Prep roundup: Rocklin rolls to set up a showdown; Sacramento avoids an upset
At long last, victory for the Placer Hillmen.
Entering Friday night’s Foothill Valley League contest in Grass Valley, Placer was prolific yet luckless in dropping its first five games. This time, the tables turned.
With Lavelle Davis rushing for 314 yards and four touchdowns, the Hillmen kept their playoff hopes alive with a 47-26 victory over Nevada Union at Hooper Stadium.
Placer is 1-5 overall and 1-1 in league play, and if the Hillmen win out, Placer will qualify for the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs. Gabe Baker led NU with three touchdowns, two passing. Placer led 27-14 at the half as Davis went for 175 yards and two scores. For such a storied program as Placer, winless starts are a rarity.
A nice win, coach?
“Big time!” Placer coach Joey Montoya told The Bee. “Man what a blessing to win. That’s unchartered territory. We’ve been in every game this season. Evern against Lincoln (a 28-0 loss last week), we were down eight deep in the third, and they are legit good. We are getting healthy and better at the same time.”
De La Salle 31, No. 1 Folsom 10 in Folsom: Zeke Berry opened the game with an 86-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and the Spartans of Concord kept adding big plays to batter the Bulldogs, who came in ranked No. 1 in Northern California for the first time since 1962, a spot held for the better part of 30 consecutive seasons by De La Salle. Folsom star quarterback Tyler Tremain passed for 255 yards and a touchdown but was knocked out of the game in the fourth quarter with a left, non-throwing shoulder injury.
No. 2 Rocklin 21, No. 7 Oak Ridge 0 in El Dorado Hills: Anthony Johnston rushed for two touchdowns and Joey Roberts hit Elias Mullican for a touchdown with 3:10 left to play to lift the Thunder in the Sierra Foothill League to set up a home showdown against Folsom. Rocklin is 7-0. Folsom and Rocklin are the lone unbeatens in SFL play.
No. 3 Jesuit 41, Cosumnes Oaks 6 in Carmichael: The Marauders set a defensive tone early with five tackles for loss in the first quarter and outgaining the Wolfpack 220-5 in that quarter en route to their sixth consecutive win in remaining unbeaten in the Delta League.
Jesuit (6-1) led 28-0 at the half and will host Elk Grove on Saturday for first place.
No. 4 Granite Bay 28, Grant 14 in Granite Bay: C.J. Herring and Jayce Latson ran for touchdowns as the Grizzlies improved to 6-2. Zach Annis returned a 78-yard punt for a touchdown, and McCade Long had a 29-yard touchdown strike to James Stabbert. Granite Bay is 3-1 in Sierra Foothill League play.
No. 5 Vacaville 49, Armijo 0 in Fairfield: Ryan Vaughn had touchdown passes to Timothy Plowman, Cameron Faucher and Anthony Wiley as the Bulldogs improved to 5-2. Plowman returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown, and Amani Holliday and Finn Chapman had touchdown runs.
No. 6 Inderkum 50, River Valley 26 in Natomas: Jayden Johnson passed for 230 yards on 12 of 15 passing and had two touchdowns, and the Tigers rushed 33 times for 276 yards and five scores to remain unbeaten in the Capital Valley Conference. Inderkum is 5-1 and 3-0 and hosts Antelope for first place on Friday.
No. 8 Elk Grove 59, Pleasant Grove 0 in Elk Grove: Zeke Burnett rushed for 117 yards on eight carries and scored five touchdowns, including a 52-yarder, and Ethan Archuleta scooted for 134 yards on five attempts and two scores, including a 39-yarder, as the Thundering Herd rolled past the Eagles in the Delta to move to 4-2 overall and 3-0 in league.
Elk Grove recorded 10 sacks, four by Soni Finau and two by James Cockerm and Chris Dodson had two interceptions.
No. 16 Whitney 12, No. 9 Del Oro in Loomis: Roman Floyd tossed a 19-yard touchdown to Brandon Wong in the second quarter and Andrew Vandenakker added a 35-yard field goal as the Wildcats improved to 4-3 and 2-1 in the SFL. Phoenix Rose had an interception in the final minutes to seal the win. Del Oro has lost four straight after starting the season 4-0.
No. 10 Lincoln 45, Oakmont 0 in Roseville: Johnny Bauser passed for 310 yards and five touchdowns, all to different receivers, in the first half as all the starters sat the second half of the Foothill Valley League contest. The touchdown passes were to Ryan Henning, Jacob Flood, Caden Noonan, Gianni Faria and Lex Jacobs. Henning also rushed for a touchdown, and Jaden Holm hit a 37-yard field goal for the Zebras, who moved to 4-2 overall and 2-0 in league.
No. 11 Sacramento 27, El Camino 25 in Carmichael: Naaman Branyan passed for 148 yards, including a toss to Lamont Burrell for an 80-yard touchdown and one Devin Stephens for a 31-yarder. Lamar Radcliffe rushed for 203 yards on 20 carries and a score as the Dragons got past the upset-minded Eagles in Capital Athletic League play to move to 7-0 overall and 4-0 in league action. Corie Radcliffe had 10 tackles and an interception for Sacramento, which had four touchdowns called back. The Dragons play at Capital Christian next in a battle for CAL top honors.
No. 14 Capital Christian 47, Del Campo 28 in Fair Oaks: Anthony Garcia passed for 275 yards on just eight completions and had five touchdown passes and Kanye Clark had two scores, an 80-yarder from Garcia and a 52-yard interception return, as the Cougars beat the DC Cougars in the CAL to move to 5-2 overall and 4-0 in league. Kayo Patu had a 63-yard touchdown catch. Clark had five receptions for 148 yards.
Terrenace Ballard had two touchdown passes for Del Campo in his first game back at quarterback after missing time with a shoulder injury.
No. 17 Monterey Trail 61, River City 0 in Sacramento: Ali Collier rushed for 113 yards and three touchdowns in the first quarter for a 20-0 lead, and Vince Arcuri hit Hassan Miller twice for touchdown passes as the Mustangs cruised in the Metropolitan Conference. Monterey Trail held River City to minus-77 yards of offense, a defensive unit led by Tanaki Tonga, Fata Puloka, Davon Donaldson, Marcus Perkins and Brevin Amiga.
No. 19 Christian Brothers 55, McNair 12 in Oak Park: Jake Elorduy passed for 293 yards and three touchdowns, two to freshman Phillip Bell, as the Falcons rolled the Eagles of Stockton in nonleague play. Jackson Burleson rushed for 89 yards and two scores for CB, which moved to 4-4 as it rounds back into health. Bell had 254 all-purpose yards in and Marcus Price had six tackles, two for loss, and an interception.
No. 20 Sheldon 56, Davis 7 in Sacramento: Jesiah Machado had four touchdown passes and ran for one, hitting Isaiah Bickman for two scores, as the Huskies rolled the Blue Devils in the Delta League to move to 5-2. Davis is 0-6. Scott Nixon caught a touchdown and tossed one for Sheldon, which also received a rushing score from Carveon Smith.
No. 22 Union Mine 29, No. 24 Rosemont 8 in Sacramento: Calvin Owens passed a pair of touchdowns to Joe Repass and Nick Conant as the Diamondbacks stayed perfect at 6-0. Scott Smith rushed for a team-high 78 yards and Parker Mallot scored a short touchdown on the ground. Nick Donlan had two sacks. Michael Cherry scored Rosemont’s only touchdown.
Casa Roble 68, Mira Loma 0 in Carmichael: The Rams scored on Maverick Schell’s 15-yard fumble return, Cole Owens’ 25-yard interception return and Dylan Crabtree’s 18-yard fumble return to overwhelm the Matadors in the Golden Empire League.
This story was originally published October 9, 2021 at 6:50 AM.