Vote now: Which is the best Sacramento-area high school football team?
There was little debate as to which school boasted the top high school football program at the end of the 2019 season. It was the Oak Ridge Trojans, pride of El Dorado Hills. Here’s the thinking of that final ranking: Oak Ridge beat Monterey Trail 35-27 in a wet and wild Sac-Joaquin Section Division I championship game at Hughes Stadium behind the gritty efforts of quarterback star Justin Lamson. Bonus: the Trojans in a regular-season nonleague finale beat Division II section champion Elk Grove, 30-21 to seal the No. 1 final nod.
And Folsom? Folsom has not lost to Oak Ridge in years, so what gives? Folsom gave way, on one night, so that’s what gives. Monterey Trail derailed Folsom’s 2019 title quest with a 35-23 victory in a section semifinal, in one of the greatest upsets in regional history, given that Folsom had won seven section banners and four CIF State crowns in the decade.
So let’s up the question a bit, beyond the best team entering spring play in the Sacramento area. Who has the best program in general, among those who have won multiple section championships?
We offered up The Bee’s preseason rankings, the longest such list since The Bee started doing football rankings in the 1940s with Oak Ridge at No. 1. Make your voice heard in our poll. The polls will close at noon on March 5.
This story was originally published February 24, 2021 at 7:46 AM.