There wasn't much change in the MaxPreps Northern California rankings with De La Salle securing another big nonleague effort, Folsom establishing itself as the class of the Sac-Joaquin Section and Archbishop Riordan flexing its considerable muscle in the Central Coast Section.
Air Force commit Wes Buford rushed 30 times for 423 yards and seven touchdowns in a 71-55 win over East Union (PHOTO: Dorie Anderson)
The Spartans led 21-7 at the half and took a knee late because that's what DLS has always done.
Brayden Knight rushed for 102 yards from his quarterback spot with two touchdowns.
DLS has a bye and kicks off East Bay Athletic League action next week.
Folsom wins 1 vs. 2 showdownTop-ranked by The Sacramento Bee,
Folsom defeated Bee No. 2
Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) 28-9 to inch closer to the program's 11th Sierra Foothill League championship since joining the league before the 2014 season.
Oak Ridge led 9-7 at the half before 5-star quarterback
Ryder Lyons ignited the rally for Folsom. The BYU-bound senior had four touchdown passes and 304 yards in the air, the defense was stout in the final two quarters, and Folsom beat Oak Ridge for the 23rd consecutive time over a 19-year span, including in each of the past three CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I finals.
Riordan rolls on
Vanderbilt-bound quarterback
Michael Mitchell Jr. passed for 338 yards and four touchdowns, hitting
Judge Nash three times for 131 yards and a score.
Pitt wins a tight oneIt pays to have a guy with a live leg.
The kicker made a fourth-quarter field goal to tie it 27-27, and then won it late with a field goal.
Pitt's loss was 42-35 to Riordan on Sept. 13.
Wes Buford barrels on Air Force-commit running back
Wes Burford had a night to remember in a Valley Oak League game of longtime rivals.
In a 71-55 victory in a score that had to be double-checked to believe, Buford rushed 30 times for 423 yards and seven touchdowns.
Oakdale rushed 54 times as a team for 618 yards, an average of 11.4 yards per carry.
Richard Flores had 144 yards and three scores.
A 6-foot, 210-pound senior, Buford had rushed for 1,428 yards and 17 touchdowns, averaging 238 yards a game. He rushed for 1,819 yards and 27 scores as a sophomore in 2023 and went for 2,678 yards and 32 TDs last season.
He has 5,925 career yards and 76 touchdowns.
Manteca mauls TimberwolvesIn a Valley Oak League game,
Manteca remained unbeaten for the season with a resounding 74-7 rout of
Sierra (Manteca).
He returned two punts for scores, had a kickoff return to the end zone and caught two touchdown passes from
Owen Gully.
Junipero Serra (San Mateo) coach Patrick Walsh has fielded powerhouse teams in recent years, including three that played for CIF State Open Division championships, so he isn't afraid of a challenge.
The longtime Padres coach scheduled three monstrous games to start this season, resulting in losses to Folsom, De La Salle and MaxPreps national No. 1
St. John Bosco (Bellflower), and now Serra is poised to make a move in the West Catholic Athletic League.
Serra in league action has wins of 41-6 over
Valley Christian (San Jose, Calif.) and 45-10 over
St. Ignatius College Preparatory (San Francisco). Against SI,
Iziah Singleton rushed for 120 yards and two scores, and
Cornell James returned an interception 56 yards for a score.
NorCal Top 201.
De La Salle (Concord), 6-0
2.
Folsom (Folsom, Calif.), 5-1
3.
Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco), 5-0
4.
Pittsburg, 4-1
5.
Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills), 4-2
6.
Manteca, 6-0
7.
Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa), 4-1
8.
Grant (Sacramento), 3-4
9.
Central East (Fresno), 5-1
10.
St. Mary's (Stockton), 4-2
11.
Granite Bay, 5-2
12.
Junipero Serra (San Mateo), 2-3
13.
California (San Ramon), 6-0
14.
Clovis West (Fresno), 5-1
15.
Rocklin, 4-2
16.
Monterey Trail (Elk Grove,, 5-1
17.
Soquel 5-0
18.
Clovis 5-1
19.
Los Gatos, 2-3
20.
Acalanes (Lafayette), 6-0
Joe Davidson has covered high school sports since 1984, including since 1989 with The Sacramento Bee. He is part of the weekly 3 Stooges Podcast that breaks down CIF Northern California sports. In 2024, he was named the National Sports Media Association Sports Writer of the Year for California. In that same year, he was inducted into the California High School Football Hall of Fame at the Rose Bowl. He is a 14-time award winner from the California Prep Sports Writer Association and has been honored with the CIF Distinguished Service award and was in 2025 presented the Legacy Award for years of football contribution by the National Football Foundation, Sacramento Chapter.
