Pick the Preps: Bowl games include Pleasant Grove-West Park and Franklin-Whitney
Who wants to go bowling? It’s suddenly a thing for high school football in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section to have an end-of-season bowl game for schools that did not qualify for any of the eight main playoff brackets. Member schools in the section last month overwhelmingly voted 55-2 for the Bowl concept. The idea was designed to reduce the playoff brackets from 12 teams to eight, to allow what would normally be the lower-seeded teams a chance to finish on a high note when history has shown that only two teams since 2015 seeded 10th or lower even reached a section final.
A primary goal with the change was also to shorten the season’s start date by a week starting next year. A reduction in the length of season will better align this section with those of other Northern California sections. What does it all mean? There will be touchdown pursuits on Friday, with 29 bowl games dotted across the section, the largest of the 10 in California. It’s one final game to cap the season for teams seeded outside the section brackets. No teams opted out of the bowl game. And this bonus kicker: Gate receipts from the bowl games go back to the section’s member schools, as do all section playoff football games, despite coaches, administrators and fans insisting otherwise over the years. But will these games draw? Will students attend? The governing body section office will consider reducing the amount of bowl teams next season if it is not a success this week.
The section playoffs start Nov. 14 for teams in Divisions I through VIII. The section finals will be held at Hughes Stadium on Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 28-29. In our Pick the Preps roundtable race to the finals, no one is bowling over the competition, though I went 5-0 last week while my friends did not: Nick Pecoraro of MaxPreps and Matthew Bessette and Scott Tedmon of ABC JAM Productions and the streaming NFHS Network that covers prep games near and far.
Pleasant Grove (7-3) at West Park (5-5)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
JoeD: Now this is a bowl game that makes sense because a lot of them do not. PG of the Elk Grove-based Delta League takes on a fellow Division I team that just missed making the playoff cut. PG wins, 28-24.
MatthewB: We will have live coverage of this one on the NFHS Network. Pleasant Grove comes in on a 3-game win streak while West Park has lost 2 of 3. The teams last met in 2023 with West Park winning 35-24. The Panthers get it done again, 31-28.
NickP: This should be one of the most competitive bowl games. PG looks solid, especially behind 1,000-yard runner Hekili Hernandez. PG win, 33-30.
CoachT: These bowl games need names, so here we go. PG leaves its comfy confines in southern Sacramento County to head to Roseville for what we’ll call the South Park Bowl. This was not the season West Park expected while PG is on the rise. West Park wins, 31-30.
Vista del Lago (3-7) at Elk Grove (4-6)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
JoeD: This figures to be entertaining and high scoring with the passing from the Eagles of Folsom and the run game of the home-team Thundering Herd. EG wins, 35-33.
MatthewB: One of the positives about these bowls is they give us match ups we don’t see often, if ever. This will be the first ever game between these teams in the 19 years Vista has been playing varsity football. Elk Grove wins it, 24-20.
NickP: Vista can score, including a 44-37 win over Bella Vista, while Elk Grove has put up a total of seven points in its last two games. I’ll go with the team that appears to be clicking offensively as Vista wins, 24-17.
CoachT: I’m calling this one the Mascot Bowl as both live up to their nicknames. The Eagles fly with their high-altitude passing game while the Herd thunders and rumbles on the ground. EG wins, 28-27.
Franklin (7-3) at Whitney (2-8)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
JoeD: Whitney just may be the best 2-8 team on the West Coast. OK, that’s a bit much, but the point is this: the Wildcats of Placer County are battle tested from Sierra Foothill losses to highly ranked teams Folsom, Oak Ridge, Del Oro, Jesuit and Rocklin. Franklin out of the Delta League is fast and prolific, though Whitney wins, 21-20.
MatthewB: We will have this one covered live on the NFHS Network. We are used to seeing these schools in a powerhouse baseball game deep into May. Whitney takes it, 42-35.
NickP: Aside from playing in the SFL, Whitney’s other losses were to section playoff top seeds Woodcreek and Twelve Bridges. Carson Floyd and Cash Stevens are two-way X-factors for the Wildcats, who win, 28-22.
CoachT: In the Wildcat Bowl, Franklin and Whitney battle for canine supremacy. Franklin has been impressive this season and wins, 27-24.
Del Campo (2-8) at Bella Vista (2-8)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
JoeD: Does it really make sense for teams with two wins to play a bonus game? It at least allows these San Juan Unified School District schools a chance to fire up rivalry that dates back to 1963 when Del Campo opened. BV was established in 1960. BV first-year coach Jason Ott will take on any game and challenge, and BV wins this one, 28-20. MatthewB: Geographical rivalries are always fun. This one could be the most attended bowl game on the schedule. The Broncos finish on a high note, 21-17.
MatthewB: Geographical rivalries are always fun. This one could very well be the most attended bowl game and expect the environment to be incredible. The Broncos finish on a high note, 21-17.
NickP: Bella Vista already has a win over Del Campo this season as Dvaughn Norwood was the man with 150 rushing yards and three touchdowns. He’s coming off of games of 318, 233 and 264 and will be the reason the Broncos win, 34-16.
CoachT: The winner of the Fair Oaks Bowl gets a massive oak tree to plant in the middle of campus. Under Coach Ott, the Broncos have been revitalized. DC can score, but defense has been a challenge. The Madison Avenue Mad Men get it done, defeating DC, 38-31.
Season totals
JoeD: 5-0 last week, 43-18 this season
MatthewB: 4-1, 43-18
NickP: 3-2, 38-23
CoachT: 4-1, 38-23
This story was originally published November 6, 2025 at 5:00 AM.