Prep football roundup: Serra tops Folsom, Sheldon rolls, Elk Grove bounces back
In a game that may go a long way in deciding who has a shot at national powerhouse Mater Dei of Mater Dei or Bosco if Bellflower in December for the CIF State Open Division championship, Serra of San Mateo struck a decisive blow in its effort to return to the Open finals.
Ranked first in Northern California by Cal-Hi Sports, Serra topped Bee No. 1 and NorCal No. 2 Folsom 17-12 on Friday night at Prairie View Stadium in the first meeting between the storied programs.
Folsom took a 10-7 lead late in the half when Austin Mack hit Donovan Maxey-Parler for a 9-yard touchdown, but the Padres thwarted the Bulldogs from there, allowing a field goal and deliberately giving up a safety by running out of the back of the end zone on the last play of the game. Folsom lost a fumble inside the Serra 5 with 3:45 left to play.
Folsom (1-1) still has nonleague NorCal showdowns against De La Salle, a rematch of the NorCal finals from last season, won by the Bulldogs, and against Pittsburg, another Bay Area powerhouse. Serra and Folsom were options to represent the North in the 2021 Open game. Teams must win their section to advance from there. Folsom, of course, still has the Sierra Foothill League schedule to navigate, placing third last season behind Rocklin and Granite Bay before surging.
In other games:
▪ No. 2 Granite Bay blasted Davis 74-6, pulling starters early, as sophomore Carter Jackson scored three touchdowns and freshman Isaiah Ene rushed for two scores and returned two interceptions for scores as the Grizzlies moved to 2-0.
▪ No. 3 Rocklin bounced back from an opening loss at Turlock to beat McQueen of Reno, 27-7 as Mavrik Collins and Mason Silva combined for three touchdowns.
▪ De La Salle beat No. 4 Monterey Trail 36-20 in a game that was tight for much of the second half, but the Mustangs had no answer for Charles Greer, who rushed for 130 yards and two touchdowns in the second half as the Spartans won their opener. Monterey Trail fell to 0-2, losing to Folsom last week. Fata Puloka blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown to pull Monterey Trail to within 22-20 early in the fourth quarter.
▪ No. 5 Sheldon rolled Nevada Union 56-6 as Jesiah Machado tossed four touchdown passes, three to Devin Green, and Scott Nixon scored twice as the Huskies improved to 2-0.
▪ No. 6 Jesuit beat Monogue of Nevada in its first out-of-state football game, 30-23, with a late stop inside the 3-yard line, and Jagger Shaddix then iced it with a 77-yard touchdown burst. Anthony Seibles rushed for 122 yards on six carries and two touchdowns, and Trenton Dewar had a touchdown pass to lead Jesuit (1-0).
▪ No. 9 Elk Grove bounced back from an opening loss to Granite Bay with a 61-21 rout of No. 13 Antelope by rushing for 410 yards with 10 ball carriers, including sophomore quarterback David Hale, who ran for three touchdowns. Mason Vasquez rushed for 113 yards and two scores, Wayshawn Partker ran for 72 yards and returned a kickoff 95 yards for a score and Lati Vaefaga had two sacks.
▪ No. 10 Del Oro beat Del Campo 34-7 to move to 2-0 as Kai Acia rushed for a 53-yard touchdown and caught a 13-yard scoring pass from Caden Pinnick, and Thomas Graham returned an interception 75 yards for a 21-0 lead. Tommy Poe caught two touchdowns for Del Oro.
▪ No. 11 Placer rallied to beat No. 21 Roseville 30-27 to improve to 2-0 as Kosta Aleksic rushed for 120 yards and two scores, including the game winner. Brandon Graydon led Roseville with 110 yards rushing and three scores.
▪ Trevor Hargis passed for 173 yards and a touchdown, hitting Dai’torian Brown-Law for a score, to lead No. 12 Whitney over No. 17 Woodcreek 21-9 to improve to 2-0.
▪ No. 15 Christian Brothers beat Pleasant Grove 33-7 as freshman quarterback Deakon Holden hit sophomore receiver Phillip Bell for three touchdown strikes, and Landon Howard had two sacks as the Falcons moved to 2-0.
▪ No. 19 Grant moved to 2-0 after an 0-9 season last fall by holding off No. 20 Inderkum, 26-20. JoJo McCray had four touchdown passes, two to Kingston Lopa.
▪ No. 22 Lincoln rallied from 21-0 down at the half to beat No. 16 Yuba City 28-27 to move to 2-0 as Isaac Gomez caught two touchdowns from Thomas Mukai, including the game winner late.
▪ No. 23 Casa Roble belted Wood 50-0 as Connor Campbell hit Cole Owens five times for 222 yards receiving and four touchdowns. Campbell also ran for a score.
▪ No. 24 Vista del Lago bounced back from a 44-6 loss to powerhouse Manteca to drub Ponderosa 46-0 as Matt Long scored four first-half touchdowns, three of them from Johnny Koett. Crew Santero returned a kickoff 82 yards for a score for Vista.
▪ In Sutter’s 34-14 win over Chico, Luke Miller passed for a touchdown, Troy Brucie ran for 126 yards and a score, and Joey Bicknell returned a forced fumble for a touchdown as the Huskies improved to 2-0.
▪ Arthur Draeger rushed for 216 yards and four touchdowns and Kymani Fenika hit Cody Smith for a touchdown and made two interceptions from his cornerback spot to lead Liberty Ranch (2-0) past Natomas, 49-20. Mekhei Byrd and Michael Hendricks each scored for Natomas on long runs.
▪ Jack Carner rushed for 207 yards and three touchdowns in his first game of the season after missing the opener with an injury to lead Pioneer (1-1) past Twelve Bridges (1-1). Carson King accounted for two scores for Pioneer.
▪ In Laguna Creek’s 21-0 win over Franklin, Armon Thorntona had two rushing touchdowns and recorded 12 tackles, Malachi Bean-Seay had a 60-yard score and Julien Grady had an interception on defense.
▪ In El Dorado’s 38-0 win over Bear River, Anthony Mahaffey passed for 379 yards and three touchdowns, two to Devon Hurst and one to Ryan Wilson, to move to 2-0.