The Sports Informant

It’s what every high school football player hopes to hear at one point in his career. Even linemen hope to somehow acquire some kind of highlight reel memory. Well the past few weeks, with the Sac-Joaquin Section football playoffs in full effect, there has never been a better time.

While some divisions will see their section championships decided today, with others tomorrow and next week, it’s been an interesting run so far, one I’ll definitely be writing my column about in next week’s Sacramento Union Newspaper. Grab a copy to read about how things were shaken up, and not necessarily for the best.

Division II:

While The Sacramento Union’s top-ranked team Grant did what we expected it to do, making it to tonight’s championship, it wasn’t an easy road. The 10-0 Grant at the time faced a 9-1 Granite Bay team in Round 1, with both wondering how arguably the best two teams in the tournament were matched up first. With someone having to go home the loser, the Grant Pacers made sure it wasn’t them, securing a 22-19 win in what could be dubbed the section championship.

With Granite Bay out of the picture, Grant picked apart Woodcreek, 49-14, in Round 2, after Woodcreek pulled off an amazing come-from-behind victory at Oak Ridge in Round 1, 31-24.

Meanwhile, in the opposite side of the bracket, Roseville beat Rosemont in Round 1, 52-8, but fell short to Burbank in Round 2, 27-36. Burbank beat Christian Bros. in Round , 20-10, to earn a spot in the section championship against rival Grant.

The key note to the title game… Grant already beat Burbank 35-13 earlier this season.

Division I:

Another Round 1 tragedy occurred in the Division I bracket. The Union’s No. 2 ranked team Folsom High School, one of the best teams in the tourney, was matched up against defending champion Napa High School. The offensive explosion would have made for a very entertaining section championship game. Instead, Napa came back late in the game to win a 45-42 duel and advance.

With Folsom out, Napa had an easy road, right? Wrong. The bracket featured several surprises, including a Round 1 dismantling of Napa by Laguna Creek, 33-13. Laguna Creek beat Monterey Trail, 48-25 in Round 1.

Meanwhile, Pleasant Grove came back to its winning ways late in the season, handing Folsom its only loss before the tourney, beating Fairfield in Round 1, 35-12, and Nevada Union in Round 2, 21-18. Pleasant Grove will meet Laguna Creek in the semifinals.

On the other side of the bracket, Merced beat Tracy in Round 1, 30-14, then Johansen (who beat McNair in Round 1, 47-13) in Round 2, 22-14, to advance to the semis. There, it will face St. Mary’s, which beat Los Banos in Round 1, 56-14, and Lincoln (who beat Grace Davis in Round 1, 56-12) in Round 2, 32-31.

Division III:

Highly-ranked and undefeated Casa Roble High of Orangevale kept the winning streak going with a Round 1 win over Bethel High, 64-22, and a Round 2 win over Rodriguez High, 52-35. Rodriguez beat Woodland in Round 1, 21-6. The wins gave Casa Roble a shot at the section title on Saturday night against 11-1 Inderkum.

Inderkum took care of business earlier with a 45-27 win over Rio Americano in Round 1 and a 21-10 win over Del Campo in Round 2. Del Campo beat Vanden, 24-18, in Round 1.

Division IV:

Dixon (who beat Bear River, 28-14, in Round 1) will face Placer (who beat Oakdale, 27-14, in Round 1) in Round 2 tonight. Sierra (who beat Rio Linda 21-7) will face Whitney (who beat Foothill 42-14) tonight, also.

Division V:

Central Catholic (who beat Summerville in Round 1, 26-8, and Escalon in Round 2, 38-6) will face Hilmar (who beat Modesto Christian in Round 1, 55-14, and Patterson in Round 2, 34-7) in the section championship on Saturday.

Division VI:

Lindhurst (who beat Waterford in Round 1, 67-7, and Mariposa in Round 2, 28-6) will face Marysville (who got a bye in Round 1 and beat Le Grand in Round 2, 14-0) in the title game. The catch? It’s at Marysville. Good luck.

Division VII:

The only crowned champion so far came in Division VII. Bradshaw Christian won the four-team tournament by beating Big Valley Christian, 40-25, in Round 1, and then Vacaville Christian in the championship, 27-25.