By Matt Spencer
CoachesAid.com California Content Coordinator
Here a sneak preview of this weekend key games.
Granite Bay (5-0) at Del Oro-Loomis (5-0), Friday, 7:30 p.m. — One of the marquee matchups this season. Del Oro comes in ranked third in the CoachesAid Sac-Joaquin ratings, with No. 4 Granite Bay right on its heels. Granite Bay has a balanced attack, tradition, and a great defense. More important, it has the confidence of knowing it's won the last two years’ meetings by a combined score of 99-22. But Del Oro is armed with more than revenge. There’s star runner Bryce Pratt, who is rushing for 200 yards a game and has 17 touchdowns. Both teams tuned up nicely for the showdown. Granite Bay rolled 40-0 over Tracy’s West High, and Del Oro routed Vinate, 60-0.
Shasta-Redding (6-0) at Enterprise Redding (6-0), Friday, 7:30 p.m. — Known as the River Bowl. This is one of Northern California’s top matchups as two unbeaten Redding rivals square off for bragging rights and the top spot in the CoachesAid Northern Section rankings. Shasta Redding comes ready to roll in the River Bowl, ranked No. 1 by CoachesAid after its 62-0 win. Enterprise is No. 2, and has momentum from a 28-21 win over tough Pleasant Valley and 38-35 victory in last year’s River Bowl.
Sheldon-Sacramento (5-0) at Monterey Trail-Elk Grove (4-1), Friday, 7:15 p.m. — The Huskies are howling with an unbeaten record that includes three straight wins over Elk Grove schools, but this could be their toughest battle yet against the bordering city. Monterey is an up-and-coming program and got its fourth win in a row with a 39-0 drubbing of Bethel-Vallejo. The Mustangs are riding high with a defense led by linebacker Rozale Byrd (14 tackles, blocked punt last week), and defensive back Ethan Clark who had two interceptions, two recovered fumbles and a blocked punt vs. Bethel. They’ll have to contain Sheldon’s Raymond Dickerson, an athletic 6-foot-4 quarterback who is a threat with his arm and legs.
Corning (5-1) at Central Valley-Shasta Lake (6-0), Friday, 7:30 p.m. — This game will be the acid test to how good Central Valley is. It has put up some basketball scores in its routs in the Northern Section, and the totals were so impressive that it even gave this smaller school No. 1 status for two weeks in the CoachesAid rankings. A victory over a team that has only a season-opening 10-7 loss to No. 2 Enterprise would silence any big-school critics.
Clovis North (4-1) at Bullard-Fresno (5-0), Friday, 7:30 p.m. — A possible trap game for Div. 1 Bullard, which is coming off a week’s rest as the No. 2 ranked team in CoachesAid Central section. They face a Clovis North team loaded for bear. The Div. III Broncos charged into ninth place in the Central ratings, rolling off four straight wins, including a 124-7 margin in the last two games.
Buchanan-Clovis (5-0) at Madera (4-1), Friday, 7:30 p.m. — CoachesAid’s top-ranked team in the Central Section’s is living on the edge. A 22-12 dogfight against Edison-Fresno, followed up by last week’s 28-21 win, where a goal-line stand in the final minute was needed to hold off Fresno’s San Joaquin Memorial. Will Buchanan get a breather? Or could it be bad news for the Bears when they face a Madera squad that has won four in a row?
Kingsburg (5-0) at Dinuba (4-1), Friday, 7 p.m. — Could be another showcase game for CoachesAid’s No. 4 team in the Central Section, led by ace QB Tyler Bray, who threw three touchdown passes in last week’s 61-0 win, and heads to Tennessee next year. But Dinuba may have other ideas. A 4-point loss is the only thing standing in the Emperors’ way from an unbeaten season, and they have last year’s 17-7 defeat to the 6-foot-6 Bray on their mind.
Jesuit-Carmichael (3-2) at Folsom (5-0), Friday, 7:15 p.m. — It’s always worth alerting fans of the next game to catch Folsom’s magical quarterback Dana Graves (see Rambling Man blog posts). Last week, the 5-foot-9 magic man threw six touchdowns and over 400 yards in passing. Keep an eye on his teammate, junior Tyler Trosin. He caught seven of those balls for two TDs. Folsom is one of the top-ranked teams in CoachesAid’s Sac-Joaquin Section, but they can’t expect a letdown against Jesuit, which has righted the ship after a 48-3 loss in the opener to powerhouse St. Mary’s-Stockton, and has now won three of its last four games.
El Dorado-Placerville (2-3) at Lincoln (5-0), Friday, 7:30 p.m. — Big game for Lincoln on heels of 41-0 win at Mesa Verde-Citrus heights. Victory here gives them revenge over Cougar’ 35-28 victory last year. Perhaps even more important, a 6-0 start may earn the Fighting Zebras their stripes in the CoachesAid Top 10 for Sac-Joaquin.
St. Mary’s-Stockton at West-Tracy (1-4), Friday, 7:15 p.m. — After its 50-28 romp over traditional power Central Catholic-Modesto, the Rams have surged to second place in the CoachesAid rankings for Sac-Joaquin and are starting to get some national buzz. They begin their Tri-City league schedule on the road. If they keep it rolling, they could overtake Grant in the polls, and perhaps in a dream match down the road come tourney time.
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