Prep football roundup: Sacramento wins on the road, Granite Bay, Whitney, Del Oro roll
For a lot of Sacramento-area high school football teams, the best place to play Friday night was on the road, outside Sacramento County, where thick smoke led to a rash of canceled or postponed games.
The No. 15-ranked Sacramento Dragons drove more than an hour to play at Ripon Christian in San Joaquin County in a game put together during a frantic week of COVID-19 rescheduling. Lamar Radcliffe rushed for 154 yards on 14 carries and scored four touchdowns, Naaman Branyan passed for 245 yards and a touchdown, receivers Kendahl Hearne and Lamont Burrell stretched the field with 168 yards receiving, and the defense stood tall in a 35-7 victory.
“The weather’s great here,” said Dragons coach Justin Reber, whose team is 2-0.
Top-ranked Folsom’s game against No. 7 Jesuit was moved to Monday night at Folsom. No. 8 Grant visits No. 9 Inderkum on Monday, but the game between No. 2 Rocklin and No. 10 Capital Christian was moved to Sept. 10, when both have a bye.
The game between No. 12 Christian Brothers and No. 13 Pleasant Grove was canceled, as was No. 24 at No. 17 Placer and No. 25 El Dorado against Bear River. No. 6 Monterey Trail tried to get in its game at Cosumnes Oaks but it was smoked out, so the Mustangs are playing at Los Gatos of the Central Coast Section on Saturday afternoon.
No. 3 Vacaville 17, No. 4 Oak Ridge 10 at Vacaville: Darian Leon-Guerrero had a 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and scored on a 67-yard run early in the second half for a 14-7 lead to lead the Bulldogs over the Trojans. Drew Cowart of Oak Ridge hit Aden Clark for a 7-yard touchdown to tie it 7-7, but Vacaville held off a late Trojans drive.
No. 5 Granite Bay 56, Davis 14 in Davis: Jayce Latson scored on runs of 32, 6 and 13 yards, Dominic Soares had a 65-yard punt return touchdown and caught a 23-yard scoring pass from Noah Mitcheom, and Frank Cusano had a 1-yard scoring run to power the Grizzlies, who led 49-14 at the half. Granite Bay is 2-0.
No. 14 Whitney 23, Chico 0 in Rocklin: Jacob Smiley passed for three touchdowns, two to Phoenix Rose, and Carson Phillips ran for a touchdown as the Wildcats beat the Panthers of the Northern Section to improve to 2-0.
No. 18 Vanden 49, River City 0 in Fairfield: Tre Dimes had three first-half touchdown passes for a 21-0 lead and the defense kept the Raiders in check the rest of the way. The Vikings are 2-0.
No. 21 Del Oro 36, Del Campo 0 in Fair Oaks: Ryan Lewis hit Gavin Guillen for a 20-yard touchdown pass, Jimmy Brear had a safety late in the half to make it 23-0 and Sam Murray returned the ensuing kickoff 55 yards to make it 30-0 lead for the Golden Eagles, who moved to 2-0. Guillen also scored on runs of 1 and 31 yards.
Pioneer 44, Armijo 6 in Woodland: Jack Carner scored three rushing touchdowns and Brandon Nolan led the defense with two sacks and an interception return for a touchdown for the Patriots, who have allowed six points in two resounding victories.
Foresthill 41, Coral Academy 7 in Auburn: Kiernan Hammer ran for two touchdowns, and Aemon Aldrich, Kole Keon, Austin Byrum and Matt Nance each reached the end zone for the Wildfires, who rolled the Reno school in moving to 2-0.
Rosemont 13, McClatchy 0 at Rosemont: Michael Cherry rushed for 160 yards and had a 66-yard touchdown run, and DeShannon Maline scored on a 24-yard run in the closing seconds as the Wolverines moved to 2-0.
Vacaville Christian 30, Stoneridge 0 at Vacaville: Vacaville led just 12-0 at halftime but racked up 18 more points in the second half while the defense remained stout in a shutout cruise.
Area coaches are encouraged to send game results, touchdown leaders and scoring highlights to: jdavidson@sacbee.com to ensure publication or for Prep of the Week nominations.
This story was originally published August 28, 2021 at 6:15 AM.