Playoff Scoreboard (November 22-23)
- Thread starter Streak One
- Start date
Palma 24 Menlo 23 Final
Palma v Wilcox in CCS D2 Championship and a big underdog
Palma took a safety with 18 seconds left in game up by 3. Menlo received kickoff and ran to Palma 49 ...and came up short on last play a pass from Palma's 38 as time ran out. Nice winfor the young Chieftains. Eli Dukes had 3TDs - one 54 yard, one 30 yard +...he may have had 200+ yards. Had over 100 yards in first half. He carried the Chieftains on his back and defense made some big plays in the second half. Menlo had a really good passing attack. Will be much different opponent in Wilcox.
Palma v Wilcox in CCS D2 Championship and a big underdog
Palma took a safety with 18 seconds left in game up by 3. Menlo received kickoff and ran to Palma 49 ...and came up short on last play a pass from Palma's 38 as time ran out. Nice winfor the young Chieftains. Eli Dukes had 3TDs - one 54 yard, one 30 yard +...he may have had 200+ yards. Had over 100 yards in first half. He carried the Chieftains on his back and defense made some big plays in the second half. Menlo had a really good passing attack. Will be much different opponent in Wilcox.
Revenge for their game 6 weeks ago.
I also believe that Grant Union would turn the tables on Clovis East if they played again.
They have some good years with special teams, too. Just not so much in the past decade.
But they’ve typically been a huge threat in the punt/kick return games for obvious reasons. That said, they’ve never been known for their kickers either.
Not bad for a team that “allegedly” can’t sling the rock.
4 TD passes from Reeve Slone on a night when the Thunder averaged less than 4 yards per carry and rushed for 0 TD’s.
Huge game from Mavrik Collins with 3 TD receptions!
Rocklin's defense stopped a very well coached and strong running game of Manteca. I see a high scoring game between Grant and the Thunder. Rocklin and Grant are D1 caliber and should be moved up 2025/2026.
Rocklin 46-44 Grant
I was pleasantly surprised by this result. Manteca is a very good team capable of beating larger school programs and has been for a number of years.
The Buffs were able to get the better of Rocklin a few seasons ago — led by Blake Nichelson and Bryson Davis — but the Thunder have beaten them soundly the past 2 seasons.
This season surprised me more than last season, as Manteca had been blowing away most their competition and Rocklin looked uninterested against Oak Ridge a few weeks ago.
We’ll see if RHS can turn the tables back on GHS this Friday!
Don’t remember the year, but vaguely remember Grant missing a 18 yd Fg as time expired in a playoff loss to Rocklin. I feel like that was an undefeated Grant team, couldn’t punch it in, so figured they’d kick a chippy for the win. Perhaps it was the same year Rocklin lost to Servite in the State game? Anyone help fill in the blanks
2009. The kicker was Charlie Vue, then a sophomore, who actually was one of GHS’s better kickers over the years.
I actually believe the o-line deserves more grief than their kicker for not being able to convert down at the goal line. Not only did the Pacers have a huge, athletic and stacked line with the likes of Vei Moala — they also had future college and NFL star Devontae Booker at RB yet couldn’t punch it in from the 1 despite having 4 chances (there was a Rocklin penalty that gave them 1st down twice).
Vue’s kick was a tad more challenging than many understand. Not only was he kicking from a shorter distance, but he was also kicking from the far right hash.
For those that don’t know, the hashes at the HS level are much wider than the NFL and college. The angle on that attempt from that close can be a bit tricky. The kicker is kicking from well outside the uprights and having to angle it way left. It’s easy to hook it too much and that’s what Vue did IIRC.
Next time you’re on a HS field go stand on the far right hash from the 7 or 8 yard line. A good kicker should make it, but it’s nowhere near as easy as a typical XP or short FG in the middle of the field.
College kickers often miss those angled kicks despite the hash marks they are kicking from not being as wide. In fact, Sac State won a game this season in OT because the Weber State kicker missed a super short angled kick from the far left hash mark.
Lastly, you are correct. That semifinal between Rocklin and GHS took place the same season as when the Thunder came up a FG short against Servite despite playing the game minus their starting QB and a starting receiver.
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Good call on kicking short kicks from a hash mark. The angle can be extreme from that short distance.
Also, as has been talked about before, that Rocklin-Grant game and Del Oro-Folsom was possibly the best two night stretch of football in SJS history
Absolutely right. Still, to this day, the two best big game postseason games I've ever witnessed in person. On back-to-back nights at the same venue no less. The 2021 D1 semifinal between Rocklin and St. Mary's (51-48 classic) also stands out, as does the 1997 D1 semifinal between Elk Grove and Grant Union out at Sac State (30-27).
I'll continue to be a broken record on this. That 2009 SJS D2 playoff bracket was hands down the deepest and BEST bracket in the history of the SJS playoffs. In some ways, it was the SJS's version of the PAC-5 or OPEN division bracket.
There were 5 teams all capable of winning either the OPEN or D1 State title that season.
Rocklin came close, losing by a last second FG to Servite despite missing their starting QB and one starting WR. Grant Union still boasted the very best team of the bunch IMO, and was 1 season removed from their 2008 OPEN title with arguably an even better team in 2009. St. Mary's fielded one of their all-time best teams that season. Folsom's 2009 team was essentially the same core group that ended up winning the D2 State title in 2010. And like St. Mary's, Del Oro fielded one of their all-time best teams, too, with perhaps their most physically punishing rush attack.
IDK that we'll ever see anything like it again.
Circling back to those two semifinal games at Folsom on back-to-back nights, the climactic endings of both games were so similar you'd almost believe that they were scripted.
I vividly recall roughly half the crowd leaving the Del Oro-Folsom game at half, then coming back and encircling the outside of the stadium trying to catch a glimpse of the Golden Eagles 2nd half comeback from down 35-7. They were on the backside hill and climbing on top of the storage/shipping containers. It was crazy!
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