By admin 
A team has to have several things to be in a championship chase in high school football.
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First, it must have power and might in the trenches. Senior experience helps. So do playmakers. And the topper is coaching. Without leadership and a coaching staff to prepare, inspire and execute, it can be chaos and confusion on the sideline.
The Oak Ridge Trojans of El Dorado Hills have all the makings of a title team, having started this Sacramento-area prep season with a 4-1 record and holding The Bee’s No. 2 ranking since the start of the campaign. The Trojans ended last season ranked No. 2 by The Bee, behind Folsom.
The loss this fall was a close setback to Central East of Fresno, the top-ranked team in the Central Section and a state-ranked club that is the defending CIF state champion. Oak Ridge coaches and players celebrated their 28-14 victory last Friday in Placer County over the No. 5-ranked Rocklin Thunder, and to a man, the Trojans like their chances of winning the Sierra Foothill League championship.
A step in that direction will be what happens on Oct. 16 in El Dorado Hills. That’s when Oak Ridge takes on top-ranked Folsom, a program that has won all but one SFL crown since entering the section’s toughest league before the 2014 season.
Folsom has a remarkable and hard-to-fathom 25-game winning streak against Oak Ridge, spanning 19 seasons. That streak includes SFL games, some down to the wire, and the last four CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I title games at Hughes Stadium.
“I really like where we are as a team,” Oak Ridge coach Casey Taylor said after the Rocklin victory, acknowledging that clearing the Folsom hurdle is the program’s primary goal.
The playmakers for Oak Ridge include quarterback Nick Johnson, receiver/defensive back Isaac Pierce, defensive back/receiver Jack Granud, defensive stoppers such as Brayden Molloy and Justen Womack and receiver/defensive back Nate Anzelc, who had 143 yards receiving and a score against Rocklin.
Granud had a late interception that helped seal the win, giving him four picks in the last two games, including a victory over Del Oro.
Whitney stuns Jesuit
The SFL never disappoints, and here come the Whitney Wildcats of Placer County to muscle into the league race with their best start since 2008.
Under first-year coach Brian Brickey, Whitney moved to 5-0 with a sizzling 35-33 home win over Jesuit on homecoming night as Gavyn Dulaney booted a 29-yard field goal with two seconds to play. Bradley Duncan passed for 324 yards and two touchdowns, and Jason Taormino had 128 yards receiving and a score and made six tackles on defense.
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The Wildcats celebrated and talked afterward about gaining respect after getting devoured in SFL games in recent years. Whitney this week takes on Folsom in the ultimate gauge game.
Inderkum at full strength
With Cordell Radcliffe cleared to play after the CIF-mandated five-game sit-out period for transferring from Sacramento High, the Inderkum Tigers are rounding into full form.
The 5-foot-11, 210-pound junior running back rushed for 189 yards in his season debut and had three touchdowns as Inderkum raced past Christian Brothers 68-34 in Capital Valley Conference play. He now has more than 3,000 career varsity rushing yards, carrying over his momentum from two seasons as a varsity starter at Sac High.
Inderkum is 3-3, with losses to Destiny Christian Academy of Sacramento, Folsom and state-ranked No. 1 Santa Margarita of Southern California.
Bella Vista ranked
The Bella Vista Broncos of Fair Oaks are enjoying their best season since their last playoff team in 2009, punctuated by a 36-35 victory over Antelope in a Capital Valley Conference contest on Friday.
The Broncos are 4-1, on a four-game winning streak and are now ranked 24th by The Bee, the program’s first Bee ranking since who-knows-when. And it took the efforts of a player with throwback grit and a throwback name to get them here.
Bella Vista scored the game-winner in the closing seconds on a touchdown catch by Paul Hornung, not to be confused with the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame great from the 1960s. This Hornung caught the crucial touchdown pass from Jack Singley, and everyone sang the praises of Hornung afterward.
“Great name, right?” Broncos coach Jason Ott said.
Small-school back runs for 428 yards
Caleb Anderson had a night to remember for the Foresthill Wildfires of Placer County in an eight-man shootout.
The junior rushed 35 times for a school-record 428 yards and four touchdowns in a wild 71-40 victory over Adventure Christian of Roseville to move his team to 4-0. He also made seven tackles on defense.
THE BEE’S TOP 25
1. Folsom (6-0)
2. Oak Ridge (4-1)
3. Grant (4-1)
4. Del Oro (4-1)
5. Rocklin (3-2)
6. Whitney (5-0)
7. Jesuit (5-1)
8. Destiny Christian (5-0)
9. Woodcreek (5-0)
10. Monterey Trail (4-1)
11. Inderkum (3-3)
12. Granite Bay (3-3)
13. Franklin (4-2)
14. Twelve Bridges (3-2)
15. Yuba City (5-1)
16. Vanden (4-1)
17. Sutter (5-0)
18. Placer (5-0)
19. Liberty Ranch (5-0)
20. Lincoln (4-1)
21. Ponderosa (3-1)
22. West Park (2-3)
23. Vacaville (4-2)
24. Bella Vista (4-1)
25. Center (6-0)
This story was originally published October 5, 2026 at 10:33 AM with the headline “The Bee’s Top 25 football rankings: No. 2 Oak Ridge rolls, Whitney wins wild one.”
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