Sac-Joaquin Section Top 25 high school football rankings

By Joe Davidson Sep 11, 2012, 3:00pm

Vacaville moves up, Nevada Union moves down in this week's rankings.

Franklin moved up a spot to No. 4 after a win against Freedom.
Franklin moved up a spot to No. 4 after a win against Freedom.
Photo by Ernie Abrea
MaxPreps Sac-Joaquin Section Top 25 Football Rankings

There was a slight change in the pecking order in the top five, with Vacaville moving up to No. 2 after a last-second home win over Marin Catholic and previous No. 2 Nevada Union sliding to No. 6 after a 29-28 loss to Pleasant Grove. This week more ranked heavyweights face off.

Be sure to check out last week's Sac-Joaquin Section Top 25 Scoreboard, and check back Friday for the newest version.

1. Elk Grove (1) 3-0
Beat previous No. 23 Del Campo 19-16. At Sheldon (Sacramento) on Friday.



2. Vacaville (4) 3-0
Beat NorCal ranked Marin Catholic (Kentfield) 28-24. At No. 8 Granite Bay on Friday.

3. Lincoln (Stockton) (3) 2-1
Beat Berkeley 34-15. At No. 16 St. Mary's (Stockton) on Sept. 21.

4. Franklin (Elk Grove) (5) 3-0
Beat NorCal ranked Freedom (Oakley) 31-21. Vs. No. 17 Cosumnes Oaks on Friday.

5. Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) (6) 2-1
Beat previous No. 2 Nevada Union 29-28. At No. 18 Inderkum on Friday.

6. Nevada Union (Grass Valley) (2) 2-1
Lost to No. 5 Pleasant Grove 29-28. Host Chico on Friday.

7. Del Oro (Loomis) (7) 0-2
Bye. Host No. 9 Burbank (Sacramento) on Friday.



8. Granite Bay (8) 0-2
Bye. Host No. 2 Vacaville on Friday.

9. Burbank (Sacramento) (16) 2-0
Beat previous No. 9 Grant 36-27. At No. 7 Del Oro on Friday.

10. Placer (Auburn) (12) 2-0
Beat Foothill (Palo Cedro) 42-14. Host Casa Roble (Orangevale) on Friday.

11. Folsom (10) 3-0
Beat Roseville 24-7. Host Deer Valley (Antioch, Calif.) on Friday.

12. Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) (11) 3-0
Beat Washington (Fremont) 49-0. Host No. 13 Grant on Friday.

13. Grant (Sacramento) (9) 1-2
Lost to No. 9 Burbank 36-27. At No. 12 Oak Ridge on Friday.



14. Oakdale (15) 2-1
Beat Aptos 35-14. At No. 23 Sierra (Manteca) on Sept. 21.
Oakdale rose in the rankings after defeating Aptos last week.
Oakdale rose in the rankings after defeating Aptos last week.
File photo by Louis Lopez
15. Central Catholic (Modesto) (21) 2-1
Beat previous No. 14 St. Mary's (Stockton) 28-21. At Downey (Modesto) on Friday.

16. St. Mary's (Stockton) (14) 2-1
Lost to No. 15 Central Catholic 28-21. At De La Salle (Concord) on Friday.

17. Cosumnes Oaks (Elk Grove) (17) 3-0
Beat Livermore 31-7. Vs. No. 4 Franklin on Friday.

18. Inderkum (Sacramento) (18) 2-0
Beat Spanish Springs (Reno, Nev.) 28-6. Host No. 5 Pleasant Grove on Friday.

19. Pitman (Turlock) (19) 3-0
Beat Modesto 49-6. At Oakland Tech (Oakland) on Friday.

20. Buhach Colony (Atwater) (13) 2-1
Lost to Clovis North (Fresno) 37-19. Host Lodi on Friday.



21. Jesuit (Carmichael) (21) 2-0
Beat El Camino (Sacramento) 33-26. Vs. Christian Brothers (Sacramento) on Saturday.
Jesuit remains at No. 21 after a narrow victory over El Camino.
Jesuit remains at No. 21 after a narrow victory over El Camino.
Photo by Dennis Stiff
22. American Canyon (24) 3-0
Beat Chavez (Stockton) 41-12. Host Sonoma Valley (Sonoma) on Friday.

23. Sierra (Manteca) (NR) 3-0
Beat Laguna Creek (Sacramento) 48-6. Host No. 14 Oakdale on Sept. 21.

24. Los Banos (NR) 3-0
Beat Manteca 41-28. At Dos Palos on Friday.

25. Benicia (NR) 2-0
Beat Maria Carrillo 31-21. At Armijo (Fairfield) on Friday.

* Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) used a bit of trickery to climb back into its showdown game with visiting Nevada Union (Elk Grove), rode momentum to take a last-moment lead, then asked their emerging star to give one more ounce of effort. The host Eagles recovered on onside kick after scoring to cut it to 14-7, then scored to tie it at the half. Dre Terrell hit Wyatt Demps for four touchdowns, including one from 16 yards out with 33 seconds to go. Terrell hit fullback Tyree Hanson for the go-ahead two-point conversion, and Demps blocked a 44-yard NU field goal attempt with 10 seconds to go. In a word: whew.

* Burbank (Sacramento) drew a record home crowd at its one-year-old home stadium on Florin Road, and toasted it with a 36-27 victory over rival Grant (Sacramento) as Isiah Williams rushed for 181 yards and two touchdowns and quarterback Ernest Jenkins raced for two scores, including a 75-yarder. Next for surging Burbank is a game at Del Oro.



* Top-ranked Elk Grove had to rally to beat a pesky host Del Campo squad that was determined to show what it could do after a crushing loss the previous week at Enterprise (Redding). Elk Grove won it 19-16 on a 4-yard touchdown run by Robert Frazier with 1:04 to go. A moment earlier, Del Campo scored on a 64-yard touchdown pass.

* Thomas Sperbeck was a one-man show for Jesuit (Carmichael) against El Camino, accounting for four touchdowns, including the game winner on an 8-yard run with 14 seconds to go for a 33-26 decision. Sperbeck passed for 232 yards and ran for 173, with his mother Kelle frantically updating Sacramento State football coach/husband Marshall Sperbeck with updates. On Saturday, Thomas and his mother huddled around a radio to hear the dramatic finish for Sac State, beating host Colorado, 30-28. Read more about the Sperbeck clan at sacbee.com.

* Granite Bay and Del Oro expect to avoid concurrent 0-3 starts for the first time, with Granite Bay opening in 1997. The teams are defending Sac-Joaquin Section champions in Division I and III, respectively. Vacaville, which beat Granite Bay a year ago, visits the Grizzlies the same time Del Oro hosts Burbank.

* Sierra (Manteca), Los Banos and Benicia debut in the rankings at No. 23, 24 and 25, respectively.

Joe Davidson has covered high schools for The Sacramento Bee since 1988. Follow him on Twitter: @SacBee_JoeD; on Facebook: sacbeepreps and through podcasts: espn1320.net or with weekly regional commentary on surewestsports.com.