By admin 
One month in, and the top of The Sacramento Bee’s high school football rankings reveal a continuing trend.
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It’s the Sierra Foothill League and everybody else. This isn’t a new fad. The SFL has for years been the top league in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section, and this season, it rates as the top collection of teams in Northern California.
League action kicks off on Friday, and the SFL towers with all seven of its teams ranked by The Bee. Those teams, which entered this week with a combined record of 23-1, are: top-ranked Folsom, No. 2 Oak Ridge, No. 4 Del Oro, No. 5 Rocklin, No. 6 Granite Bay, No. 7 Jesuit and No. 11 Whitney, off to its best start since 2008.
The only loss for the SFL is linked to Oak Ridge. The Trojans of El Dorado Hills dropped an agonizing 20-14 home contest to Central Coast Section and Fresno Bee No. 1-ranked Central East of Fresno, a defending CIF State champion.
Folsom is the five-time defending section Division I champion with two CIF State crowns since 2023, having defeated Oak Ridge four consecutive times at Hughes Stadium in those large-school finals.
SFL openers include Rocklin at Folsom, Del Oro at Oak Ridge and Granite Bay at Jesuit. Whitney takes on defending section Division IV champion Roseville in a nonleague contest of Placer County programs.
No. 3 Grant has lost only to Central East and has won three straight since. While the SFL figures to be a fight to the finish, the Metro League will be top-heavy with the Pacers, followed by contenders No. 8 Destiny Christian Academy of Sacramento, No. 21 West Park and No. 24 Antelope.
Cordova is 3-0 under coach JP Dolliver, the team competing to a different bounce with its new field as the Lancers plan to make some noise in the Metro.
No. 10 Monterey Trail looms as the favorite to win another Delta League championship, and the Elk Grove Unified School District program will face competition from upstart and No. 12-ranked Franklin.
The Capital Valley Conference race will include No. 9 Woodcreek, the defending CIF section Division III champion, No. 12 Inderkum and No. 19 Ponderosa. Inderkum visits Ponderosa in Shingle Springs on Friday.
The Foothill Valley League includes No. 14 Twelve Bridges, No. 17 Placer, No. 21 Yuba City and No. 23 Roseville.
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The Monticello Empire League is a two-team race, with storied Solano County programs No. 15 Vanden (which has lost only to the SFL’s Del Oro), and No. 23 Vacaville.
No. 16 Sutter is the runaway favorite to win another Golden Empire League crown.
Jesuit wins Holy Bowl
In defeating Christian Brothers for the seventh consecutive time, 49-34, John Giovannettone rushed for 208 yards and three touchdowns at Hughes Stadium. CJ Rosales had 90 yards rushing and a score, and he returned a punt for to the end zone for the Marauders in a series that dates back to 1969.
Jesuit, with several starters out nursing injuries, was also led by senior quarterback Jeremiah Brannon. He hooked up with Max Bettencourt for two touchdown strikes. Jesuit had 13 quarterback hurries on defense, including four by Heath Lockhart.
Franklin outlasts Twelve Bridges
Braylon Richardson passed for 317 yards and five touchdowns, hitting his two favorite targets in the end zone each time, as Franklin defeated Twelve Bridges of Lincoln, 42-28.
That’s the second successive loss for the Raging Rhinos, who the previous week lost a tight game to Whitney that halted a 32-game non-playoff, regular-season winning streak.
Richardson found Jovan Harper three times for touchdowns and Caden Bowers twice.
Big efforts from Monterey Trail, Woodcreek
It’s not just the quarterbacks and running backs who impact games. Everyone has to lend a hand.
In Monterey Trail’s 16-6 win over Bay Area powerhouse McClymonds of Oakland, the Mustangs defense limited the Warriors to 111 total yards.
Gio Zumnbado had four tackles and 2 1/2 sacks, and he blocked a point-after touchdown to lead the charge. Albert Dennis had three solo tackles, a sack and a safety, Anthony Griffin had four solo tackles and 1 1/2 sacks, Isaac Guerrero had six solo stops and Ethan Guerrero had six tackles and broke up two passes.
For Woodcreek, Marcus Mauck usually throws his weight around as a 6-foot-4, 295-pound lineman, but in a 43-0 win over Roseville, he also barrelled in for a short goal-line touchdown as a fullback to move the Timberwolves to 4-0.
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The Bee’s Top 25
1. Folsom (4-0)
2. Oak Ridge (2-1)
3. Grant (3-1)
4. Del Oro (4-0)
5. Rocklin (3-0)
6. Granite Bay (3-0)
7. Jesuit (4-0)
8. Destiny Christian (4-0)
9. Woodcreek (3-0)
10. Monterey Trail (2-1)
11. Whitney (3-0)
12. Inderkum (1-3)
13. Franklin (2-2)
14. Twelve Bridges (2-2)
15. Vanden (3-1)
16. Sutter (3-0)
17. Placer (4-0)
18. Liberty Ranch (3-0)
19. Yuba City (3-1)
20. Ponderosa (3-1)
21. Yuba City (2-1)
22. West Park (2-2)
23. Vacaville (2-2)
24. Roseville (2-2)
25. Antelope (3-1)
This story was originally published September 22, 2026 at 11:45 AM.