Pick the Preps: Del Oro-Casa Roble, Granite Bay-Vacaville, St. Mary’s-De La Salle and more
Just when picking the outcome for high school football games started to become an impossible guessing game and a bore of a chore for most of us, we collectively delivered a promising week.
Too often, this prep enthusiast crew puts a foot — or a pair of smelly cleats — in its collective mouth. Not this time.
Yours truly went 7-0, which is what I expect every week, and I run gassers with every loss (no, not really). Matthew Bessette of ABC Jam Productions and the NFHS Network is still rolling. He went 7-0, too, the showoff.
Nick Pecoraro, the longtime area scribe, went 6-1, and it’s about time. Retired basketball coach and fellow football fanatic Scott Tedmon saved face with his best week, going 5-2. Told him to pick up his game or go pick up a basketball and go home.
Tamalpais-Mill Valley (2-1) at Bear River (3-0)
When: Thursday, 7:15 p.m.
JoeD: Few places are as fun as this venue in Lake of the Pines/Grass Valley. The bonus treat here is famed retired coaches Terry Logue and Scott Savoie will be on hand, probably signing autographs and taking selfies, as they support one of their former players in Tanner Mathias, a fine coach in his own right. BR makes plays all over the field, including do-all senior grinders Blake Simning and Kaden Cavolt, who opened last week’s win over Grace Davis with an 85-yard kickoff return touchdown. BR wins, 24-21.
MatthewB: Bear River is flat out playing fantastic football. The Bruins are scoring 36 points a game and only allowing 11. Bruins win, 34-13.
NickP: Tamalpais QB Braden Young is the top passer in the North Coast Section, averaging more than 315 yards per game while completing nearly 75% of his passes. The Red Tailed Hawks have beaten heavier competition and win this one, 28-17.
CoachT: The Red Tailed Hawks head to the hills to face the Bruins. I’m a UCLA alum. No brainer. BR roars, 35-21.
No. 2 Oak Ridge (4-0) at Pleasant Valley-Chico (2-0)
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
JoeD: First of all, kudos and props to the Vikings, the top-ranked team in the CIF Northern Section, for taking on so many powerhouse programs, including Central Catholic of Modesto on Sept. 22. That’s how you elevate an already sure product. PV, home of NFL QB great Aaron Rodgers, rolled a solid Yuba City team 35-0, and here comes Oak Ridge, which is even better. Trojans win, 28-13.
MatthewB: Neither team shies away from scheduling tough games. It’s no coincidence that the Trojans defense pitched a shutout in Markus Hoffman’s first game back. Oak Ridge finishes its gauntlet of a non-league schedule with a 20-10 victory.
NickP: PV has a state championship pedigree, but Oak Ridge is a state Top 20 team and inches closer to full strength. Bet on the Trojans, 35-10.
CoachT: OR is impressive and on a roll. Trojans march into Chico 4-0 and stay undefeated with a 34-17 win.
No. 5 Del Oro (4-0) at No. 6 Casa Roble (3-0)
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
JoeD: Orangevale will be buzzing over this nonleague showdown pitting perhaps the Sac-Joaquin Section’s top Division V team against a decades-long bruiser in D-II Del Oro. Can Casa Roble slow down QB ace Caden Pinnick? Can DO deal with Rams WR star Cole Owens? Who wins the trench war? Del Oro in a classic, 21-20.
MatthewB: My only loss in Week 0 came from picking against Casa Roble. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Pinnick just picked up a Sacramento State offer and DO wins a shootout, 41-33.
NickP: I tried lobbying to cover this game, but JoeD pulled rank on me. A delicious matchup with star power galore. The Rams will prove they are ready for a section title run by hanging with the big boys, but Del Oro walks away victorious, 30-28.
CoachT: This is Casa’s year to win D-V. Taking on DO now will serve the Rams well come playoffs. The difference will be Pinnick as the Golden Eagles win, 24-21.
No. 8 Granite Bay (2-2) at No. 9 Vacaville (2-1)
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
JoeD: Another whopper of a nonleague game, and it’s homecoming for Vacaville, which puts on as great of a football pregame show as anyone. This contest will feature a lot of good skill players, including runners Carter Jackson and Isaiah Ene of GB and Vacavile’s Cristian Diosdado. GB by a foot, 24-23.
MatthewB: It’ll be my first time visiting Vacaville to broadcast and I’m not sure it could’ve been for a bigger matchup. QB Brody Fortunati is having a fantastic season for the Bulldogs, completing passes to eight different receivers in three games. Nick Harris will likely still be out for the Grizzlies and the Bulldogs celebrate with a win, 24-20.
NickP: I will have a full recap of this game in The Bee after two of the region’s best coaches in Joe Cattolico and Mike Papadopolous play chess at Tom Zunino Stadium. This is a tossup. Bulldogs at home, 21-20.
CoachT: A quality running game and staunch defense travels well. Grizzlies have both. GB takes the trip down I-80 and wins, 34-20.
No. 15 Laguna Creek (3-1) at No. 13 Monterey Trail (0-3)
When: Friday, 7:15 p.m.
JoeD: This Metro League opener on paper looks like it should be LC as MT seeks its first victory, but games aren’t played on paper. MT has scheduled monsters, falling to Folsom 35-0, to Saint Francis of Mountain View 28-21 and battling Pittsburg to the wire, 10-7, the same Pitt outfit that beat Granite Bay 41-21. MT is faster than LC, and that’ll be enough to lead to a 30-24 victory.
MatthewB: MT has played one of the toughest schedules in Northern California and LC is riding a three-game win streak, but the Mustangs are battle tested. They win this one, 37-28.
NickP: MT has been in this situation before (going winless against a behemoth of a non-league schedule) only to go on to run the Metro League table. LC is battle tested, too, coming back from a 24-7 halftime deficit to beat Pleasant Grove. MT wins, 35-27.
CoachT: Pay no attention to the Mustangs’ 0-3 start. MT is about to reap the benefits of playing a monster schedule. It starts this week at home, besting LC 34-24.
Cosumnes Oaks (1-3) at No. 16 Elk Grove (1-3)
When: Friday, 7:15 p.m.
JoeD: This Delta League opener features the defending champion Thundering Herd, which has lost to Granite Bay and Bay Area cruisers Menlo-Atherton and San Ramon Valley, and an athletic and hungry CO team coming off a 35-28 setback to No. 7 Inderkum. QB Marino Fragata had four TD passes against Inderkum and keeps on firing in a 35-34 upset win.
MatthewB: Starting off strong once in league is always a huge boost of confidence, but especially for two teams sitting at 1-3. QB David Hale is too much running the option and the Herd wins, 38-30.
NickP: Fragata is the most prolific passer returning to the section this year (3,500+ yards and 46 TDs at Johnson in 2022). But Elk Grove got to him with six sacks and two interceptions in the first round of last year’s playoffs. Fragata might be on a better team now, but the Herd wins, 27-20.
CoachT: I’ve been on EG all season and this week is no exception. CO will battle, but once again the Herd is the word, 28-17.
St. Mary’s-Stockton (3-0) at De La Salle-Concord (1-2)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
JoeD: St. Mary’s is ranked No. 2 behind Folsom in our section rankings, and longtime coach Tony Franks says this is his greatest team. DLS is DLS — the most storied prep football program in state history. The Rams beat DLS last season, 45-35, as Samson Hunkin passed for three scores and ran for two. He is back for an encore, but DLS fires up the D and wins here, 21-20.
MatthewB: This St. Mary’s team might be even better than the one that beat DLS last year. However, beating DLS on its home field is no easy task. Spartans win, 24-17.
NickP: It’s almost absurd to think of the Spartans falling to 1-3, but is this section slowly catching up to DLS? Multiple losses to Folsom over the last couple seasons, and now St. Mary’s. I live in the Sacramento area, but I still have a 209 number. Rams in a tight one, 35-32.
CoachT: As a first-year prep picker, how do I possibly pick against storied DLS? This is how: St. Mary’s is Ram tough and shocks the Spartans again, 28-27.
Valley (0-4) at Western Sierra (0-3)
When: Friday, 7 p.m. at Mahaney Park
JoeD: What on Earth are we doing here? Well, it’s the (Get off the) Schneid Bowl, meaning something has to give here in a meeting of programs eager for any measure of success. The coaches at these programs care a ton, and some of the players are still learning the game. Valley has tradition dating back to when it opened in 1977, including guys who reached the NFL, while Western Sierra of Rocklin started its program in 2015 and has had one winning season. Valley in tight one, 21-20.
MatthewB: High school sports are not all about winning championships. One of these teams will experience pure jubilation just by winning a game. Western Sierra wins it in Placer County, 15-13.
NickP: The Sacramento Metro Athletic League never fails to tag us media folk on X (Twitter) to highlight their small school pride. For that, we are grateful (and somewhat biased?). I hope both of these programs can have some positive memories on the field this year. It’ll start with “Wisca” winning, 14-7.
CoachT: In this week’s Opportunity Bowl, Western Sierra and Valley have a chance to break into the win column. The Vikings have a rich history while WS is trying to create some of its own. Wolves claw their way to a 17-14 win.
Season totals & Joe D’s remarks
JoeD: 16-10 — How glorious to go 7-0.
MatthewB: 20-6 — Sick of this guy already.
NickP: 16-10 — Yeah, yeah, prove him wrong (or right)
CoachT: 13-13 — He’s suddenly .500 and giddy.
