No. 8 Pleasant Grove

Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove, Calif.)
Visit full Top 25

Pleasant Grove is the defending CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I champion and the Eagles will be even better in 2011.

With quarterback Cody Demps back under center and prolific tailback Mark Jenkins returning after a 2,739-yard season, the team's offense will be extremely difficult to defend, particularly with four starters returning on the line, including All-American Arik Armstead.

The 2011 Eagles should boast even greater firepower at wide receiver, which will allow head coach Joe Cattolico to diversify his powerful offensive attack, making it even more potent.

Defensively, Pleasant Grove allowed 10.5 points per game during the playoffs, and returns a number of playmakers, including Armstead, whose size and athleticism causes matchup problems for opposing offenses.



It will be a very strong year for football in Northern California. Pleasant Grove will be the top team in the Sac-Joaquin Section and among the best in the region, state and country.

Local look:  “Pleasant Grove is as simple as it is dominant. Coach Cattolico prefers a power running game and has the pieces to do this again, with monster recruit Arik Armstead and rising-fast tailback recruit Mark Jenkins. Cattolico is a superb leader, organizer, motivator, so sharp and so bright that he coaches without headsets and does not use a play sheet. We should all be that mentally crisp. Cattolico said at the end of last season that his 13-1 team didn’t deserve serious bowl consideration because it wasn’t their time yet. It is now. Don’t be surprised if Pleasant Grove runs the table this fall, right into the D-I or Open bowl.” - Joe Davidson, Sacramento Bee staff writer since 1988

School size: Division I



Enrollment: 1,950 (approx.)



2010 finish: 13-1; Sac-Joaquin Division I Section champion





Head coach: Joe Cattolico



Career record: 102-49



Years at school: 5





Notable players coached:
DL Armond Armstead (USC)
DB Kyle Castro (Third-round draft pick, MLB's Texas Rangers)

Continue to Key Returners

KEY RETURNERS

No. of returning starters: 7 (offense), 6 (defense)



Key losses:
WR/DB Kyle Castro
LB Jonathan Bias




Key returners:
QB Cody Demps
RB Mark Jenkins
OL/DL Arik Armstead
OL/DL Tyler Slavich



Key newcomers:
RB/LB Isaiah Saunders
WR Cole Hikutini
WR Wyatt Demps

Toughest game: Folsom (Calif.). Folsom won't be as good in 2011, but they will be much better than most people realize. They've improved each season under head coach Kris Richardson and have a more-than-capable replacement for National Player of the Year Dano Graves waiting in the wings.

Local outlook: Grant (Sacramento, Calif.), which has been on the national radar for a number of years, has some young talent that folks around the Pacers program are excited about. They'll be good once again. With Granite Bay, Lincoln (Stockton, Calif.) and others, the Sac-Joaquin Section will be deep in 2011.

Overall outlook: Pleasant Grove will impose its offensive will on teams. If its young players in the secondary and at the linebacker positions blossom, the Eagles will be heading to Carson for a CIF Bowl Game.

Coach quote: "If your star players are team-first guys, the chemistry part is a lot easier." - Joe Cattolico



Continue to Video of Returning Players
{PAGEBREAK}