Prep rankings: Folsom tops football, Oak Ridge leads baseball, Roseville tops softball
Very little of the high school football experience is normal these days, starting with the 2020 fall season playing out in the spring.
The pandemic has jolted schedules and lives tenfold. With a limited amount of fans allowed, games canceled right and left and schools scrambling to fill vacancies, each week is a madhouse. The Holy Bowl will be contested this week but without all the build-up on each campus, nor will the event have any in-game trappings that has made it such a unique rivalry.
Friday marks the 50th Holy Bowl in thought only. Christian Brothers will host Jesuit on its campus, but student rooting sections, bands and thousands of fans and alumni will not be in attendance as they have been for decades at Hughes Stadium, often drawing 15,000 or more spectators.
Immediate families will be allowed, and due to the otherwise hollow nature of the region’s most-spirited fan experience, both teams have agreed to not formally name this the 50th Holy Bowl.
“It’s a Holy Bowl with an asterisk,” CB athletic director Dale Milton explained recently.
Still, come kickoff, the game will matter. Ranked No. 16 by The Bee, Christian Brothers (1-1) seeks to carry over the spirited 30-27 win over Jesuit from the 2019 season at Hughes, which included CB fans storming the field to celebrate. Ace Saca rushed for three touchdowns for Jesuit and he returns for the No. 17 Marauders in what figures to be a nice duel of running backs. CB is led by junior running back D.J. Crowther, who is also a threat on special teams.
Milestone wins
The Sac-Joaquin Section has two more coaches who have reached the 250-win plateau, and it happened to two charismatic leaders who downplay their success. Terry Logue won his 250th game at Bear River with a 34-8 win over Foresthill, a game in which Logue and co-coach Scott Savoie pulled up the junior varsity players and played everyone in the driving rain. Said Logue of his milestone, “It just means I’m old.”
No, sir. It means you’re also great, marked by staying power and a trophy case of section championship hardware. Another milestone moment awaits: A rare father-son coaching matchup as Western Sierra Academy of Placer County plays at Bear River with WSA coach Zach Logue facing his father, who coached him in the 1990s at Bear River.
Also insisting he’s old is Roger Canepa of Central Catholic of Modesto. His team rallied to beat Bellarmine of San Jose 28-21 for win No. 250, and he, too, has won multiple section titles — and two CIF State crowns. Retired Escalon coach Mark Loureiro is the section’s winningest coach with 270. Grant’s Mike Alberghini is second at 268.
The other area 200-game winners are retired, including Dan Carmazzi, Dave Humphers, Ed Lombardi, Max Miller, Frank Negri, Wayne Schneider, Terry Stark and Tom Zunino.
Quick hits
▪ The grit of the week award goes to Jacob Birch of Del Oro, who made plays on defense in a 29-21 loss at Rocklin despite competing with two fractured wrists. He’s also a 4.0 student.
▪ The long-anticipated Grant vs. Inderkum game will not happen. Grant’s scrimmage last week against Elk Grove was canceled due to a positive COVID-19 test, and the quarantine prevents a game this week. Inderkum is looking for a game.
▪ Prophet Brown anticipated playing for Moneterey Trail this spring, but has put that on ice as the USC-bound all-purpose star will sit out spring action, though he will run track and he remains on the Mustangs sideline as a No. 1 fan.
▪ Tough break for Oak Ridge’s terrific linebacker Ryan Enney, a 4.2 student who has been lost for the season with a knee injury.
▪ The pancake weekly award, if there was such a thing, would go to Bobby Piland of Rocklin, the powerhouse two-way lineman who had 10 pancake blocks — putting an opponent flat on his back — and five quarterback hurries against Rocklin.
▪ Hard to block: Austin Hauptman of Whitney, who was credited with 4.5 sacks and 17 tackles for Whitney in a 10-6 loss to No. 2 Oak Ridge.
▪ Hard to stop: Del Campo junior quarterback Terrence Ballard had a sizzling debut, passing for 330 yards and six touchdowns in a 50-12 win over Foothill.
▪ Still rolling: Folsom junior Tyler Tremain is still hot, blistering Granite Bay for 302 yards passing and four touchdowns and rushing for one in a 35-25 win over Granite Bay.
▪ It’s nice to see running backs praising offensive linemen, be it Darian Leon-Guerro of Vacaville after rushing for 171 yards and four scores to beat Davis 28-21, or Ethan Menezes of Vista del Lago after rushing for 228 yards and five touchdowns to beat El Camino 63-6.
▪ Placer had two backs eclipse 200 yards with a lot of praise for linemen in Lavell Davis (215 yards) and Dulan Logalin (238),as both combined for four scores. Now the Hillmen are without a game, having to cancel this week’s contest against Rio Linda due to a positive COVID-19 test.
▪ A COVID-19 moment for a referee working the Bear River-Foresthill game as witnessed by our media friend Brian Hudson after a Bear River interception and 60-yard return into the end zone: “It was called back, not because of penalty but because Foresthill called timeout just before the play started, but the referee didn’t have time to pull his mask down to put his whistle in his mouth. The official had to explain that one. Sign of the times,” Hudson said.
▪ Casa Roble is doubly charged with its two Dylans leading the way in Dylan DeCelle, a quarterback/cornerback, and running back/corner Dylan Overstreet. Both are quick, and both scored multiple times to key a 42-6 win over Mesa Verde.
▪ Truckee, a longtime power in Neveda despite residing in California, has so much snow on its home field that all spring games will be on the road. It started with a 24-0 win at Union Mine, then a 14-7 loss at Sutter, with games at Colfax on Friday, at Bear River on April 3 and at Nevada Union on April 17.
▪ Trailing 21-9 at the half, Union Mine beat Liberty Ranch 22-21 last week behind junior quarterback Calvin Owens, who passed for a touchdown and ran for another.
▪ Other canceled games this week: Franklin vs. Sheldon; Davis vs. Elk Grove (Davis now playing Pleasant Grove).
Baseball/Softball
In one of the few baseball games last week, No. 10 Woodcreek beat top-ranked Oak Ridge 8-3 Saturday in El Dorado Hills.
After Oak Ridge took a 3-0 lead in the second inning with RBIs by juniors Christian Cochrane and Michael May, Woodcreek rallied behind big bats and senior Tyler Blankenship, who pitched the final three innings, striking out two and not allowing a run.
Woodcreek plays No. 2 Rocklin on Wednesday and No. 19 Oakmont on Friday. Oak Ridge plays at No. 6 Franklin on Wednesday this week.
Two-time defending section Division V champion Colfax opened with an 8-0 win over Forest Lake Christian as Anthony Packard struck out 10 in four innings to go with two hits and three RBIs at the plate. Junior Noah Souza came in for relief in the fifth inning and recorded all nine of his outs via strikeout.
Few softball teams played last week but No. 4 Sheldon is off to a fast start at 3-0 with shortened-game wins over Lincoln, Del Oro and Whitney in outscoring teams 39-4, with eight home runs and a .473 team batting average over 14 innings. Jazzy Fines has been on a tear, hitting .727, including two against Del Oro. How good is the family? Brother Eddie Fines of Elk Grove had a diving catch against Oak Ridge in a baseball scrimmage game while collecting three hits.
The eldest siblings, Jordan and Maci Fines, were former Bee Players of the Year at Sheldon.
No. 2 Elk Grove is also 3-0 with wins over Del Oro, Granite Bay and Lincoln.
THE BEE’S TOP 25
FOOTBALL
1. Folsom (2-0)
2. Oak Ridge (1-1)
3. Monterey Trail (1-0)
4. Rocklin (1-0)
5. Cosumnes Oaks (0-0)
6. Inderkum (1-1)
7. Elk Grove (0-0)
8. Granite Bay (1-1)
9. Capital Christian (0-0)
10. Lincoln (1-0)
11. Placer (1-1)
12. Del Oro (0-1)
13. Vacaville (1-0)
14. Davis (0-1)
15. Vista del Lago (1-0)
16. Christian Brothers (1-1)
17. Jesuit (0-1)
18. Roseville (0-0)
19. Whitney (0-1)
20. Oakmont (1-0)
21. Pleasant Grove (0-0)
22. Antelope (0-0)
23. Yuba City (0-0)
24. Casa Roble (1-0)
25. Del Campo (1-0)
Bubble teams (alphabetical order): Amador (1-0), Bear River (1-1), Bradshaw Christian (0-0), Center (0-1), Colfax (1-0), Dixon (0-0), East Nicolaus (0-0), El Dorado (1-0), Franklin (0-0), Golden Sierra (0-0), Grant (0-0), Highlands (0-0), Laguna Creek (0-1), Nevada Union (1-1), Pioneer (1-0), Ponderosa (1-1), River Valley (0-0), Rosemont (0-0), Sacramento (1-1), Sheldon (0-0), Union Mine (1-1), Vanden (1-0), Winters, (0-0), Woodcreek (0-1). - Joe Davidson
SPRING FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
All games 7-7:30 p.m. starts, unless noted
(subject to change due to COVID-19 testing)
Tuesday
Galt at Bradshaw Christian, 6 p.m.
Thursday
Natomas at Foothill
Ponderosa at Lincoln
Friday
Woodcreek at Bella Vista
Liberty Ranch at El Dorado
Casa Roble at Center
Jesuit at Christian Brothers
Truckee at Colfax
Valley at Cordova
Capital Christian at Cosumnes Oaks
Del Oro at Folsom
Johnson at Florin
Placer at Rio Linda
Winters at River City
Yuba City at River Valley
Oak Ridge at Rocklin
Bradshaw Christian at Union Mine
Armijo at Vacaville
Del Campo at Vista del Lago
Dixon at Woodland
Saturday
Roseville at Antelope, 1 p.m.
Bradshaw Christian at Union Mine, 1 p.m.
Mira Loma at Highlands, 1 p.m.
El Camino at Sacramento, 1 p.m.
Granite Bay at Whitney, 2 p.m.
McClatchy vs. Laguna Creek, 7 p.m.
THE BEE’S TOP 20
BASEBALL
1. Oak Ridge (0-1)
2. Rocklin (0-0)
3. Folsom (0-0)
4. Jesuit (0-0)
5. Elk Grove (0-0)
6. Vacaville (0-0)
7. Franklin (0-0)
8. Granite Bay (0-0)
9. Placer (0-0)
10. Woodcreek (1-0)
11. Ponderosa (0-0)
12. McClatchy (0-0)
13. Del Campo (0-0)
14. Lincoln (0-0)
15. Davis (0-0)
16. Bella Vista (0-0)
17. Cosumnes Oaks (0-0)
18. Pleasant Grove (0-0)
19. Oakmont (0-0)
20. Christian Brothers (0-0)
Bubble teams: Alpha Charter (0-0), Casa Roble (0-0), Colfax (1-0), Del Oro (0-0), El Camino (0-0), Kennedy (0-0), Laguna Creek (0-0), Nevada Union (0-0), Pioneer (0-0), Rio Americano (0-0), Roseville (0-0), Vista Del Lago (0-0), Whitney (0-0), Woodland (0-0), Yuba City (0-0). - Cameron Salerno
THE BEE’S TOP 20
SOFTBALL
1. Roseville (0-0)
2. Elk Grove (3-0)
3. Rocklin (0-0)
4. Sheldon (3-0)
5. Vista del Lago (0-0)
6. Del Oro (1-2)
7. Whitney (0-2)
8. Lincoln (0-2)
9. Center (0-0)
10. Oakmont (0-0)
11. Ponderosa (0-0)
12. St. Francis (0-1)
13. Sutter (0-0)
14. East Nicolaus (0-0)
15. McClatchy (0-0)
16. Folsom (0-0)
17. Pleasant Grove (1-0)
18. Marysville (0-0)
19. Antelope (0-0)
20. Oak Ridge (0-0)
Bubble teams: Bella Vista (1-0), Cosumnes Oaks (1-0), Davis (0-0), Franklin (1-0), Granite Bay (0-2), Inderkum (0-0), Laguna Creek (0-0), Liberty Ranch (0-0) Lindhurst (0-0), River City (0-0), Casa Roble (0-0) , Vacaville (0-0), West Campus (0-0), Woodcreek (0-0), Yuba City (0-0). - Pete Dufour
This story was originally published March 23, 2021 at 5:00 AM.