High school football playoffs: Folsom, Grant, Twelve Bridges and Sutter earn No. 1 seeds
As if the regular season for high school football wasn’t frantic and fun enough over an 11-week stretch that started in the heat of August, the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs figure to ramp up the action.
Eighty-four teams over seven divisions pursue blue championship banners, starting on Friday with 7 p.m. kickoffs at home sites for Divisions I-VI (D-VII starts Nov. 11).
Six of the seven title games will be held at Hughes Stadium at Sacramento City College on Nov. 24-25, capping Thanksgiving week with a triple-header on that Friday and Saturday with games at 11 a.m, 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. The seventh title game will be held Nov. 24 at St. Mary’s High in Stockton. Which teams play where will be determined the week of the title games.
A seven-member crew of section officials and retired section athletic directors and coaches crunched pages of data to discuss and debate Sunday morning. They weighed everything from strength of schedule to head-to-head matchups and strength of leagues. The top four seeds in Divisions I-VI have opening-round byes.
It was no surprise that Folsom earned the No. 1 seed in Division I, the largest-enrollment schools in the 190-member section. The Bulldogs (8-2) seek their 10th section banner since 2010 and 12th overall since 1989. Folsom has lost only to Northern California No. 1 Serra of San Mateo (21-14) and No. 2 De La Salle (14-7) in early nonleague games before winning the powerhouse Sierra Foothill League over section-title contenders Rocklin, Oak Ridge, Granite Bay and Del Oro.
Central Catholic of Modesto (8-2) is the No. 2 seed in D-I, earning the nod as Valley Oak League champions with nonleague losses to St. Mary’s of Stockton and Serra. Oak Ridge (8-2) is the No. 3 seed with losses to Folsom and Rocklin, and Metro League champion Monterey Trail (7-3) is No. 4 with no section losses.
No. 5 Inderkum (9-1) won the Capital Valley Conference and has a nine-game winning streak after losing a shootout to Del Oro to open the season. Inderkum hosts Pleasant Grove (4-6), back in the playoffs under second-year coach Josh Crabtree after going 1-9 in 2022.
In D-II, St. Mary’s (9-1) is the top seed, having lost only to De La Salle in nonleague play. This Rams team is the best longtime coach Tony Franks said he has coached.
The No. 2 seed is Rocklin (9-1), which lost to Folsom, 34-21. The No. 3 seed is Delta League champion Jesuit (9-1), which is unbeaten in section play. The No. 4 seed is Manteca (7-3), a three-time defending section champion.
In D-III, defending champion Grant (8-2) is the top seed, having lost a nonleague game to Oak Ridge (21-18) and a Metro League contest to Monterey Trail (35-34). Woodcreek with a program-best 9-1 record is the No. 2 seed with 2021 section champion Vanden (8-2) the No. 3 seed after winning the Monticello Empire League. The No. 4 seed is Oakdale (7-3) of the Valley Oak League.
In D-IV, 11-time section champion Escalon (9-1) is the top seed. Capital Athletic League champion Vista del Lago (9-1) is the No. 2 seed, Patterson (9-1) the No. 3 seed and Foothill Valley League champion Placer (6-4) the No. 4 seed. Placer started 0-4 and has not lost since.
In D-V, the debate was which team would earn the top seed — 10-0 Twelve Bridges of Lincoln or 9-1 Casa Roble, which lost to SFL member Del Oro in a competitive nonleague game.
The nod went to Twelve Bridges, which graduates its first senior class this spring, under coach Chris Bean. Casa Roble is the No. 2 seed, Hilmar (7-3) is the No. 3 seed and Los Banos (9-1) is the No. 4 seed.
In D-VI, Pioneer Valley League champion Sutter (8-2) is the top seed, Mother Lode League winner Sonora (8-1) is the No. 2 seed, Sierra Valley League champion Bradshaw Christian (8-2) is the No. 3 seed and Hughson (7-3) is the No. 4 seed.
In D-VII, the section has a split-bracket in which the champions will play for the title. In one bracket, Southern League Ripon Christian (9-1) is the top seed and Orestimba the No. 2 seed. In the other bracket, Woodland Christian (10-0) is the top seed and has a bye, as does No. 2 seeded Stone Ridge Christian of Merced.
CIF Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs
Division I
No. 9 Cosumnes Oaks at No. 8 Lincoln-Stockton
No. 12 Pleasant Grove at No. 5 Inderkum
No. 11 Sheldon at No. 6 Turlock
No. 10 Gregori at No. 7 Edison
Byes: No. 1 Folsom, No. 2 Central Catholic, No. 3 Oak Ridge, No. 4 Monterey Trail
Division II
No. 9 Vacaville at No. 8 Elk Grove
No. 12 Rodriguez at No. 5 Granite Bay
No. 10 Downey at No. 7 Tracy
No. 11 Laguna Creek at No. 6 Del Oro
Byes: No. 1 St. Mary’s, No. 2 Rocklin, No. 3 Jesuit, No. 4 Manteca
Division III
No. 9 Golden Valley at No. 8 Linden
No. 12 Bella Vista at No. 5 Merced
No. 11 Mountain House at No. 6 Roseville
No. 10 Yuba City 10 at No. 7 Christian Brothers
Byes: No. 1 Grant, No. 2 Woodceek, No. 3 Vanden, No. 4 Oakdale
Division IV
No. 9 Sacramento at No. 8 Sierra
No. 12 Wood at No. 5 West Park
No. 6 Kimball at No. 11 Nevada Union
No. 10 Rio Americano at No. 7 Fairfield
Byes: No. 1 Escalon, No. 2 Vista del Lago, No. 3 Patterson, No. 4 Placer
Division V
No. 9 Dixon at No. 8 Rosemont
No. 12 Mesa Verde at No. 5 Pioneer
No. 11 Ceres at No. 5 Center
No. 10 Foothill at No. 7 Lathrop
Byes: No. 1 Twelve Bridges, No. 2 Casa Roble, No. 3 Hilmar, No. 4 Los Banos
Division VI
No. 9 Bear River at No. 8 Liberty Ranch
No. 12 Amador at No. 5 Colfax
Ni. 11 Calaveras at No. 6 Union Mine
No. 10 Marysville at No. 7 Summerville
Byes: No. 1 Sutter, No. 2 Sonora, No. 3 Bradshaw Christian, No. 4 Hughson
Division VII
Opening games are Nov. 11
No. 7 Golden Sierra at No. 1 Ripon Christian
No. 5 Gustine at No. 4 Rio Vista
No. 6 Waterford at No. 3 Le Grand
No. 7 Highlands at No. 2 Orestimba
Byes: No. 1 Woodland Christian, No. 2 Stone Ridge Christian, No. 3 Valley Christian, No. 4 Delta.
This story was originally published October 29, 2023 at 2:15 PM.