Pick the Preps: Folsom-Pitt, Grant-St. Francis, Twelve Bridges, Winters all in NorCal finals
Two days of triple-header action at famed Hughes Stadium to hoist CIF Sac-Joaquin Section championships left the greater Sacramento area with four teams left standing out of six divisions.
The Folsom Bulldogs and Grant Pacers hit the road Saturday with visions of repeating as a CIF Northern California champion in taking on storied programs from the greater Bay Area. Smaller schools Twelve Bridges of Placer County and Winters of Yolo County prepare to host games to extend record seasons.
All section champions across the state advance to a CIF regional final, in the North and in the South, and those winners face off on the season’s final weekend of Dec. 13-14 at neutral Southern California venues.
▪ Speaking of front-runners and pretenders, we’re down to our final two weeks of our Pick the Preps guesswork. Scott Tedmon, the retired basketball coach and sudden expert on picking football scores who does color work on the streaming NFHS Network, leads our pack with a 68-20 season, picking four of five games correctly last week. Matthew Bessette, the play-by-play man for NFHS games through his ABC JAM Productions, is 67-21, and Sacramento Bee freelancer and the host of Premier Preps on YouTube, Nick Pecoraro, is 66-22. I am a woeful 59-29, but I haven’t missed any tackles this season.
Division 1-AA
Folsom (12-1) at Pittsburg (11-2)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
JoeD: First, let’s answer some questions here. Why does one-loss Folsom have to travel to two-loss Pittsburg? It has nothing to do with ranking or seedings or pedigree or anything of the sort. The CIF strives to balance the NorCal home sites, and since Folsom hosted Pitt last season in a NorCal final, winning a thriller, the Bulldogs are road warriors this week.
This figures to be another titanic showdown. Folsom has an 11-game winning streak and has posted impressive shutouts of two prolific teams to four-peat as Division I section champions — 45-0 over Inderkum in a semifinal and 41-0 over Oak Ridge for the blue banner, a credit to QB star Ryder Lyons; runners Daymion Rivera and Carter Jackson; terrific line play; and a smothering defense, headed by lineman Theo Greule, LB Logan Hutton and DB’s Joaquin Rodriguez, Jason Hill Jr. and Kam Totton. Pitt lost the North Coast Section Open/Division I final to NorCal No. 1-ranked De La Salle, 10-7, and then beat San Ramon Valley 35-28 to take the D-I section crown (yes, an odd format, but DLS has won 32 consecutive NCS crowns and schools voted for a change to give other programs a chance). Pitt is storied, talented, battle tested — and so is Folsom, which wins a great one, 35-34.
MatthewB: Folsom escaped with a 28-25 win last year against Pittsburg in a fantastic game. I’d expect another classic between two of NorCal’s best. Jamar Searcy is a dynamic back for Pittsburg with more than 1,400 yards rushing. Folsom’s defense is one of the best units around. Bulldogs win it, 31-28.
NickP: A 1-point loss to Serra of San Mateo in the second week of the season is the only thing that stands between Folsom and an otherwise perfect and dominant season. That was really the only close game Folsom has played all season. Pittsburg pushed De La Salle and features an incredibly efficient QB in Marley Alcantara (2,598 yards, 70% completions, 36 TDs, zero interceptions). The Bulldogs will need to rely on its superb defense from here out. Folsom finds a way, 31-28.
CoachT: Folsom’s galaxy of stars on offense is well known even in a galaxy far, far away but the foundation for another NorCal title is the defense. The Bulldogs will be challenged by a fierce crew of Pirates led by Searcy who has scored 22 TDs. Both teams can light up the scoreboard but defense wins championships and defense travels. Bulldogs win, 24-21.
Division 2-AA
Grant (10-3) at Saint Francis (10-3)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m. in Mountain View
JoeD: First, let’s answer the biggest question. Why is Grant traveling for a NorCal final after doing so in each of the previous two seasons? The CIF in its effort to balance the schedules on who hosts and who hits the road will factor in how many teams in a section are hosting. In this section, Twelve Bridges, Sonora and Hughson host while Folsom, Grant, Vanden and Summerville travel. It wasn’t going to be even no matter what, but Grant is rightly irked for the road trip, though this will certainly inspire the Pacers.
What is without debate is how well Grant has played in the postseason, topping St. Mary’s of Stockton on the road in the rain, 28-21, and then beating Rocklin 30-28 to win the section D-II crown with a late 98-yard drive. Luke Alexander was at his best against Rocklin, passing for 352 yards and four touchdowns, including the highlight winner to Zo Edwards. Grant has to figure out its point-after touchdown situation after missing all five of them against Rocklin. Saint Francis has been a decades-long powerhouse in the Central Coast Section, winning 17 section banners. Coach Greg Calcagno is the son of famed Saint Francis coach Ron Calcagno. The Pacers and the Lancers both have losses to De La Salle, Grant falling 42-14 on Aug. 30 and Saint Francis losing 42-7 on Sept. 13. Both teams are much more seasoned now. Grant in a fun one, 24-21.
MatthewB: Grant’s gauntlet of a non-league schedule prepared it for these championship games. Saint Francis QB Aaron Knapp has a truly inspirational story as he beat cancer earlier in his high school career. The Pacers are too much for the Lancers, winning 31-21.
NickP: BYU commit Kingston Keanaaina is the real deal with more than 2,000 rushing yards and 66 tackles. He’s been the workhorse, but he’s also banged up health-wise. Grant likes to spread it out with Edwards, Koby Shabazz and company growing up before our eyes. No matter the situation, the Pacers are never rattled. That will be the X factor in this heavyweight battle as Grant goes back to the state final for the third straight year, 27-23.
CoachT: Grant should be hosting this one in its storied Del Paso Heights digs, but there will be no complaining by the Pacers. If there’s one program that will turn a perceived negative into an absolute positive, it’s Grant. Saint Francis senior star RB Keanaaina is a problem, averaging 174.2 rushing yards per game and scoring 24 TDs. Senior QB “Cool Hand Luke” Alexander is the epitome of poise under pressure and delivers again. Pacers prevail 31-28.
Division 2-A
Wilcox (11-2) at Twelve Bridges (13-0)
When: Saturday, 6 p.m., in Lincoln
JoeD: First, we answer a question: Is the CIF’s state-playoff “competitive equity” formula for everyone? No, but this is what more schools wanted than those who opposed any tweaks to the system. The (non)-issue is Wilcox of Santa Clara is a Division II champion out of the Central Coast Section and Twelve Bridges is Division IV from this section. It does not matter here for this game (by the way, Wilcox has 1,655 students and Twelve Bridges has nearly 1,300).
This is for certain: Twelve Bridges is up for any task and has not been stopped or hardly even slowed down this season. The Raging Rhinos of Lincoln have defied odds in storming out of the gates as an immediate power. The team is 25-1 the last two seasons with the school’s first two senior classes, and someone dump more ice water on coach Chris Bean for a remarkable job. 12B will do what it does — run with Braeden Ward (2,363 yards, 39 total TDs) and attack with QB Connor Flaherty (2,445 yards passing, 25 TDs; 520 rushing yards, eight scores). The defense has also been similarly spectacular, and it’ll have to be again against the Chargers of Santa Clara of the Central Coast Section, a solid to superb football program since opening in 1961. 12B wins a good one, 28-24.
MatthewB: The start to the varsity football program at Twelve Bridges is something out of a movie. The Rhinos JV call-up Dylan Amos is contributing in a big way with two interceptions and a touchdown catch against Patterson in the Division V section finals. The Rhinos will have to slow down Wilcox’s Brayden Rosa to advance to a state championship. Twelve Bridges gets it done, 42-31.
NickP: Catch me with a Bee recap and full highlights on Premier Preps on YouTube from this banger. The Chargers are led by Rosa, who is a beast on both sides of the ball (1,630 rushing yards, 27 TDs, 111 tackles). But after seeing the Rhinos dismantle opponents all season, I’m not sure anyone can stop the Rage. Twelve Bridges continues its dream season, 49-30.
CoachT: Both teams have excellent running backs, including Ward, who has destroyed defenses rushing for 181.9 yards per game and scoring 39 times. The Raging Rhinos have stomped everyone and everything in their path. This one will be no different as Twelve Bridges continues their remarkable run defeating Wilcox, 38-21.
Division 6-AA
Arcata (12-1) at Winters (12-0)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
JoeD: The host Warriors have been a hot ticket in this rural region since forever, and certainly since winning scores of Northern Section championships in the 1970s and 1980s and finishing state-ranked No. 1 for small schools by Cal-Hi Sports. Coach Daniel Ward is an alum of the school, and he has in his 17 seasons led 12 playoff teams. This is his greatest group: a hard-nosed, prolific and defensive-minded team that is embraced by the community. Gio Jimenez has rushed for 927 yards and 13 TDs, Lane Brown has gone for 862 and 12, and Sebastian Rodriguez for 747 and 13. The 6-foot-3 Lane is a dual-threat QB, having passed for 1,799 yards and 16 TDs. Arcata is making a five-plus hour trek from the coastal tip of the state, but the Tigers of Humboldt County have been road warriors for decades. The guy driving the bus is 6-foot-2, 184-pound dual-threat junior QB Lemke, who has passed for 2,266 yards and 32 TDs and rushed for 1,483 and 17. Winters defense holds off Arcata drives and wins 35-28.
MatthewB: Winters has playmakers and Arcata has a passing game that you don’t always get with small schools. Winters in a shootout, 49-45.
NickP: Arcata has given opponents a steady dose of Luke Lemke on offense with a potent secondary that has tallied 25 interceptions as a whole. Winters’ defense is anchored by junior Nathan Apodaca, who has 28 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks in 12 games. Neither team has ever played in a state championship game. That will change after Friday night as Winters stays unbeaten, 38-35.
CoachT: Along with 12B, Winters is one of the California’s few remaining unbeatens. Coach Matt Magers’ Arcata bunch brings a ball-hawking defense with 25 interceptions led by safety Jackson Strand and middle linebacker Lincoln Neuman. However, the Tigers are facing a Warriors squad that not only has weapons on offense, defense and special teams, but will have to deal with the entire town of Winters screaming for their beloved Warriors. It’s too tall of a task for the Tigers. Winters gets the W and a NorCal title, 38-28.
Season totals
CoachT: 68-20
MatthewB: 67-21
NickP: 66-22
JoeD: 59-29
This story was originally published December 5, 2024 at 5:00 AM.