MaxPreps NorCal Top 25 football

By Joe Davidson Aug 30, 2012, 8:00pm

Elk Grove's win over Lincoln shakes up initial rankings; Top two teams tangle Friday in San Jose.

Week 1 is here, including a titanic matchup of Bay Area powers who happen to top the MaxPreps NorCal Top 25 rankings in De La Salle-Concord and Bellarmine Prep-San Jose. That game will be at San Jose City College, and the venue will be stretched with an expected full crowd.

Other big Week 1 games of extra intrigue include: No. 6 Nevada Union-Grass Valley at Grant-Sacramento; No. 8 Pleasant Grove-Elk Grove at No. 7 Lincoln-Stockton; No. 20 Placer at No. 21 Central Catholic-Modesto; No. 16 San Ramon Valley at No. 15 Folsom.

MaxPreps NorCal Top 25

1. De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) 0-0
Idle. Play No. 2 Bellarmine Prep on Friday at San Jose City College.
De La Salle beat Bellarmine 26-23 in 2011.
De La Salle beat Bellarmine 26-23 in 2011.
File photo by Dennis Lee

2. Bellarmine (San Jose) 0-0
Idle. Play No. 1 De La Salle on Friday at San Jose City College.



3. Elk Grove (Elk Grove) 1-0
Beat previous No. 1 Lincoln-Stockton 35-21. At Beyer-Modesto on Friday.
Tanner Vallejo, Nevada Union
Tanner Vallejo, Nevada Union
File photo by Jerry Sigua

4. Grant (Sacramento) 1-0
Beat Paradise 28-7. Host No. 5 Nevada Union on Friday.

5. Nevada Union (Grass Valley) 1-0
Beat McQueen-Reno 27-10. At No. 4 Grant on Friday.

6. Vacaville (Vacaville) 0-0
Idle. At Valley Christian-San Jose on Friday

7. Lincoln (Stockton) 0-1
Lost to previous No. 4 Elk Grove 35-21. Host No. 8 Pleasant Grove on Friday.

8. Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) 1-0

Beat Rocklin 35-21. At No. 7 Lincoln on Friday.

9. Logan (Union City) 1-0
Beat Reed-Reno 40-24. Vs. San Leandro at Chabot College on Friday.

10. Granite Bay 0-1
Lost to state-ranked Westlake 24-6. At Oaks Christian on Saturday



11. Del Oro (Loomis) 0-1
Lost to state-ranked Oaks Christian 40-0. At Westlake on Friday

12.Buhach Colony (Atwater) 1-0
Beat previous No. 8 San Ramon Valley 28-24. At Enochs-Modesto on Friday

13. Serra (San Mateo) 0-0
Idle. At Wilcox-Santa Clara on Friday.

14. Palma (Salinas) 0-0
Idle. Host St. Francis-Mountain View on Sept. 7.

15. Folsom 1-0
Beat Woodcreek-Roseville 68-28. Host No. 16 San Ramon Valley on Friday.

16. San Ramon Valley (Danville) 0-1
Lost to No. 12 Buhach Colony 28-24. At No. 15 Folsom on Friday.
Kyran Harris, Franklin
Kyran Harris, Franklin
Photo by Jerry Sigua

17. Franklin (Elk Grove) 1-0
Beat Thousand Oaks 38-28. Host Tracy on Friday.



18. Marin Catholic (Kentfield) 1-0
Beat Miramonte 31-14. Host St. Ignatius-San Francisco on Saturday.

19. Palo Alto 0-0
Idle. At San Benito-Hollister on Sept. 7.

20. Placer (Auburn) 0-0
Idle. At No. 21 Central Catholic on Friday.

21. Central Catholic (Modesto) 0-0
Idle. Host No. 20 Placer on Friday.

22. Oakdale 1-0
Beat Tulock 21-7. At Oceanside on Friday.

23. St. Mary's (Stockton) 1-0
Beat East Union 6713. Host Stockdale-Bakersfield on Friday.



24. Burbank (Sacramento) 1-0
Beat Napa 14-7. Host No. 4 Grant on Sept. 7.

25. Freedom (Oakley) 0-1
Lost to Amador Valley 29-27. At Foothill-Pleasanton on Friday.

NorCal news and notes.

* A year ago, Bellarmine Prep nearly toppled De La Salle in an opener, falling in a thriller. The teams play on Friday in the NorCal showcase game with the Spartans featuring perhaps their best defense, headed by linebackers Michael Hutchings, David Moffitt and Victor Egu.

* De La Salle has compiled an amazing 222-0-2 record against NorCal opposition since last losing to a NorCal foe in 1991. What the Spartans do is rely on what never fails - the run-heavy veer that includes exceptional quickness off the line of scrimmage for linemen. De La Salle isn't the only school that is loyal to its offense.
Granite Bay vs. Westlake
Granite Bay vs. Westlake
Photo by Anthony Brunsman

* NorCal heavies Del Oro and Granite Bay fell hard to Southern California powers in the Battle for Veterans in Loomis. Oaks Chrsitian beat Del Oro 40-0, with Del Oro dropping two touchdown passes and missing two field goals in the first half. On Saturday in the capper showcase game, Westlake beat Granite Bay 24-6, leading 17-0 at the half. This weekend, the teams flip-flop opponents in Ventura County. In short, the SoCal programs were a step quicker in every regard.

* Also in the Battle for Veterans, Franklin-Elk Grove beat Thousand Oaks 38-28 behind a four-touchdown effort by senior star Trevon Lampley - a punt return, a run and two receptions.

* Folsom sophomore quarterback Jake Browning had a spectacular varsity debut, tossing a national-record tying 10 touchdowns - five to Phillip Carter in the first half - to beat Woodcreek 68-28. In addition, Browning passed for 689 yards, second most in state history, according to the Cal-H Sports Record Book. Curiously, Cal-Hi disputes whether or not the 10 touchdown tosses tie a national record, though the National Federation of State High School Associations online record book shows that it is. Cal-Hi reported over the weekend that the actual national record for touchdown throws in a single game is 16, by Arthur Smith in Nebraska from a 201-7 game in 1921. Yet that record hasn't been updated, never mind that it happened 91 years ago.

* Buhach Colony beat Bay Area power San Ramon Valley 28-24 on the road. The Thunder, coming off a 12-1 season, rushed for 336 yards on 52 carries. San Ramon now braces for the Folsom passing attack of Jake Browning, he of the 10-touchdown debut effort that made national news.



* Kudos to the North Section in the northern part of the state for embracing the ambitious scheduling theme in an effort to get their section on the state-bowl and state rankings map. Paradise fell at Grant-Sacramento 28-7 and will on Friday host Napa, the same night Enterprise-Redding entertains Del Campo-Fair Oaks.

* The Grant-Nevada Union football rivalry that made for as good a series as one could find in the 1990s and 2000s in the state is back after a seven-year break. The all-time series is tied 15-15-1, and in head-to-head meetings, Nevada Union coach Dave Humphers leads Grant's Mike Alberghini 9-8-1. Here's a closer look.

* Dewey Guerra, the founding father of the Cordova football dynasty of the 1970s, died last week at 85. He started the Lancers program as a new school in 1963, introduced the region to the wishbone and coached perhaps the greatest team in section history in 1975, one that finished 11-0 and nationally ranked No. 1. Besides Guerra's 1975 team, the only NorCal program to finish the season nationally ranked No. 1 is De La Salle of Concord, and the Spartans have done it six times.

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.