Week 1 NorCal Football Preview
The 2026 high school football season starts up this week with the Sac-Joaquin Section showcasing some of their best teams. It starts with the Saturday night, nationally televised contest between Folsom and Grant, but also see if Twelve Bridges can continue the momentum it has built, St. Mary’s looking to avenge last year’s loss to Bishop Manogue and Rocklin hosting Turlock in a North vs. South matchup. Read more about it in the Week 1 NorCal Football Preview.
Friday Football Preview
Twelve Bridges at Christian Brothers 7:00 PM
Twelve Bridges has gone 26-2 over the past two seasons despite having a different leading passer, rusher and receiver each year. They are projected to make it three for three in that distinction in 2026, but do return Nevada bound offensive lineman Colton Hogge. Christian Brothers brings back quarterback Deakon Holden, who missed the end of last season with a broken collarbone. The Falcons went 5-6 last year with four losses by one possession. One of the other losses came in the opener to Twelve Bridges (28-14).
Bishop Manogue at St. Mary’s Stockton 7:00 PM
The Rams start the season at No. 8 in the NCP Top 20 with a passing combo of quarterback Jaden Galvan and wide receiver Kenneth Moore III (UCLA) and the two way contributors Diego Hernandez and Landon McClendon Jr. Bishop Manogue won its opener last week over McQueen (36-29) as Brandon Mann (Nevada) threw for 199 yards and rushed for 93 yards while Amir McGruder rushed for three scores. Last year, Bishop Manogue won this matchup 21-14 in Reno.
Sonora at Oakdale 7:00 PM
Sonora is coming off a 13-2 season and it might be better in 2026. That’s because they bring back their top five rushers led by 1,000 yard backs Tommy Sutton and Cash Byington. Eli Ingalls is also back at quarterback along with the leading tackler (Brody Speer) and top intercepter (Steven Morfoot). Oakdale counters with one of the top backs in the region in Wes Buford (Air Force) in addition to Chase Lopez, who also rushed for more than 1,000 yards. Sonora held serve at home last year 31-21 in one of the longest running opening season matchups we have in NorCal.
Inderkum at Monterey Trail 7:00 PM
Justin Reber is now the head coach at Inderkum after Reggie Harris stepped down over the summer. He is the third head coach for the Tigers over the past six years since Terry Stark left after the 2019 season. It will be a new look squad for Inderkum after it graduated a productive senior class led by quarterback Ricky Cole. On the flip side, Monterey Trail is led by the only head coach in program history in TJ Ewing, who has found success with a strong running game and small roster sizes. However, the Mustangs will also need to replace key graduated players on both sides of the ball.
Turlock at Rocklin 7:00 PM
Turlock and Rocklin have both had to deal with sanctions from the SJS coming into the season including not being able to host playoff games. Now the attention turns to the field as No. 10 Rocklin is back with Nevada bound quarterback Reeve Slone, Northern Arizona wide receiver commit Josiah Andrews and San Diego State bound defensive lineman Dominic Coelho. Scout Silva is back at quarterback for Turlock and Landyn Fitzgerald looks poised to become his top receiver. Last year, Turlock started 1-3 before rallying to reach the SJS Division I semifinals.
Del Oro at Downey 7:00 PM
Del Oro will look to get off to a good start as it takes on one of the top programs annually from the southern half of the section. The Golden Eagles boast a strong tight end combo with Washington State bound Luke Galer and junior Landen Perry. Downey is known for its wide open passing attack, but will need a new quarterback after losing Carson Lamb to graduation. The Knights have won 10 games each of the last three years, but haven’t advanced past the section quarterfinals.
Placer at Casa Roble 7:30 PM
Placer will need to replace some key players on offense and defense, but Shaun Jones should take over as the top back in the wing-T attack that will have good speed again. Liam Grant is expected to step in at quarterback and junior lineman Gage Esty is one to watch. For Casa Roble, it starts with quarterback Aidan Lopez, who threw for 2,707 yards and 31 touchdowns as a junior. The Rams also return four of their top six tacklers led by Zander Freitag. These programs have alternated wins over the past four seasons with Casa Roble winning in 2021 and 2023.
Oak Ridge at Frontier-Bakersfield 7:30 PM
Oak Ridge starts the season at No. 6 in the NCP Top 20 with the majority of its offensive line returning plus defensive lineman JaVon Joseph (Washington State), Jasen Womack (Cal Poly), junior wide receiver Issac Pierce and junior linebacker Justen Womack. Frontier should return a good passing combo between quarterback Brady Campbell and wide receiver Malcolm Watkins. Kobie Watson is another receiver to watch. Last season, Frontier was very familiar with NorCal fans as it beat Oak Ridge in the opener, lost to Liberty the following week and then won the 3-AA state title over Amador Valley.
Rodriguez at Escalon 7:30 PM
Escalon is coming off a down year at 6-6, but brings back a core of producers like quarterback Logan Huebner and running back Ben Gonzalez. They do need to replace two-way standout Ryan Lewis, who is now at Fresno State. Rodriguez on the other hand is coming off an 11-1 season and welcomes back two skill players to watch with 6-foot-6 wide receiver Jermaine Missouri (1,119 yards, 19 touchdowns) and Mancianno Syess, who had more than 700 total yards and eight touchdowns.
Saturday Football Preview
Folsom at Grant 7:00 PM
The nationally televised game could end up being one of the best games of the season. No. 2 Folsom is paced by BYU bound quarterback Ryder Lyons, who will be able to throw to players like Ole Miss commit Jameson Powell and junior to watch Rob Larson. However, No. 3 Grant boasts the best receiving duo in the region with juniors Koby Shabazz (Sacramento State) and Zo Edwards. The game will also provide the chance to see two of the best offensive linemen in the section with Folsom’s Vlad Dyakonov (USC) and Grant’s Roger Vanderhoef (Sacramento State).