With an entire season riding on the line, Sacramento area high school football teams suited up for the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs last weekend, battling for their shot at a section title.
There were a few upsets, but favorites typically rode onto the second round, getting one step closer to their championship goals.
Division I:
The Division I bracket saw the top four seeds advance with ease. No. 1 seed Tracy (10-0 coming into the playoffs) knocked out No. 16 Enochs (4-6) on Nov. 20, 55-24 and No. 2 Vacaville (9-1) pounded No. 15 Grace Davis (6-4), 49-0; No. 3 seed Nevada Union (9-1) destroyed No. 14 Napa (5-5), 62-12; and No. 4 seed Monterey Trail (8-2) whipped No. 13 Pitman (6-4), 59-21.
It was the mid-seed games that sparked interest as several back-and-forth battles decided who advanced and who went home. No. 5 seed Lincoln of Stockton (8-2) couldn’t hold on against a surging No. 12 Burbank team (6-4), as the two duked it out with Burbank ultimately pulling off a 25-23 win.
No. 6 seed Oak Ridge (7-3), coming into the playoffs with a seven-game winning streak, saw its season end in the first round with a narrow three-point loss to No. 11 seed Sheldon High (7-3), 20-17. No. 7 seed Pleasant Grove (7-3) edged No. 10 Franklin (6-4), 28-7. No. 8 seed Los Banos (7-3) and No. 9 seed Modesto (7-3) had the game of the bracket so far, though, battling into overtime before Los Banos took a 27-26 win.
The second round now sees Tracy facing Los Banos in Tracy, Burbank traveling to Monterey Trail, Nevada Union hosting Sheldon and Pleasant Grove going all the way to Vacaville. All games will be played on Nov. 27.
Division II:
The Division II bracket saw every higher seed win but the No. 7 seed, as seeds one through six and seed eight pulled off victories.
No. 1 seed St Mary’s (10-0 coming into the playoffs) obliterated No. 16 seed Buhach Colony (6-4), 49-7. No. 2 seed Rocklin (10-0) beat No. 15 seed Elk Grove (4-6), 35-7. No. 3 seed Grant crushed No. 4 seed Tokay (6-4), 65-0. No. 4 seed Folsom (9-1) beat No. 13 seed Woodcreek (4-6), 42-7. No. 5 seed Granite Bay (8-2) bashed No. 12 seed Sacramento (6-4), 56-0. No. 5 seed Fairfield (8-2) beat No. 11 seed Rosemont (6-4), 45-17. And No. 8 seed Del Oro (8-2) beat No. 9 seed Christian Brothers (7-3), 42-13.
But No. 7 seed Stagg (8-2) couldn’t claw their way to victory against No. 10 seed Atwater (7-3), who took a slight 18-13 victory to advance.
Impressively, all three Sierra Foothill League teams advanced (Rocklin, Granite Bay and Del Oro), but at least two of them will have their hands full this week. Del Oro faces St. Mary’s in Round 2, while Granite Bay faces Folsom, with both teams playing away. Rocklin gets a home game against Atwater in Round 2. Grand will host Fairfield.
Division III:
All but one higher seed won in Division III, too. No. 1 seed Inderkum (10-0 coming into the playoffs) beat No. 16 Rodriguez (5-5), 47-7. No. 2 seed Del Campo (9-1) beat No. 15 seed Pioneer (6-4), 36-0. No. 3 seed Sierra (9-1) beat No. 14 seed Mira Loma (6-4), 59-6. No. 4 seed Vanden (9-1) beat No. 13 seed Yuba City (6-4), 48-14. No. 5 seed Oakdale (9-1) beat No. 12 seed Natomas (6-4), 36-0. No. 6 seed Benicia (8-2) beat No. 11 Patterson (6-4) in overtime, 26-20. No. 7 seed Rio Linda (8-2) beat No. 10 seed Bella Vista (7-3) 35-26.
But No. 8 seed Manteca (7-3) saw an even battle go No. 9 seed Casa Roble’s (6-4) way, as Casa Roble advanced with a 35-28 win.
Inderkum will face Casa Roble on Nov. 27, while Del Campo will face Rio Linda, Sierra will face Benicia and Vanden will face Oakdale.
Division IV:
Split into two brackets, IV-A and IV-B, the Division IV playoffs got interesting.
In the IV-A bracket, No. 1 Lincoln beat No. 8 Livingston, 49-15. No. 2 Dixon beat No. 7 Calaveras, 18-14. No. 3 Placer beat No. 6 Foothill, 57-20. No. 4 Sonora beat No. 5 Whitney, 20-7.
Lincoln will now face Sonoroa, while Placer will face Calaveras.
In the IV-B bracket, No. 1 Modesto Christian beat No. 8 Colfax, 64-7. No. 2 Central Catholic beat No. 7 Argonaut, 52-24. No. 3 Summerville beat No. 6 Ripon, 33-0. No. 4 Escalon beat No. 5 Hilmar, 38-21.
Modesto Christian will play Escalon, while Central Catholic will play Summerville.
Division V:
No. 1 seed Capital Christian and No. 2 Le Grand got byes to advance to the second round. No. 3 Highlands beat No. 6 Denair, 24-21. No. 4 Mariposa beat No. 5 Lindhurst, 34-0.
Capital Christian will face Mariposa, while Le Grand will face Highlands.
Division VI:
No. 1 seed Bradshaw Christian and No. 2 seed Brookside Christian earned first round byes. No. 3 Delta beat No. 6 Big Valley Christian, 39-8. No. 4 Millennium beat No. 5 Vacaville Christian, 33-14.
Bradshaw Christian will face Millennium, while Brookside Christian will face Delta.
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