (5-0) over the Bulldogs (2-2).

No. 14 Elk Grove 21, Davis 14 in Elk Grove – The Thundering Herd (2-2, 1-0) rallied for two second-half touchdowns to defeat the Blue Devils (3-2, 0-1) in the Delta League opener. Ben Busano’s 50-yard touchdown pass to Kayden Hoal gave Davis a 14-7 lead with 1:40 to play in the first half.

No. 16 Ponderosa 47, Cordova 41 (OT) in Shingle Springs – Jake Chaney ran for a game-winning 17-yard touchdown after the Bruins (5-0) stopped the Lancers (1-4) on downs in their first possession in the first overtime. Cordova held a 41-34 lead before the Bruins rallied to tie it 41-41 with a touchdown and an extra-point kick with under two minutes to play in regulation.

No. 17 Antelope 21, Yuba City 20 in Yuba City – Mhari Roberts ran for two second-half touchdowns and Ben Moreno added both PATs, then the Titans (2-3, 1-0) recovered an onside-kick attempt and ran out the clock to beat the Honkers (2-3, 0-1) in the Capital Valley Conference opener. Bryce Rogers threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Luke Afato, then hit Major Niccum for the two-point conversion with under three minutes to play.

No. 18 Rocklin 31, Whitney 21 at Rocklin HS – Cade Wyant threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Mason Becker, then Liam Mays added a 35-yard field goal as the Thunder (2-3, 0-1) pulled away from the Wildcats (0-4, 0-1) in the ninth annual Quarry Bowl. Whitney tied the Sierra Foothill League opener 14-14 with 4:56 to play in the third quarter on Nick Miller’s 6-yard touchdown run.

San Juan 20, Mesa Verde 14 at San Juan HS – The Spartans (2-2) scored the winning touchdown with under a minute to play, nullifying a big performance by the Mavericks’ (0-5) Jshawn Brown, who scored 69- and 25-yard first half touchdowns.

Woodcreek 57, Roseville 7 at Woodcreek HS – Grant Dinger rushed for two touchdowns and Carter Krupp threw touchdown passes to Hudson Habermehl and Matt Willford as the Timberwolves (5-0, 1-0) built a 29-0 first quarter lead over the Tigers (2-3, 0-2) en route to The Junction Bowl and Capital Valley Conference victory.

Vista del Lago 49, El Camino 21 at El Camino HS – Grant Patterson threw six touchdown passes – two to Chad Wilson – and Zach Corbitt had a touchdown catch and two interceptions as Vista del Lago (2-3, 1-0) topped El Camino (1-4, 0-1) in a Capital Athletic League battle.

Woodland 42, Natomas 0 in Woodland – Daniel Casas threw touchdowns of 60 and and 49 yards to Wyatt Grisso and Jay Jay Jackson, respectively, and Zack Duncan rushed for two touchdowns as the Wolves (1-3) beat the Nighthawks (1-3).

Franklin 42, Pleasant Grove 21 at Cosumnes Oaks HS – Brandon Rundgren threw five touchdown passes, three to Mikey Hardey, and the Wildcats (2-3, 1-0) rallied with 35 unanswered points to beat the Eagles (0-5, 0-1) in the Delta League. Justin Restani had a 22-yard interception return for a touchdown for Pleasant Grove.

Nevada Union 53, River City 21 in West Sacramento – Dawson Fay rushed for 336 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Miners (2-2) over the Raiders (0-5).

Colfax 44, Union Mine 14 in Colfax – Jake Green returned the opening kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown, then caught a 39-yard touchdown pass from Alex Weir in helping the Falcons (4-0) jump to a 28-0 first-quarter lead against the Diamondbacks (0-4).

Sacramento 28, Del Campo 13 in Fair Oaks – Marcus Taylor completed 6 of 10 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns; Amir Robinson had three catches for 113 yards and a touchdown; and Deyvon Drayton returned a punt 70 yards for a score as the Dragons (1-4, 1-0) topped the Cougars (0-4, 0-1) in the Capital Athletic League.

Liberty Ranch 34, Laguna Creek 33 in Galt – Jonathan Thomas rushed for two touchdowns and Gabriel Nino rushed for a TD and caught a scoring pass from Matthew Hooper as the Hawks (2-3) rallied from a 27-12 halftime deficit to top the Cardinals (1-4). Tyrel Brown had a 90-yard kickoff return and rushed for a 15-yard touchdown for Laguna Creek, which closed the gap to 34-33 with five minutes to play but missed on the game-tying PAT attempt.

East Nicolaus 38, Pierce 6 in Trowbridge – Mitch Barker rushed for three touchdowns and J.T. Stinson rumbled 24 yards for another to lead the Spartans (4-0) over the Bears (3-1) in a nonleague battle of Northern Section powers. East Nicolaus has won three straight Northern Section Division IV titles and now has a 34-game winning streak against section foes.

Calaveras 57, Bradshaw Christian 7 in San Andreas – John Arbuckle recovered three fumbles, Kade Overley rushed for touchdowns of 40 and 5 yards and Jarrod Biondi had a 51-yard touchdown run and recovered a fumble to lead Calaveras (1-3) over the Pride (2-2).

Kennedy 36, Rosemont 28 in Greenhaven – Kywan Cook scored the winning touchdown with a 2-yard run with seven minutes to go and the Cougars (1-3) secured the victory over the Wolverines (3-2) with a late interception. Cook also caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Jacob Modellas and Darion Walker had a 50-yard fumble return for a touchdown for Kennedy.

This story was originally published September 15, 2018 at 12:14 AM.