Section football playoffs again show Sacramento-area power in upper divisions

It’s the Final Four of the Sac-Joaquin Section football playoffs and the results reveal a continuing trend.

The north part of the state’s second-largest section is dominated by Sacramento-area schools in Divisions I and II while being top heavy in D-III.

The southern part of the section has overwhelmed the field in Divisions IV, V and VI, with only top-seeded Rio Linda left locally in D-IV and top-seeded Center in D-V.

In D-I, top-seeded Folsom (10-1) on Friday will host No. 5 Monterey Trail (11-1) in a semifinal, a rematch of last season’s championship. Folsom seeks its 10th consecutive trip to a section final and its eighth championship after surviving a major test against Edison of Stockton, winning 45-42 as Jake Reithmeier tossed five touchdown passes and CJ Hutton sealed it with a last-play defensive stop.

Monterey Trail defeated St. Mary’s of Stockton 28-21 to advance as Caleb Ramseur ran for 169 yards and Prophet Brown returned an interception 67 yards for a score and also tossed a 13-yard option pass to Antonio Williams.

St. Mary’s is the last team to beat Folsom in the section playoffs – 45 games ago. Folsom has won a remarkable 98 of 99 against section competition, regular-season and postseason, and is 34-2 in the section playoffs this decade. A local team has won the D-I title nine of the last 10 seasons.

Behind playmakers Justin Lamson, Avant Jacobs and Dylan Warfield, and four sacks from Elijah Hansen, No. 2 Oak Ridge (9-2) downed Turlock 24-14 to set up a home meeting against No. 3 Inderkum (11-0) in the other semifinal. Inderkum impressed with skill players Aaron Espero and JJ Ray in its quarterfinal conquest of Davis, winning 43-21.

In D-II, the seedings were a wash but the final teams are still all local in a show of depth. An area team has won the D-II title 17 consecutive times and 21 of the last 22.

No. 9 Whitney (6-6) bounced top-seeded Rocklin 28-6 behind Nick Tawney, Dom Spence and Eli Brickhandler to earn a shot Saturday at No. 4 Jesuit (6-5), which eliminated Central Catholic 49-28 behind Daniel Susac and Ace Saca.

On the opposite side of the bracket, top-seeded Cosumnes Oaks (8-3) downed Granite Bay 31-20 behind Anthony Grigsby Jr. and will host No. 6 Elk Grove (7-4). The Thundering Herd are coming off an inspired 52-29 win at No. 3 Vacaville in which Jeremy Crook ran for three scores and Carter Harris two.

In D-III, defending champion and top-seeded Capital Christian (9-2) is coming off a 27-17 win over No. 9 Antelope while No. 2 Placer (9-2) rallied to beat No. 10 Yuba City 31-28. Capital Christian hosts No. 4 Manteca (9-2) and Placer entertains Buhach Colony of Atwater (11-0).

In D-IV, defending champion Rio Linda (9-2) raced past Vanden 41-14 behind Abraham Banks and Cameron Skattebo and now hosts Sierra of Manteca (9-3). No. 2 Oakdale (8-3) entertains No. 6 Merced (8-3) in the other semifinal.

In D-V, Center (11-0) continued its best season in school history behind star quarterback Michael Wortham with a 62-7 rout of Colfax and now hosts No. 4 Bradshaw Christian (9-2). The Pride beat Los Banos 42-13 behind Nate Grant’s 171 rushing yards and two scores. The Pride rushed 59 times for 519 yards and five touchdowns. No. 2 Ripon (10-1) hosts No. 3 Amador (10-1) in the other semifinal.

In D-VI, top-seeded Escalon (10-1) entertains Sonora (6-5) and No. 2 Hilmar (10-1) hosts No. 3 Ripon Christian (10-1).

In D-VII, it’s section-title time to cap the six-team field. Top-seeded Denair (9-2) plays No. 2 Mariposa (7-4)

Another win for Jesuit cross country star

Jesuit’s Matt Strangio repeated as the section D-I champion after the senior hit the tape in 15 minutes, 25.9 seconds. A group of observers somehow wound up on the course, resulting in Strangio crashing into a body, though he recovered to post the fourth-fastest time in the history of the Willow Hills course in Folsom.

Jesuit had seven runners place in the top 13 as coach Walt Lange won his 26h section banner with the school. The CIF State Championship at Woodward Park in Fresno are on Nov. 30.

For Jesuit, Michael Chambers was second in the D-I race, Chase Gordon seventh, Jake Swanson eighth, Braden King 10th, Spencer Picren 11th and Nicholas Salonites 13th.

Whitney won the boys D-II title behind Ethan Dodge, who placed fourth.

Oak Ridge won the D-I girls title behind Abby Fletcher and Ava Maier, and St. Francis its fourth in a row in D-II behind Cate Joaquin and Isabella Fauria. The fastest girl was Vista del Lago’s Alex Klos, who won in 17:31 – 54 seconds better than any runner and the second-fastest girls time in course history behind Davis’ Fionna O’Keeffe, who’s now at Stanford.

For more cross country news and results, go here.

Davis girls, Jesuit boys continue to excel in water polo

Jesuit won its 11th section water polo championship, downing Granite Bay 13-7 for D-I honors. No scoring leaders were input by the school into MaxPreps.

In D-II, Bella Vista topped Buhach Colony 6-4 as Lazar Otashevich had two goals, Malakai Thomas recorded one goal and three assists, and Jonathan Rosenberg had 15 saves.

Davis won its 16th section girls title by beating St. Francis 14-5. Faith Cerussi scored five goals and Maddie Walker had 11 saves.

Rio Americano won the D-II girls title, beating El Capitan 17-8 for its 13th banner.

All finalists advance to this week’s CIF Northern California tournament.