Prep football: Ranking the top 25 teams in the Sacramento area, scoreboard and schedule
The season’s sixth week of high school football included hot August nights and a wild September of action with no real surprises in The Bee’s rankings as the campaign hits the midway point of the regular season. No surprises, at least in the top 15, outside surging No. 12 Woodcreek, which is 6-0 for just the second time since the school opened in Roseville in 1994.
Folsom has been top ranked by The Bee for pretty much 10 years now, but it did not finish there at the end of the last true season of 2019 (Oak Ridge and Monterey Trail did). Rocklin started the season No. 3 and has backed it up. Traditional programs such as Jesuit, Granite Bay, Vacaville, Elk Grove and Del Oro dot the top 10.
The surprise teams are new to the rankings for the first time in years or ever in No. 23 Pioneer, No. 24 Woodland — the teams play Friday night in Yolo County — and No. 25 Rosemont, all off to the best start in years.
Monterey Trail remains ranked despite an 0-5 showing, and how can that be? These are not won-loss standings. They are rankings that factor in strength of schedule. Monterey Trail has played the toughest schedule in Northern California with setbacks to NorCal No. 1 Folsom, No. 2 De La Salle when the Spartans were top ranked, No 14 Los Gatos and No. 25 Clayton Valley Charter, which scored in the final seconds to top the frustrated Mustangs 35-28 on Saturday night.
Head-to-head matchups also help sort the rankings order. No. 3 Jesuit lost to Folsom big in an opener and is ahead of No. 4 Granite after a 28-14 victory over the Grizzlies. No. 5 Vacaville lost 14-9 to Granite Bay and it beat No. 6 Oak Ridge 17-10. No. 7 Inderkum has a 15-6 win over No. 8 Elk Grove, which has a 28-27 loss to Oak Ridge, and so it goes.
Tune in: Join us Thursday at noon for a live episode of The Buzz on sacbee.com as we invite The Bee’s Jim Patrick and Cameron Salerno to talk about players, teams, rankings, highlights, upcoming matchups and more.
Vote, vote, vote: Cast a vote for The Bee’s Prep Football Player of the Week here
The Bee’s game coverage from the weekend includes:
Rocklin beating rival Del Oro, by Joe Davidson
West Park of Roseville wins first varsity game, by Jim Patrick
Vista del Lago beating El Camino, by Chris Biderman
Bradshaw Christian rolls on, by Jordan White
The roundup of games from across the region, by Cameron Salerno and Joe Davidson
A peek at 15 top area running backs, by Cameron Salerno
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THE BEE’S TOP 25
1. Folsom 5-0
2. Rocklin 5-0
3. Jesuit 4-1
4. Granite Bay 5-1
5. Vacaville 3-2
6. Oak Ridge 2-3
7. Inderkum 3-1
8. Elk Grove 2-2
9. Del Oro 4-2
10. Lincoln 2-2
11. Sacramento 5-0
12. Woodcreek 6-0
13. Antelope 4-0
14. Capital Christian 3-2
15. Vanden 4-1
16. Whitney 2-3
17. Yuba City 3-2
18. Monterey Trail 0-5
19. Christian Bros 2-3
20. Sheldon 4-1
21. Vista del Lago 3-2
22. Union Mine 4-0
23. Pioneer 4-0
24. Woodland 5-0
25. Rosemont 5-0
Bubble teams (alphabetical order): Bradshaw Christian 5-0; Casa Roble 2-2; Center 2-1; Colfax 2-2; Cosumnes Oaks 2-3; El Camino 3-2; El Dorado 3-1; Marysville 4-1; McClatchy 4-1; Nevada Union 3-2; Oakmont 3-2; Pleasant Grove 3-2; Ponderosa 2-1; Sutter 3-1.
- Joe Davidson
Weekend scores
Folsom 54, Grant 0
Rocklin 38, Del Oro 3
Jesuit 45, Inderkum 0
Granite Bay 21, Oak Ridge 20
Elk Grove 42, Davis 14
Sacramento 54, Del Campo 22
Rancho Cotate 38, Vanden 31
Woodcreek 58, Bella Vista 7
Antelope 35, Roseville 14
Capital Christian 52, Christian Brothers 43
Yuba City 58, River Valley 18
Clayton Valley Charter 35, Monterey Trail 28
Sheldon 14, Cosumnes Oaks 10
Vista del Lago 56, El Camino 20
Nevada Union 33, Napa 14
Wheatland 34, Corning 7
Bradshaw Christian 63, Ygnacio Valley 8
Oakmont 53, Cordova 14
West Park 42, Johnson 8
Burbank 13, Bear River 7
Esparto 63, Highlands 0
Delta 41, San Juan 6
Galt 19, Amador 18
Casa Roble 27, Ponderosa 26
Pleasant Grove 37, Franklin 30
Kennedy 48, Florin 0
McClatchy 69, Valley 0
Natomas 25, Armijo 24
Wood 40, College Park 21
Pleasant Valley 32, Placer 26
Tracy 38, Laguna Creek 7
Sutter 44, West Valley 7
Winters 7, Durham 6
Williams 34, Lindhurst 0
Pierce 50, Colusa 20
Willows 41, Central Valley 0
Valley Christian 12, Delta Charter 7
This week’s games
All kickoffs are between 7-7:30 p.m., unless noted
Thursday
Capital Christian at El Camino
Friday
Folsom at Del Oro
Oakmont at Ponderosa
Bear River at Marysville
Lincoln at Placer
Mesa Verde at Casa Roble
Foresthill at Valley Christian-Roseville
Rio Linda at Nevada Union
Menlo-Atherton at Oak Ridge
San Juan at Esparto
Natomas at Cordova
Grant at Whitney
Cosumnes Oaks at Pleasant Grove
Dixon at Mira Loma
West Park at Millennium
Rocklin at Granite Bay
Highlands at Linden
Jesuit at Franklin
Center at Colfax
Foothill at Lindhurst
River City at Laguna Creek
McClatchy at Monterey Trail
Vista del Lago at Del Campo
Bella Vista at Antelope
Inderkum at Woodcreek
Sheldon at Elk Grove
River Valley at Roseville
Wood at Vanden
Bradshaw Christian at El Dorado
Yuba City at Chico
Fairfield at Vacaville
Rosemont at Liberty Ranch
Pioneer at Woodland
Galt at Union Mine
Winters at Colusa
Sutter at Wheatland
Pierce at East Nicolaus
Live Oak at Gridley
Saturday
Oakland at Sacramento, 1 p.m.
Rio Americano at Christian Brothers, 7 p.m.
Valley vs. Florin at Monterey Trail, 7 p.m.
This story was originally published September 28, 2021 at 7:40 AM.