Prep football playoffs: Rocklin, Jesuit, Bradshaw Christian earn high seeds; Folsom No. 3
It’s go-time now for high school football.
The CIF Sac-Joaquin Section on Sunday afternoon released five of its seven brackets for playoff teams that start postseason play Friday.
A seven-person panel of current section staffers and retired section athletic directors broke down strength of schedule, strength of league and head-to-head matchups. Eighty teams are in the playoffs, Division I through Division VII. Nearly 200 schools make up this section, the second largest of the 10 in California.
As expected, Bee No. 1 Rocklin earned the top seed in Division I, the result of going 10-0 and winning the toughest conference in the section in the Sierra Foothill League. Jesuit is seeded second in D-I and Folsom third, though Folsom beat Jesuit handily in a season opener.
Explained assistant section commissioner Will DeBoard, “Folsom had the head-to-head win, but Jesuit is a league champion, hasn’t lost since, and Folsom has lost three of its last four, and the committee felt Jesuit earned the No. 2 seed.”
Central Catholic of Modesto is the top seed in D-II and Granite Bay is No. 2. Granite Bay comes in hot, having placed second in the SFL with a loss to Rocklin and coming off a win at Folsom, which has won seven section crowns since 2010 and had not lost a league game since 2011 until falling at Rocklin last month.
Twelve teams make up the brackets for divisions I through VI, with the top four seeds opening with a bye. The D-VII field has eight teams.
Some teams are in the playoffs again, or forever, such as Granite Bay in its 23rd consecutive time, and some are in for the first time in years, such as McClatchy. The D-I Lions are in the postseason for the first time since 1996.
The Bee will break down all the brackets throughout the week online and in print and on Thursday’s live noon “The Buzz” program that can be viewed on Facebook, Twitter and YoutTube and will be linked on The Bee’s website for later viewing.
Sac-Joaquin Section Football playoffs
All games at 7 p.m. Friday unless noted
Division I
No. 9 Turlock at No. 8 Sheldon
No. 12 McClatchy at No. 5 St. Mary’s
No. 11 Chavez at No. 6 Lincoln-Stockton
No. 10 Enochs at No. 7 Del Oro
Byes: No. 1 Rocklin, No. 2 Jesuit, No. 3 Folsom, No. 4 Edison
Division II
No. 9 Lodi at No. 8 Downey
No. 12 Inderkum at No. 5 Whitney
No. 11 Gregori at No. 6 Elk Grove
No. 10 Woodcreek at No. 7 Monterey Trail
Byes: No. 1 Central Catholic, No. 2 Granite Bay, No. 3 Vacaville, No. 4 Antelope
Division III
No. 9 Roseville at No. 8 Grace Davis
No. 12 Burbank at No. 5 Patterson
No. 11 Golden Valley at No. 6 Sacramento, 1 p.m. Saturday
Byes: No. 1 Oakdale, No. 2 Lincoln, No. 3 Manteca, No. 4 Yuba City
Division IV
No. 9 Nevada Union at No. 8 Wood
No. 12 Del Campo at No. 5 East Union
No. 11 West Park at No. 6 Placer
No. 10 Ponderosa at No. 7 Dixon
Byes: No. 1 Kimball, No. 2 Vanden, No. 3 Vista del Lago, No. 4 Merced
Division V
No. 9 Colfax at No. 8 Woodland
No. 12 Ceres at No. 5 Ripon
No. 11 Los Banos at No. 6 Hilmar
No. 10 El Camino at No. 7 Casa Roble
Byes: No. 1 Escalon, No. 2 Union Mine, No. 3 Sonora, No. 4 Pioneer
Division VI
No. 9 Orestimba at No. 8 Linden
No. 12 Delhi at No. 5 Rosemont
No. 11 Summerville at No. 6 Waterford
No. 10 Gustine at No. 7 Liberty Ranch
Byes: No. 1 Bradshaw Christian, No. 2 Argonaut, No. 3 Livingston, No. 4 Hughson
* Divisions VII brackets released next week tied to court cases.
This story was originally published October 31, 2021 at 1:40 PM.