Prep football: SFL’s ranked teams have showdowns as Sacramento football gets tough
It’s a pretty good lot of teams in The Bee’s Top 25 if Oak Ridge seems ranked too low at No. 4, or Del Oro looks too low at 5, or Jesuit too low at 6.
The pecking order will sort itself out in the coming weeks as top-ranked Folsom opens Sierra Foothill League play at Oak Ridge, and Granite Bay visits Del Oro in another SFL clash. One more? No. 7 Rocklin rival No. 15 Whitney in the Quarry Bowl, with the anticipation and motivation already brewing. Whitney had an army of students who attended Rocklin’s nonleague home game Friday against Glacier Park to cheer on the visitors from Washington.
Folsom is No. 1 because its lone loss is to Northern California No. 1-ranked Serra of San Mateo, 17-12, and because the Bulldogs beat No. 3 Monterey Trail and on Friday beat NorCal No. 3 De La Salle 24-20. That result came a week after beating NorCal No. 4 Pittsburg, 23-15.
Folsom’s win at DLS was big on every level. It marked the first time the same team beat the Spartans on their home turf two times in a row since Salesian of Richmond did it in 1978 and ‘79. Folsom eliminated DLS in last season’s NorCal playoffs.
THE BEE’S TOP 25
1. Folsom (4-1)
The Bulldogs played stellar defense at De La Salle, leading 10-0 at the half, and kudos to coordinator Sam Cole for dialing it up. The game-winner was Austin Mack leaping up and just inching the ball over the goal line with 15 seconds to go, and the celebration was on. Reality check: Folsom didn’t win the SFL last season. It placed third. Then went to a state title game.
2. Granite Bay (5-0)
The Grizzlies had a bye, and they have the run game, the passer, the line play, the defense and the coaching to reach a section final and to win it.
3. Monterey Trail (4-2)
The Mustangs have found their groove after opening losses to Folsom and De La Salle, and that means a bevy of backs on offense and seek-and-destroy stoppers on defense.
4. Oak Ridge (5-0)
The Trojans belted Pitman of Turlock 65-0, meaning they have outscored five solid to good teams 283-10 with four shutouts. None of that matters if Oak Ridge doesn’t play well against Folsom.
5. Del Oro (5-0)
The Golden Eagles are stout in the trenches, led by bruiser Akio Martinson, balanced on offense and hungry to keep this train rolling.
6. Jesuit (5-0)
The Marauders are united, right on down to Trent Dewar. He switched from quarterback to receiver, has made plays on D and caught 122 yards worth of passes from new QB starter C.J. Lee, who had four total scores to breeze past Pleasant Grove 49-0.
7. Rocklin (4-1)
The Thunder played lights out — yes, the lights went out, then came on — in scoring the final 16 points to beat a Washington-state power 16-14. Then coach Jason Adams leaped for joy in the postgame session, so if he’s into it, they’re all into it.
8. Sheldon (4-2)
Scott Nixon hasn’t just set every meaningful receiving record in school history, he stepped in at running back for the hobbled Devin Green and had a night: 230 yards rushing and three scores and catching a touchdown in a 49-21 win over Franklin. What next? Nose guard?
9. Placer (5-0)
The Hillmen devastate teams with the wing-T, with runners, linemen skill guys, and the D has been the strength. The big wins are over Casa Roble (37-35), Roseville (30-27) and Vista del Lago (21-18).
10. Elk Grove (2-3)
The Thundering Herd had a bye, regrouped and are ready to compete for the Delta League championship. The losses were to Granite Bay, Menlo-Atherton and San Ramon Valley, teams that are a combined 11-2.
11. Grant (4-1)
The Pacers raced past McClatchy 50-6 In the Metro League as Jojo McCray had four touchdown passes, including strikes of 62 and 35 yards to Kyrell Goss-Pruitt, and Joshua Hamilton had TD runs of 47 and 35 yards. The D has players in Kingston Lopa, Dubee Lopa and Solomona Malae.
12. Vacaville (2-3)
The Bulldogs have endured injuries and tough losses to Oak Ridge, Granite Bay and El Cerrito, teams that are a combined 20-0. The goal remains the same: Repeat as Monticello Empire League champions.
13. Christian Brothers (4-2)
The Falcons have two QBs in Deakan Holden and William Littlejohn, a hard-charging runner in Erik Jensen, a tough defense led by Landon Howard and a game-breaker in do-all talent Phillip Bell. The losses were to upper-division Jesuit and Sheldon.
14. Casa Roble (4-1)
The Rams lost their opener 37-35 at Placer, which is 5-0, and they have big wins over Wood and Lincoln and now set aim on winning the Golden Empire League championship.
15. Whitney (3-2)
The Wildcats had a bye and want to be a player in the brutal SFL race. The losses were to out-of-area program Clovis and Heritage, and the SFL schedule is a whopper: Rocklin, Folsom, Oak Ridge, Del Oro, Granite Bay.
16. Sutter (6-0)
The Huskies haven’t lost a league game since 2015 and have already flexed their muscle as newcomers to this section and expect to win the Pioneer Valley League.
17. Vista del Lago (3-3)
The Eagles have nonleague losses to Manteca, Granite Bay and Placer, teams that are a combined 14-0, but VDL is 2-0 in the Capital Athletic League, including a 48-0 rout of defending CAL champion Capital Christian. Crew Santero is an unsung effort and production guy.
18. Liberty Ranch (5-0)
The Hawks had a bye and they stand as the favorite to take the competitive Sierra Valley Conference title, a race that includes Bradshaw Christian, Rosemont, El Dorado and Union Mine.
19. West Park (4-0)
The fast start is nice, the coaches will say, but the real work starts now: winning in the Foothill Valley League that includes Placer and Lincoln.
20. Inderkum (3-3)
The Tigers have power in the trenches and will rely on the run game and the defense to compete for the Capital Valley Conference championship.
21. Woodcreek (3-2)
The Timberwolves can still win the CVC, but it won’t be easy. The losses were to Whitney (21-9) and Inderkum (21-7).
22. Antelope (3-3)
The defending CVC champions started 0-3 with losses to Whitney, Elk Grove and Lincoln of Stockton as their defense was taken to task. Since then: a three-game winning streak.
23. Laguna Creek (4-2)
The Cardinals have game-breakers in Halim Tolley, who had kickoff return touchdowns of 85 and 90 yards against River City, and Malachi Bean-Seay, who had a 65-yard TD catch from steady QB Mitchell Labrado.
24. Roseville (3-3)
In a game they had to have, Roseville topped a solid Yuba City team 39-14 in CVC play as Joel Bradley caught two touchdown passes from Brandon Graydon, who does it all.
25. Lincoln (2-3)
The Zebras had a bye, and they have a three-game losing streak that has irked everyone on the roster with losses to Casa Roble (29-21), Roseville (40-37) and Woodcreek (21-0).
Bubble: Bradshaw Christian 4-1; Center (4-1); Colfax 3-2; Delta 5-0; Dixon 4-1; Pioneer 4-1; Rosemont 4-1; Twelve Bridges 5-1; Wood 4-1.
Schedule
All games start between 7-7:30 p.m., unless noted
Thursday
Sacramento at Del Campo
Burbank at Monterey Trail
Sutter at Bear River
Yuba City at Antelope Valley
Friday
Folsom at Oak Ridge
Granite Bay at Del Oro
Rocklin at Whitney
Center at Twelve Bridges
Lindhurst at East Nicolaus
Valley Christian at Foresthill
McClatchy at River City
Woodland at Pioneer
Capital Christian at Christian Brothers
Vista del Lago at El Camino
Rio Linda at Dixon
Casa Roble at Mesa Verde
Ponderosa at Placer
San Juan at Vacaville Christian
Valley vs. Johnson
Woodland Christian at Western Sierra
Mira Loma at Reno
Inderkum at Bella Vista
Yuba City at Antelope
Pleasant Grove at Franklin
River Valley at Woodcreek
Davis at Elk Grove
Rodriguez at Vacaville
Florin at Natomas
Cosumnes Oaks at Sheldon
Kennedy at Laguna Creek
Foothill at Cordova
Bradshaw Christian at Union Mine
Lincoln at Nevada Union
Wood at Fairfield
Liberty Ranch at El Dorado
Oakmont at West Park
Rosemont at Galt
Colfax at Marysville
Saturday
Delta at Encina Prep, 11 a.m.
Clayton Valley Charter at Jesuit, 1 p.m.
This story was originally published September 26, 2022 at 8:53 AM.