Bee’s Best: Breaking down the Sacramento-area’s Top 25 prep football teams

The regular season is finished, stored away in memory and in the archives.

Now the real fun begins for Sacramento-area high school football teams. The CIF Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs kick off at home sites on Nov. 14 with eight 8-team brackets, spanning from large-school Division I to the smallest schools in Divisions VI and VII with the bonus of 8-man teams competing for the first-ever Division VIII championship.

This week affords those seeking a trip to the section finals on Thanksgiving weekend at Hughes Stadium a week to rest and prepare.

Games this Friday in the section feature 29 bowl games, from Sacramento down to the southern region of the section in the 209 area code. This is a new wrinkle implemented this season by the prep sports governing body as member schools overwhelmingly voted for some sort of change to avoid blowout scores with a mercy-imposed running clock in early rounds - and to give teams a shot to end their season on a high note.

The section office reminded that bowl games are not a money-making grab for the CIF. Football playoff gate receipts, including the bowl games, go back to the member schools.

The Bee’s Team of the Week

The Casa Roble Rams of Orangevale headed to Sutter last Friday aiming to win the Golden Empire League championship, and then the team’s star quarterback went down after a crushing hit late in the first half.

Aidan Lopez shook off any cobwebs and fired a beauty of a deep-ball touchdown strike to Kymani Burkes in stride to help engineer a 22-9 victory to secure the top seed in the Division V bracket. Lopez passed for 183 yards and two scores, and the defense earned high praise from teammates and coaches for holding a previously unbeaten Sutter team that came in averaging 55.7 points to just 9 behind stoppers such as Mason Higby, Dunedin Tupou and Karter Coss.

The Rams have positioned themselves to chase down the program’s second section championship in three years under spirited coach Chris Horner.

The Bee’s Top 25

1. Folsom (9-1): The Bulldogs secured their 10th Sierra Foothill League crown since 2014 and 42nd consecutive win in section competition with a big effort over Granite Bay and now seek a section Division I five-peat as the bracket’s top seed. QB Ryder Lyons leads the offensive show, and DL Lua DeBerry and DBs Jason Hill Jr. and Isaiah Williams have had big seasons on defense.

2. Oak Ridge (7-3): The Trojans of El Dorado Hills seek a fourth straight trip to the Division I section finals, and a breakthrough against Folsom as they enter the postseason as the No. 2 seed. All-purpose star Jasen Womack is joined by RB/WR Braxton Martinez, RB Tyler Andujar and QB Nick Johnson on offense and Ben Rivas is among the defensive leaders.

3. Grant (6-4): Pacers coach Carl Reed challenged his club to up their game as the Division I tournament looms, or the season ends amid tears and anguish. QB Blake Nycum, WR’s Zo Edwards and Kobe Shabazz and RBs Thorne Watson, Jayson Williams and Maliki Lavern lead the offense.

4. Granite Bay (7-3): The Grizzlies are No. 2 seed in Division II behind 10-0 Manteca of the 209, and they are a tough draw with RB/DB Isaiah Ene, WR/DB Darnell Turner and stoppers such as Christopher Ledell and Zion Vaea.

5. Del Oro (7-3): From 2-8 last season to now, the Golden Eagles are poised for another section championship march as a Division II contender behind RB Brock Sherman, QB Nolen Sauve and two-way brutes Landen Parry and Luke Galer.

6. Jesuit (6-4): Big Red is capable of storming to the Division II finals behind QB Teddy Rios, do-all grinders Stevie Hughes, Brody Quinn and John Giovannettone and two-way linemen Duncan Broughton and Demare Moragne.

7. Twelve Bridges (10-0): A third successive 10-0 regular season under coach Chris Bean will feel all the more rewarding if there’s a third consecutive trip to a section final and a title repeat under vets such as RB/LB Chase Wyhlidko, QB Connor Frontiera and OL/DL Colton Hogge. 12B is the top seed in Division IV.

8. Rocklin (5-5): A trying, taxing and difficult season for the Thunder can suddenly turn back to a glow with a run in the Division II playoffs behind QB leader Reeve Slone. The opener is against familiar foe Del Oro.

9. Inderkum (9-1): The Tigers opened with a close loss at Inderkum and have rolled into the Division I bracket as a dark horse under QB Brody Cole and gritty defenders in brothers Izacc and Ke’koa Ramirez.

10. Woodcreek (9-1): The Timberwolves of Roseville are the top seed in Division III because everyone has bought in, including anchors such as WR/DB Trace Murchison, QB Josiah Melendez and RB/LB Blake Hastings.

11. Monterey Trail (8-2): The Division I Mustangs of Elk Grove have superb line play, speedy backs such as Odie Jefferson and a coaching staff led by T.J. Ewing and Rick Arcuri that lives for the playoffs.

12. Roseville (8-2): The No. 2-seeded Division IV Tigers are even more dangerous with the return of a healthy WR Oreste Yong – all hands and long strides – and anchors such as RB/LB Colton Wolfe, QB Mason Susnara and RB D’marcis Gresham.

13. Casa Roble (9-1): The Division V top-seeded Rams have it rolling, having learned from an early loss at Ponderosa. The defense was never better than its 22-9 win over prolific Sutter.

14. Sutter (9-1): The Huskies are smarting from a tough loss to Casa Roble and eager to unleash in the Division V bracket behind national recruit DE/TE Troy Bowens and others.

15. Vacaville (8-2): The winning streak is eight for the Division III-contending Bulldogs of Solano County. This has been a terrific program since the 1960s.

16. Vanden (8-2): The Vikings of Fairfield have CIF section and state pedigree in recent seasons and they loom as a threat in the Division III field under RB Josiah Chavez and QB Xavier Zambrano.

17. Lincoln (9-1): The Division V Zebras of Placer County are proof that a team can bounce back big, having gone 1-9 in 2023, to this. It’s a credit to leaders such as QB Eli Duff.

18. Liberty Ranch (10-0): Unbeaten with plenty to prove, the Division VI Hawks of Galt seek their first section crown behind a running game that averages more than 400 yards a game and features three 1,000-yard rushers in Joe Lara, Wyatt Corriera and Andrew Quinn.

19. Rio Americano (6-4): It wasn’t too long ago when Raiders coach Bob Ghazanfari said he didn’t want to be a head coach, much preferring the role of assistant. He’s pretty good in this role, too, and his Division III bunch is a dark horse to behold.

(TIE) 20. Woodland Christian (9-1): The Division VI Cardinals seek another section banner to hang on the gym wall behind playmakers such as RB Noah Hinkle and QB Isaiah Hunt.

(TIE) 20. Bradshaw Christian (8-2): The Division VI Pride are eager to return to another section final under coach Drew Rickert, whose team opens at Woodland Christian on Nov. 14.

The Next 5

21. Placer (6-4)

22. Destiny Christian (5-5)

23. Ponderosa (6-4)

24. Winters (8-1)

25. Pioneer (7-3)

The Bee’s Bowl team Top 10

1. Pleasant Grove (7-3)

2. West Park (5-5)

3. Franklin (7-3)

4. Elk Grove (4-6)

5. Laguna Creek (4-6)

6. Whitney (2-8)

7. Yuba City (5-5)

8. Sacramento (6-4)

9. Vista del Lago (3-7)

10. Woodland (4-6)

This story was originally published November 3, 2025 at 2:20 PM.