SouthernCaliforniaPreps - NCP Pick'em Week 8

October 18, 2012

Week 8 brings a pair of quality matchups out of the Sacramento area as Franklin and Elk Grove meet in a Top 5 game and Del Oro-Granite Bay renews its rivalry. Other contests to take note of are Concord-Clayton Valley, De La Salle-Monte Vista and more in the NCP Pick'em this week.

Monte Vista (6-1) at #1 De La Salle (7-0) 7:00 PM: Monte Vista is in the thick of the East Bay Athletic League race with a 3-1 mark and a win over California two weeks ago. Zack Chang has 770 yards and 12 touchdowns and quarterback Nikita Zamora has played very well the past two weeks. De La Salle has been the top team all season, but is dealing with injuries on the defensive side of the ball as Austin Hooper and David Moffitt were out last week against Amador Valley. While a 7-0 start is nothing to overlook, many are waiting for a dominating performance from the Spartans after an impressive opener against Bellarmine Prep. Is this the week against a hot Monte Vista team? De La Salle wins 35-17

Pittsburg (4-3) at #11 Deer Valley (6-1) 7:00 PM: Pittsburg is coming off a narrow 49-48 loss to Freedom and will look to avoid a second straight league loss to Deer Valley. Pittsburg ran for 365 yards in the loss, but gave up six total touchdowns to Freedom's top playmakers in Darrell Daniels and Joe Mixon. Deer Valley keeps rolling along at 6-1, but faces its best opponent since a non-league loss to Folsom. Wolverines' quarterback Nsimba Webster will be a challenge for the Pirates' defense to slow down. You can't underestimate Pittsburg in the Bay Valley Athletic League, but Deer Valley is the top team for now. Deer Valley wins 35-34

Clayton Valley (6-1) at Concord (6-1) 7:00 PM: A combined record of 12-2 makes this one of the top matchups in the Bay Area this week. Concord has a league loss on its resume to Northgate, but is still one of the top teams if not the best team in the expected North Coast Section Division II field. Washington State commit Olito Thompson is up to 1,262 yards and 17 touchdowns and has only been held to less than 131 yards once (against Northgate). Clayton Valley is playing well under head coach Tim Murphy. The Eagles' only loss was a 13 point defeat to Pittsburg and are averaging more than 400 yards per game on the ground. It is an even matchup, but go with Concord for the important win. Concord wins 35-31

St. Francis-Mountain View (3-3) vs. #3 Bellarmine Prep (5-1) 7:00 PM at San Jose City College: Bellarmine validated its high ranking in a 35-34 overtime road victory against No. 5 Serra on Saturday for its fifth straight win. Vanderbilt quarterback commit K.J. Carta-Samuels was a dual threat with 201 passing yards, two touchdowns and two rushing scores against the Padres. St. Francis is coming off a 22-7 loss to St. Ignatius. The Lancers have a better passing game from last year behind quarterback Mike Lauck, who has 1,084 yards, 12 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Can Bellarmine avoid a drop off after last week's big win? Bellarmine Prep wins 31-14

#4 Franklin-Elk Grove (7-0) at #2 Elk Grove (7-0) 7:15 PM NCP Game of the Week: We have another Top 5 matchup on the schedule as Franklin stays in town to take on the Thundering Herd. Franklin was dominant in a 72-7 win over Davis this past week as it works on getting its running game healthy. Defensively, Joey Banks is the leader at linebacker, but it will be tested against the Elk Grove running attack. Robert Frazier and Wadus Parker are a daunting one-two punch and the defense packs speed and big play ability. Both teams will be competing for section titles (Franklin Division I and Elk Grove Division II) by season's end, but Elk Grove gains the regular season advantage on Friday. Elk Grove wins 28-21

Vista del Lago (7-1) at Cosumnes Oaks (6-1) 7:15 PM: Cosumnes Oaks has a really good recent track record of producing college level talent and is off to a 6-1 start this year. While the offense is averaging more than 35 points per game, it is giving up just 11 points per game. The Wolfpack's only loss is to undefeated Franklin-Elk Grove. Vista del Lago is once again tough through the air behind sophomore quarterback Matt Jimison. He has thrown 23 touchdowns to just three interceptions in spreading the ball around. Three receivers have at least 400 yards. Go with Cosumnes Oaks' defense to lead the way in this one. Cosumnes Oaks wins 21-17

Sutter (7-0) at Enterprise (5-2) 7:30 PM: An interesting Northern Section non-league game is on tap in Redding as undefeated Sutter travels to Enterprise with both teams ranked in the NCP bowl rankings. Sutter is led by Mat Sanders and Nathan Ahlers on the ground, where it is averaging more than 300 yards per game. Sutter is winning by an average of more than 40 points and has held five of seven opponents to touchdown or less. Enterprise is coming off a thrilling win over Foothill-Palo Cedro behind 348 passing yards and six touchdowns from Zack Trueblood. The Hornets are 2-2 in games decided by three points or less. It is tough to judge non-league games at this point of the year, but go with Enterprise at home. Enterprise wins 28-21

Vacaville (4-3) vs. Napa (5-2) 7:30 PM at Memorial Stadium (Napa): A good rivalry game which will decide the Monticello Empire League, Vacaville will try to win its third straight game after dropping three straight to finish the non-league. The Bulldogs' run game is still formidable, but the defense gave up 100 points in their three losses. Napa has losses to undefeated Burbank and Paradise and has scored at least 23 points in each game during this five game winning streak. The Indians scored a combined 19 points in their two losses. Vacaville won this matchup 35-21 last year and it should be a similar score this year. Vacaville wins 35-22

Del Oro (3-4) at #18 Granite Bay (4-3) 7:30 PM: Annually one of the best games in the area year in and year out, this season's matchup features a pair of 2-0 teams in the Sierra Foothill League. Granite Bay survived a rising Rocklin team with a 41-34 win behind two interception returns for scores. While the Thunder relied on the pass, the Grizzlies defense will have to contend with the run of the Golden Eagles behind San Jose State commit Brandon Monroe. Del Oro has won three in a row after a 1-4 start in giving up just 27 points in the past three games. Three of the four losses for Del Oro have come by single digits. Granite Bay wins 24-21

Los Gatos (4-2) at Palo Alto (4-2) 7:30 PM: Los Gatos is one of two undefeated teams in the De Anza league and will look for a big win over Palo Alto in the lead up to playing fellow unbeaten Milpitas next week. Los Gatos has received 601 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground with both of the Wildcats' losses coming by a combined 11 points. Palo Alto is paced by quarterback Keller Chryst, which threw three touchdowns in a 38-12 win over Wilcox. The Vikings had an earlier league loss to Milpitas where they had six turnovers. These were the expected top teams in the league during the summer, but Palo Alto gets the narrow win. Palo Alto wins 31-28

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