JV Roundup: Area Teams Close In On Titles

From Loomis to Auburn to Grass Valley and back to Lincoln, several foothill area JV football squads will have their sites set on championship seasons – either co or outright this Friday night.

In the Pioneer Valley League, Placer is one game away from completing a rags to riches story has the Hillmen host Whitney Friday at 5:30 p.m. with a shot at wrapping up the outright PVL JV crown.

Thanks to its 26-0 throttling of Colfax last week, the Hillmen cinched at least a tie for the PVL crown. However, Placer, which is now 8-1 overall and 5-0 in PVL games, needs to defeat a good Whitney (6-3, 3-2 )team Friday to avoid being possibly tied in the final league standings by either Colfax or Lincoln, a pair of 4-1 teams that meet Friday in Lincoln.

In Loomis, meanwhile, Del Oro’s JVs are currently locked in a three-way battle for the Sierra Foothill League. Coach Jerry Van Lengen’s Golden Eagles, 7-2 overall, are 3-1 in SFL action, good right now for a three-way tie with Roseville and Granite Bay.

Del Oro will end its season Friday by hosting Oakmont at 5:30 p.m. while Roseville will try and keep pace with a win against Rocklin. Granite Bay, meanwhile, must deal with a 3-2 Woodcreek team that had won its first seven games before losing the last two weeks to Del Oro and Roseville.   

And on the road in Davis, NU’s JV’s, owners of an 8-1 overall mark, will try anc lose their season out on a winning note and keep alive a shot at the Delta Valley Conference title. The Miners improved to 3-1 in DRC games following last Friday’s 36-33 win over Elk Grove.

Here’s a recap of last Friday’s JV action:

Placer 26 Colfax 0 – The Falcons were playing without 1,000 yard rusher Josh Moreno who was lost for the season after suffering an ankle an injury two weeks ago but it’s doubtful it would have made any difference on Friday.

The Hillmen, capitalizing on three pass interceptions, a fumble recovery and a botched Colfax snap on a punt attempt, jumped on the Falcons for a 14-0 first quarter lead and never let up.

The Hillmen defense, led by down linemen Chione Song and Anthony Truell, linebacker Caleb Mitchell, and Darren Centi and Cody Barger who each had pass interceptions, locked down Colfax’s offense limiting the Falcons to just 143 yards total.

Once again Josh Turney was a factor in the win from his halfback position as he tallied a pair of touchdowns for Placer, who went 4-5-1 has freshman a year ago but now are one win away from a 9-win season.

Nevada Union 36 Elk Grove 33 – The Miners built a 28-14 lead and then had to hold off the Herd in the fourth quarter to win their 8th game of the season.

Robin Callas rushed for 98 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns while quarterback Brock Kraus hit Max Talbot with a touchdown pass and also ran one over himself. Kraus finished with 125 yards through the air.

Josh Cena also added a touchdown run and booted two extra points while the defensive standouts included Tyler Prince and Boddi Winegar and Taylor Barney and Jake Tilly who each collected pass interceptions. Mike Champagne also played well in the victory.

Lincoln 22 Bear River 21 – The Bruins out-gained the one-loss Zebras 225-190 but lost the one-point heartbreaker when the hosts booted through a game winning 16-yard field goal in the final minute.

Bear River, with Sam Houston (9x72), Sean O’Brien (15x54) and Chris Carcido (4x33) leading the way, led 13-12 at halftime and 21-12 going into the fourth quarter but couldn’t hold off the Zebras comeback.

Houston scored on runs of 27 and 15 yards for the Bruins while O’Brien added a two-yard tally and also pushed over a two-point conversion run.

Bear River, 3-6 overall, hosts El Dorado Friday at 5:30 p.m. and received good defensive efforts from O’Brien, Michael Wirth, Tyler Quirarte and Chris Talbot.

Del Oro 30 Rocklin 19 – A big night by Kenny Andri helped the Golden Eagles rally past the Thunder.

In a game in which the Golden Eagles trailed by a 12 points midway through the third quarter, Andri’s yeoman four-touchdown performance helped Del Oro rally for an exciting 30-19 win over the visiting Thunder and in the process kept the Loomis squad’s hopes alive for a shot at a piece of the Sierra Foothill League title.

The win improved Del Oro’s season record to 7-2 and more importantly left the Golden Eagles with a 3-1 SFL record and knotted for the league lead with Granite Bay and Roseville.

Del Oro fell behind by counts of 13-0 and 19-7 but Andri tallied on runs of one, seven and 63 yards and for good measure also added an 85-yard kickoff return for another score as the Golden Eagles rallied.

Also playing well for the Black and Gold were Cameron Saldano who sacked Rocklin’s quarterback for a two-point safety; quarterback Max Magleby whose passing set up two of  Andri’s scoring runs and Cody O’Sullivan who was solid on both sides of the football.

Del Oro hosts Oakmont Friday at 5:30 p.m.