Sac-Joaquin Section football playoff projections - Oct. 13

By Steve Montoya Oct 13, 2025, 9:13am

A first look at how the football playoff brackets might look throughout the Sac-Joaquin Section.

The Sac-Joaquin Section high school football playoffs will have a new look this year. A revised format will feature eight teams across seven divisions competing for section championships, along with new bowl games for teams ranked 9–16. There will also be an additional eight team bracket for 8-man teams. 

Here’s how it will work:

Bowl-eligible teams will play on Nov. 7

Playoff brackets will begin on Nov. 14



Automatic Entries:
Each league will qualify one team for the playoff bracket competing for a section title. If a league has multiple champions, the tie will be broken using the universal tiebreaker.

At-Large Qualifiers:
After automatic entries are set, at-large teams will be selected based on MaxPreps rankings. Eight schools from each division will make up the bracket. The number of at-large bids will depend on how many spots remain after auto entries are placed.

Qualification Rules:
Teams must have at least four wins to qualify for the playoffs. The four-win requirement does not apply to bowl game consideration.

Bowl Games:
Regionally based bowl games will include teams ranked 9–16 in each division by MaxPreps. These may include teams from different divisions and will consist of one game only.

More information can be found here.

These projections are subject to change and will be updated weekly on MaxPreps.



Division 1
AE = Projected auto entry 
AL = Projected At-Large entry

1- Folsom - AE
2 - Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) - AL
3 - Grant (Sacramento) - AE
4 - Inderkum (Sacramento) - AL
5 - Central Catholic (Modesto) - AL
6 - Monterey Trail (Elk Grove) - AE
7 - Edison (Stockton) - AL
8 - Turlock (Turlock) - AE

Bowl-eligible teams
9 -Downey (Modesto) 
10 - West Park (Roseville)
Division 2
AE = Projected auto entry 
AL = Projected At-Large entry

1 - Manteca - AE
2 - St. Mary's (Stockton) - AE
3 - Rocklin - AL
4 - Granite Bay - AL
5 - Del Oro (Loomis) - AL
6 - Jesuit (Carmichael) - AL
7 - Elk Grove - AL
8 - Chavez (Stockton) - AE

Bowl-eligible teams
9 - Whitney (Rocklin) - Not projected to get to 4 wins or would be a playoff team
10 - Tracy
11 - Rodriguez (Fairfield)
12 - Kimball (Tracy)
13 - Stagg (Stockton) - Could get in the playoffs if they win league
14 - Tokay (Lodi)
15 - Pitman (Turlock)
16 - Lodi



Division 3
AE = Projected auto entry 
AL = Projected At-Large entry

1 - Woodcreek (Roseville) - AE
2 - Oakdale - AL
3 - Merced) - AE
4 - Vacaville - AE
5 - Vanden (Fairfield) - AL
6 - Destiny Christian Academy (Sacramento) - AL
7 - Rio Americano (Sacramento) - AL
8 - Ponderosa (Shingle Springs) - AL

Bowl-eligible teams
9 - Vista del Lago (Folsom)
10 -Atwater
11 - Antelope
12 - Christian Brothers (Sacramento)
13 - Bella Vista (Fair Oaks)
14 - Grace Davis (Modesto)
15 - Johansen (Modesto)
16 - Golden Valley (Merced)

Division 4
AE = Projected auto entry 
AL = Projected At-Large entry

1 - Twelve Bridges (Lincoln) - AE
2 - Roseville - AL
3 - East Union (Manteca) - AL
4 - Sacramento - AL
5- Hughson - AL
6 - Escalon - AL
7 - Placer (Auburn) - AL
8 - Fairfield - AE

Bowl-eligible teams
9 -Pioneer (Woodland)
10 - Patterson 
11 - Yuba City
12 - Nevada Union (Grass Valley)
13 - Los Banos
14 - Wood (Vacaville)
15 - Del Campo (Fair Oaks)
16 - El Capitan (Merced)



Division 5
AE = Projected auto entry 
AL = Projected At-Large entry

1- Sutter - AE
2 - Hilmar - AL
3 - Casa Roble (Orangevale) - AL
4 - Lathrop - AE
5 - Lincoln - AE
6 - Rosemont (Sacramento) - AL
7 - Oakmont (Roseville) - AL
8 - Rio Linda - AL

Bowl-eligible teams
9 - Livingston
10 - Ceres
11 - Dixon
12 - Woodland
13 - Pacheco (Los Banos)
14 - Center (Antelope)
15 - Foothill (Sacramento)
16 - Burbank (Sacramento)

Division 6
AE = Projected auto entry 
AL = Projected At-Large entry

1 - Sonora - AE
2 - Woodland Christian - AE
3 - Ripon Christian - AL
4 - Liberty Ranch (Galt) - AE
5 - Bradshaw Christian (Sacramento) - AL
6 - Ripon - AL
7 - Wheatland - AL
8 - Bear River (Grass Valley) - AL

Bowl-eligible teams
9 - Amador (Sutter Creek)
10 - Union Mine (El Dorado)
11 - Argonaut (Jackson)
12 - Marysville
13 - Orestimba (Newman)
14 - El Dorado (Placerville)
15 - Mesa Verde (Citrus Heights)
16 - Colfax

Division 7
AE = Projected auto entry 
AL = Projected At-Large entry



1 - Linden- AE
2 -  Stone Ridge Christian (Merced) - AL
3 - Calaveras (San Andreas) - AL
4 - Summerville (Tuolumne) - AL
5 - Rio Vista - AL
6 - Mariposa County - AE
7 - Denair - AL
8 - Le Grand - AL

Bowl-eligible teams
9 - Waterford
10 - Golden Sierra (Garden Valley)
11 - Big Valley Christian (Modesto)
12 - Highlands (North Highlands)
13 - Gustine
14 - Millennium (Tracy)
15 - Bret Harte (Angels Camp)
16 - Delhi

8-man- COMING SOON