Elk Grove remained unbeaten after a sound victory over Sheldon last week. The Thundering Herd takes on No. 4 Nevada Union in its next game.
Photo by Ralph Thompson
MaxPreps Sac-Joaquin Section Top 25 Football Rankings
1. Elk Grove (1) 4-0Beat Sheldon (Sacramento) 54-6. Host No. 4 Nevada Union on Friday.
2. Lincoln (Stockton) (3) 2-1Bye. Host No. 16 St. Mary's (Stockton) on Friday.
3. Franklin (Elk Grove) (4) 4-0Beat Cosumnes Oaks (Elk Grove) 23-3. Host No. 20 Jesuit on Friday.
4. Nevada Union (Grass Valley) (6) 3-1Beat Chico 38-30. At No. 1 Elk Grove on Friday.
Granite Bay took care of previous No. 2 Vacaville to break into the top five.
Photo by Jerry Sigua
5. Granite Bay (8) 1-2Beat previous No. 2 Vacaville 47-21. Host Pittsburg (Antioch) on Friday.
6. Burbank (Sacramento) (9) 3-0Beat previous No. 7 Del Oro 28-23. Host Johnson (Sacramento) on Friday.
7. Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) (12) 4-0Beat previous No. 13 Grant 42-14. At No. 8 Vacaville on Friday.
8. Vacaville (2) 3-1Lost to No. 5 Granite Bay 47-21. Host No. 7 Oak Ridge on Friday.
9. Placer (Auburn) (10) 3-0Beat Casa Roble (Orangevale) 63-21. Host Yuba City on Friday.
10. Folsom (11) 4-0Beat Deer Valley (Antioch) 50-38. Host Casa Roble (Orangevale) on Friday.
11. Buhach Colony (Atwater) (20) 3-1Beat Lodi 57-0. Host Serra (San Mateo) on Thursday.
12. Inderkum (Sacramento) (18) 3-0Beat previous No. 5 Pleasant Grove 42-28. At Rocklin on Friday.
13. Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) (5) 2-2Lost to No. 11 Inderkum 42-28. At Roseville on Friday.
14. Oakdale (15) 2-1Idle. At No. 23 Sierra (Manteca) on Sept. 21.
15. Central Catholic (Modesto) (15) 2-1Lost to Downey (Modesto) 45-42. Host Los Banos on Friday.
16. St. Mary's (Stockton) (16) 2-2Lost to No. 1 De La Salle 21-13. At. No. 2 Lincoln on Friday.
17. Pitman (Turlock) (19) 4-0Beat Oakland Tech 57-21. Host Franklin (Stockton) on Friday.
18. Del Campo (Fair Oaks) (20) 2-2Beat Rocklin 21-20. At Cordova (Rancho Cordova) on Friday.
19. Cosumnes Oaks (Elk Grove) (17) 3-1Lost to No. 3 Franklin 23-3. At Union Mine (El Dorado) on Friday.
Thomas Sperbeck accounted for all four of Jesuit's touchdowns as they defeated Christian Brothers.
Photo by Anthony Brunsman
20. Jesuit (Carmichael) (21) 3-0Beat Christian Brothers (Sacramento) 28-23. At No. 3 Franklin on Friday.
21. American Canyon (22) 4-0Beat Sonoma Valley (Sonoma) 45-0. At Albany on Friday.
22. Sierra (Manteca) (23) 3-0Idle. Host Oakdale on Friday.
23. Los Banos (24) 4-0Beat Dos Palos 43-7. At No. 15 Central Catholic on Friday.
24. Benicia (25) 3-0Beat Armijo (Fairfield) 34-14. Host Wood (Vacaville) on Friday.
25. Rio Linda (NR) 3-0Beat Foothill (Sacramento) 35-0. At Center (Sacramento) on Friday.
Sac-Joaquin Section news and notes...* Granite Bay routed previous No. 2 Vacaville 47-21, leading 40-6 at the half, in what was supposed to be a real showdown between defending Sac-Joaquin Section champions, like in seasons past. The Division I Grizzlies put it all together, coming in motivated after opening losses to Southern California powers Westlake and Oaks Christian, using touchdown sprints from
John Cooley and
Tony Ellison against the D-II Bulldogs, fresh off a late win over Marin Catholic (Kentfield).
* Downey (Modesto) surprised Central Catholic (Modesto) 45-42 in a nonleague shootout with
Aaron Zwahlen passing for 336 yards and four touchdowns. The Hawaii-bound senior leads the state with 20 touchdown passes.
Garrett Ardis passed for 316 yards and four scores for Central, fresh off a 28-21 win over St. Mary's (Stockton) but was intercepted twice by
Herman Harris, including one for a touchdown.
* St. Mary's (Stockton) pushed NorCal No. 1 and longtime national power De La Salle (Concord) to the brink, falling 21-13 on the road. The Rams now play longtime rival Lincoln (Stockton) on Friday.
* Regional Division III power Inderkum scored its biggest regular-season win by beating D-I Pleasant Grove 42-28 on the strength of four recovered pooch kickoffs in the first half that led to a 34-6 halftime lead.
Eric Walters rushed for a touchdown and
Kevin Blueford had 17 tackles for Inderkum.
*
Thomas Sperbeck had perhaps the greatest Holy Bowl effort in the 42-year history of the series between Jesuit and Christian Brothers (Sacramento). The senior quarterback led the Marauders to a 28-23 victory at Hughes Stadium in front of 16,000 fans by accounting for all four scores — a pass, an 85-yard fumble recovery and return and runs of 11 and 72 yards. Said first-year Jesuit coach Marlon Blanton, "Thank God for Thomas Sperbeck."
* Burbank toppled its second section heavyweight in as many weeks in downing Del Oro 28-23 on long touchdown runs by
Isiah Williams,
Ondrai White and
Calvin Green. Burbank beat Grant 36-27 the previous week. Grant and Del Oro led the Sacramento region in victories the previous 10 seasons.
* The No. 4, 5 and 6 rushers in the state are from this section in
Steven Machado of
Orestimba (Newman) (838 yards and 14 touchdowns),
Jomon Dotson of American Canyon (810 yards, nine touchdowns), and
James Sams of Los Banos (804, 11). Those teams are a combined 12-0.
*
Ponderosa (Shingle Springs) is off to a 3-0 start after going 2-8 last season.
Jake Bist threw four touchdown passes to beat Union Mine 46-7. The real challenge is in the looming Delta River League, where the Bruins have a 10-game losing streak and have not won a game since being placed there via realignment.
*
Capital Christian (Sacramento) lineman
Nifae Lealao, a 6-foot-5, 275-pound junior, was offered a scholarship by UCLA.
* Folsom receiver
Phillip Carter was offered by San Jose State and Northern Arizona over the weekend.
* Grant football and its Del Paso Heights community was rocked with the weekend news that beloved longtime assistant coach Ed Coleman was involved in a murder-suicide. Apparently, he shot his longtime girlfriend Luv Land and then turned the gun on himself. Coleman was a star player for Grant in the early 1990s. Read
more from the Sacramento Bee.
Joe Davidson has covered high schools with The Sacramento Bee since 1988. Follow him on Twitter: @SacBee_JoeD; on Facebook: sacbeepreps; and online: sacbee.com/preps; and radio podcasts: ESPN1320.net.