Bee Prep of the Week: Oakmont’s Hayden Abbruzzese
Hayden Abbruzzese grew up around Oakmont High School football.
He was a member of the program’s junior youth program, competing on grass or on pavement with visions of some day playing varsity ball.
The junior quarterback has come into his own, and he’s still growing at 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, as are the upstart Vikings.
In a 44-0 win over Casa Roble on Friday, Abbruzzese passed for two touchdowns and ran for one to push Oakmont’s record to 4-0. His efforts earned him Bee Prep of the Week honors through fan voting. With more than 27,000 votes cast, Abbruzzese earned 41 percent of the vote.
“Hayden reminds me of the type of kid that I grew up with back in the ‘70s and ‘80s in Greenhaven in South Sacramento,” Oakmont coach Tim Moore said. “Hayden and his friends played outside in the streets, at the park and on the blacktop just like we did. I attribute a lot of his natural instincts and toughness to those younger years.”
Abbruzzese this season has passed for 574 yards and rushed for 291 with eight total touchdowns. The goal, of course, is to keep winning.
“Hayden’s grown as a quarterback in his first four games as the varsity starter,” Moore said. “His decision making has helped our offensive efficiency greatly.”
Joe D. picks the preps
Finally, a clean-sweep week. We went a jubilant 6-0 in picking games last week – Folsom over Oak Ridge, Del Oro over Granite Bay, Elk Grove over Davis, Rocklin over Whitney, Cosumnes Oaks over Sheldon and Capital Christian over Christian Brothers.
But we can’t help you on lotto numbers as we cannot even help ourselves there.
Menlo-Atherton (2-3) at No. 1 Folsom (3-1)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Storyline: Menlo-Atherton is a Bay Area power that is coming off a CIF State championship, fast and physical in what should be a high-scoring nonleague game. Daniyel Ngata is as gritty as they come, laboring through injuries to lead the charge against Oak Ridge.
We think we know: Folsom 42-31
No. 2 Oak Ridge (3-1) at No. 6 Rocklin (4-1)
When: Friday, 7:15 p.m.
Storyline: The SFL is still wide open here, and this figures to be a physical encounter with another electric atmosphere. Rocklin has erased memories of its 2-8 campaign of 2018 and has one of the section’s top rooting sections.
We think we know: Oak Ridge 35-34
Sheldon (2-3) at No. 7 Elk Grove (3-1)
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Storyline: This Delta League contest pits the passing of Sheldon and Sean Nixon against the run-heavy Herd, led by Carter Harris. Nixon and coaching father Chris Nixon return to Elk Grove, where they spent a lot of memorable years together, Sean as a ball boy and pops as a championship coach.
We think we know: Elk Grove 42-38
No. 12 Pleasant Grove (4-0) vs. No. 12 Cosumnes Oaks (4-1)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., at Sheldon
Storyline: From long seasons in 2018 to fast-forward fun now, this Delta duel expects to be a prolific good show, thanks to steady quarterbacks Nathan Valencia of PG and Anthony Grigsby of CO. Says the defensive coordinators: “Make a stop!”
We think we know: Pleasant Grove 45-42
No. 13 Granite Bay (2-3) at Grant (1-3)
When: Friday, 7:15 p.m.
Storyline: Programs with state-championship hardware meet in SFL action with a GB loss likely denying the Grizzlies a shot at the SFL title after a setback at Del Oro last week. Grant is coming off a bye and knows this is a must-have game.
We think we know: Grant 21-20.