Sac-Joaquin Section Top 25 high school football rankings

MaxPreps Sac-Joaquin Section Top 25 Football Rankings

1. Elk Grove (1) 4-0
Beat Sheldon (Sacramento) 54-6. Host No. 4 Nevada Union on Friday.

2. Lincoln (Stockton) (3) 2-1
Bye. Host No. 16 St. Mary's (Stockton) on Friday.

3. Franklin (Elk Grove) (4) 4-0
Beat Cosumnes Oaks (Elk Grove) 23-3. Host No. 20 Jesuit on Friday.

4. Nevada Union (Grass Valley) (6) 3-1
Beat Chico 38-30. At No. 1 Elk Grove on Friday.



5. Granite Bay (8) 1-2
Beat previous No. 2 Vacaville 47-21. Host Pittsburg (Antioch) on Friday.

6. Burbank (Sacramento) (9) 3-0
Beat previous No. 7 Del Oro 28-23. Host Johnson (Sacramento) on Friday.

7. Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) (12) 4-0
Beat previous No. 13 Grant 42-14. At No. 8 Vacaville on Friday.

8. Vacaville (2) 3-1
Lost to No. 5 Granite Bay 47-21. Host No. 7 Oak Ridge on Friday.

9. Placer (Auburn) (10) 3-0
Beat Casa Roble (Orangevale) 63-21. Host Yuba City on Friday.

10. Folsom (11) 4-0
Beat Deer Valley (Antioch) 50-38. Host Casa Roble (Orangevale) on Friday.



11. Buhach Colony (Atwater) (20) 3-1
Beat Lodi 57-0. Host Serra (San Mateo) on Thursday.

12. Inderkum (Sacramento) (18) 3-0
Beat previous No. 5 Pleasant Grove 42-28. At Rocklin on Friday.

13. Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) (5) 2-2
Lost to No. 11 Inderkum 42-28. At Roseville on Friday.

14. Oakdale (15) 2-1
Idle. At No. 23 Sierra (Manteca) on Sept. 21.

15. Central Catholic (Modesto) (15) 2-1
Lost to Downey (Modesto) 45-42. Host Los Banos on Friday.

16. St. Mary's (Stockton) (16) 2-2
Lost to No. 1 De La Salle 21-13. At. No. 2 Lincoln on Friday.



17. Pitman (Turlock) (19) 4-0
Beat Oakland Tech 57-21. Host Franklin (Stockton) on Friday.

18. Del Campo (Fair Oaks) (20) 2-2
Beat Rocklin 21-20. At Cordova (Rancho Cordova) on Friday.

19. Cosumnes Oaks (Elk Grove) (17) 3-1
Lost to No. 3 Franklin 23-3. At Union Mine (El Dorado) on Friday.

20. Jesuit (Carmichael) (21) 3-0
Beat Christian Brothers (Sacramento) 28-23. At No. 3 Franklin on Friday.

21. American Canyon (22) 4-0
Beat Sonoma Valley (Sonoma) 45-0. At Albany on Friday.

22. Sierra (Manteca) (23) 3-0
Idle. Host Oakdale on Friday.



23. Los Banos (24) 4-0
Beat Dos Palos 43-7. At No. 15 Central Catholic on Friday.

24. Benicia (25) 3-0
Beat Armijo (Fairfield) 34-14. Host Wood (Vacaville) on Friday.

25. Rio Linda (NR) 3-0
Beat 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.