The Bee’s Top 25: Sacramento-area football rankings recap. No. 1 Folsom plays No. 2 Rocklin
High school football rankings are subjective guess work at best. We can only see so many games, crunch so much data and digest so much film. OK, full disclosure: We don’t digest game film but we do appreciate team-submitted highlights.
The top-five teams in the Sacramento region are clear. League play kicks off this week after four weeks of non-league action, and the rankings will continue to see movement and teams falling out and climbing in.
This week’s whopper game is a 1 vs. 2 matchup to start the Sierra Foothill League schedule. No. 1 Folsom hosts No. 2 Rocklin in a battle of defending CIF Sac-Joaquin Section champions. Folsom won Division I honors last season and Rocklin did so in D-II, and the programs stand as the section’s best overall again.
The Bee does not drop teams far or at all if they play out-of-area powerhouse programs, which is why Oak Ridge and Monterey Trail remain in the Top 11 despite being winless.
1. Folsom (2-1)
Last week: Beat Turlock, 56-14
Next: Friday vs. Rocklin
Update: The Bulldogs bounced back from the a last-minute, 22-21 loss to Serra of San Mateo to throttle a solid Turlock team. This week’s game will be decided in the pit, the trenches, and that includes grinders Lua CQ DaBerry, Theo Greule and Joaquin Rodriguez.
2. Rocklin (3-0)
Last week: Bye
Next: Friday at Folsom
Update: The Thunder have used offensive balance, defensive fury and line play to storm to the fast start. Coaches and players took a peek at Folsom live. Rocklin defeated Folsom in the 2019 regular season, a breakthrough for the SFL then.
3. Grant (2-2)
Last week: Lost to Clovis East, 59-45
Next: Friday at Destiny Christian
Update: The Pacers scored enough to win on the road but the defense was stretched by state-ranked powerhouse in Fresno. Grant always bounces back and will have to in order to get a jump on the revamped Metro League.
4. Inderkum (3-1)
Last week: Beat Cosumnes Oaks, 42-6
Next: Friday at Christian Brothers
Update: The Tigers recovered nicely from a 35-21 loss at Grant and now gear up for the new-look Capital Valley Conference that includes Woodcreek, Christian Brothers, Vista del Lago and 4-0 Ponderosa.
5. Granite Bay (3-0)
Last week: Bye
Next: Friday vs. Jesuit
Update: The Grizzlies are a contender in the SFL and have a Bee Player of the Year leader candidate in RB/LB Isaiah Ene.
6. Oak Ridge (0-3)
Last week: Bye
Next: Friday vs. Del Oro
Update: At last, the Trojans of El Dorado Hills will play a local team after setbacks to powerhouses from Bakersfield, Southern California and Tennessee. This week, coach Casey Taylor prepares for a program where he won the bulk of his 200 career games.
7. Placer (4-0)
Last week: Beat Antelope, 55-22
Next: Friday at Del Campo
Update: The Hillmen have ranked wins over Casa Roble (42-20) and Del Oro (38-21) and prepare for another ranked meeting. RB Baylor Kelley is off to a Bee MVP-like season.
8. Jesuit (3-0)
Last week: Beat Christian Brothers, 7-0
Next: Friday vs. Granite Bay
Update: The Marauders grinded out a Holy Bowl victory over their rivals in one of the great defensive scraps since the series began in 1969. Game ball to Alex Dewar, whose interception return for a score decided it. Now Big Red prepares for the big-time SFL as a new member to the section’s top conference.
9. Twelve Bridges (4-0)
Last week: Beat Casa Roble, 51-7
Next: Sept. 27 vs. River Valley
Update: The Raging Rhinos of Lincoln have impressed after graduating the house from a 12-1 team, beating Christian Brothers 28-10, Reed-Reno 39-36 and Whitney 54-34 before blitzing Casa Roble. From unsung to stars, RB Braeden Ward, QB Connor Flaherty and WR Isaiah Rodriguez have arrived.
10. West Park (4-0)
Last week: Beat Woodcreek, 29-21
Next: Friday vs. Cordova
Update: The Panthers of Roseville won the newly created “747” rivalry game as Jaden Jackson passed for 203 yards and two scores and Ben Osby rushed for 95 yards and a pair of TDs. West Park will be a contender as a new entry in the Metro League.
11. Monterey Trail (0-4)
Last week: Lost to California-San Ramon, 35-21
Next: Friday vs. Laguna Creek
Update: The Mustangs of the Elk Grove Unified have played one local team, a 27-21 loss to Inderkum. They have setbacks to Pittsburg, El Cerrito and California, Bay Area juggernauts that are a combined 9-0. MT is back in the Delta League and can win it if teams can’t stop RB D’Adrien Sanders.
12. Vacaville (2-2)
Last week: Beat Patterson, 31-14
Next: Friday at Pioneer
Update: The Bulldogs are battle tested with tough losses to Granite Bay and Cardinal Newman of Santa Rosa and will contend for another Monticello Empire League championship behind RB star Tanner Boyd.
13. Destiny Christian Academy (4-0)
Last week: Beat Benicia, 43-7
Next: Friday vs. Grant
Update: The school that replaced Capital Christian is rolling, and the reality check looms in the form of the Grant Pacers. That’s the school that graduated 1987 Bee Player of the Year and quarterback star Aaron Garcia, the Destiny Christian coach.
14. Pleasant Grove (3-1)
Last week: Lost to Lincoln-Stockton, 43-28
Next: Friday at Sheldon
Update: The Eagles of Elk Grove allowed no points in their first three games and then were taken to task. The coaches and team leaders expect the setback to inspire them as they head into Delta League play as a contender.
15. Roseville (2-1)
Last week: Bye
Next: Friday at Yuba City
Update: The Tigers have a 35-28 loss to ranked West Park and now aim to win the Foothill Valley League that includes Placer, Twelve Bridges and Yuba City.
16. Casa Roble (1-3)
Last week: Lost to Twelve Bridges, 51-7
Next: Sept. 27 at Woodland
Update: The defending section D-V champions have taken it on the chin strap with losses to Placer (42-20), West Park (35-30) and Twelve Bridges, challenges geared to test the Rams. Though thinned by injuries, they are still the favorite to win the Golden Empire League.
17. Sacramento (3-0)
Last week: Beat Natomas, 67-0
Next: Friday at Wood
Update: The Dragons are rolling, including an opening victory at ranked Woodcreek, and they bound into the revamped Monticello Empire League as a contender along with Vacaville and Vanden.
18. Elk Grove (1-2)
Last week: Bye
This week: Friday vs. Franklin
Update: The Thundering Herd have won so many Delta League crowns that they’ve lost track. Upstart Franklin brings its 4-0 record to town, needing to stop a run-heavy offense.
19. Woodcreek (1-2)
Last week: Lost to West Park, 29-21
Next: Friday vs. Ponderosa
Update: The Timberwolves have close losses to ranked teams and have the pieces to contend for the Capital Valley Conference crown, including Bee Player of the Year candidate Brody Krupp, a RB/LB and leader.
20. Del Oro (1-2)
Last week: Beat Acalanes, 34-21
Next: Friday at Oak Ridge
Update: The Golden Eagles scrambled to find a game after Birmingham of Los Angeles canceled late in the week, and then they delivered an inspired effort over a defending state champion from the Bay Area for Josh Parry’s first victory as head coach. He celebrated Brock Sherman’s 211-yard, four-TD effort and now faces his coaching mentor and friend Casey Taylor in an SFL opener.
21. Christian Brothers (1-3)
Last week: Lost to Jesuit, 7-0
Next: Friday vs. Inderkum
Update: What a gritty effort for a short-handed Falcons team in the Holy Bowl, allowing only a tipped-pass pick-6, a credit to coach Larry Morla and his staff. CB has a leader and champion in LB Josiah Campbell, who had 16 solo tackles against Jesuit.
22. Del Campo (3-0)
Last week: Beat Pierce, 31-15
Next: Friday vs. Placer
Update: Welcome to the Top 25, the Cougars of Fair Oaks. It’s a program of tradition that is back on track under spirited coaches Matt Costa and Ernie Cooper, the championship coach from Granite Bay who calls the offense. Now the royal test looms in a Foothill Valley League opener.
23. Bradshaw Christian (3-0)
Last week: Beat Sutter, 28-21
Next: Friday vs. Galt
Update: The Pride showed championship grit to drive 99 yards in the closing minutes behind QB leader Ethan Rickert and RB star Mateo Mojico. The team-wide effort is reflective of 18 starters who return from a team that lost the section D-VI title game in the final seconds.
24. Sutter (3-1)
Last week: Lost to Bradshaw Christian, 28-21
Next: Friday vs. Woodland
Update: The Huskies will respond from the crusher setback, and pity the others from the Golden Empire League. That race will come down to the final week against Casa Roble.
25. Woodland Christian (2-1)
Last week: Beat Pioneer, 34-0
Next: Friday at Vacaville Christian
Update: The town belongs to the Cardinals, a defending CIF state champion that lost a lot of talent to graduation but put the muscle to cross-town rival Pioneer in allowing 47 yards passing and 65 rushing. WC is the favorite to take the Sierra Delta League.
Bubble: Bear River (3-0), Colfax (1-2), Cordova (3-0), East Nicolaus (2-1), Franklin (4-0), Ponderosa (4-0), Wheatland (3-0), Whitney (0-3), Winters (3-0), Vista del Lago (1-3), Yuba City (2-1).
This story was originally published September 16, 2024 at 1:14 PM.