ELK GROVE — The first matchups under the Sac-Joaquin Section’s new football playoff format were announced on Sunday afternoon, revealing that Trans-Valley League programs Hughson and Hilmar, as well as Southern League co-champion Denair, remain in contention for blue banners in their respective divisions.
Meanwhile, the Turlock and Pitman programs will each be in action this week for the first regional bowl games in California Interscholastic Federation history, as the SJS represents the first section in the state to introduce bowl games.
In the past, playoff brackets were made up of 16 teams, with many first-round games being uncompetitive. Several years back, the section opted to give seeds 1-4 first-round byes, while seeds 5-12 played for the right to advance and face one of the top four. Still, many of those first-rounders were blowouts.
In a bid to make the playoffs more competitive, while shortening a season that stretches into mid-December, the section thinks it has hit upon a winning formula. Playoff brackets will consist of just eight teams — three rounds to determine a champion — and teams 9-16 in MaxPreps’ divisional rankings will get to play in a bowl game.
The postseason action gets underway with the Bulldogs hitting the road and the Pride hosting at Joe Debely Stadium for their last games of the 2025 season. The Huskies, Yellowjackets and Coyotes will take to the gridiron next Friday for the start of brackets matchups.
NOV. 7 BOWL GAMES
Turlock at Lincoln (Stockton)
A convincing 41-0 victory over Modesto last week was not enough for Turlock to sneak into the eight-team Division I bracket, as they remained ranked as the No. 9 team by MaxPreps computer rankings over the weekend.
Despite being the first team out of the bracket with a 5-5 overall record and a 4-1, runner-up finish to Downey in the Central California Athletic League, the Bulldogs will be hitting the road to Stockton to take on Lincoln, the No. 11 ranked D-1 squad. Turlock is ineligible to host a home playoff game after the section found the program in violation of rules on eligibility and recruitment, pre-enrollment contact and offseason activities.
The Trojans will enter Friday’s contest at 4-6, including a 2-3 record in the Tri-City Athletic League.
There are two common opponents between the two programs, Rocklin and Tracy.
Rocklin produced lopsided victories against each team this year, 35-7 against Turlock to start the season on Aug. 22 and a 41-22 thumping of Lincoln on Sept. 5.
Tracy, meanwhile, was the lone team Turlock beat during the non-conference phase of the season, 26-23, in the Battle of the Bone on Aug. 29. Seven weeks later, Tracy defeated Lincoln by a 48-26 score.
A win for Turlock would secure the program’s fourth straight winning season, and its ninth over the past 10 years.
Pitman vs. Kimball (Tracy)
A win on Friday would secure Pitman’s first winning season since 2018, but it will be a tough task against a gritty Kimball program.
The Pride lost a heartbreaker to Gregori last week, 28-21, in their regular season finale, dropping to 5-5 overall and 2-3 against CCAL opponents.
Ranked No. 13 amongst Division II teams by MaxPreps, the Pride would have been the final team out of the playoffs under the section’s previous 12-team bracket format. Now, they have a chance to end the season on a high note.
Giving teams an extra, meaningful game at the end of the year, as well as shortening the season, were the primary goals of the overhauled playoff format.
Kimball will come into the clash as the D-II No. 15-ranked team. The Jaguars were 1-9 on the season and sported a 1-4 record in the Tri-City Athletic League.
Originally, when the section announced the bowl pairings on Sunday, the Pride were slated to be on the road against the Jaguars. But the section caught the oversight and moved quickly to rectify the mistake.
“We reached out to both schools to let them know,” said Will DeBoard, an assistant commissioner with the section. “We asked both if they were willing to switch venues, and they were.”
The only common opponent the programs shared this season was Golden Valley of Merced, though the matchup between the Jaguars and the Cougars never materialized after Kimball forfeited. The Pride defeated the Cougars by a 28-19 score on Sept. 12.
NOV. 14 PLAYOFF GAMES
Division IV: No. 4 Hughson vs. No. 6 Pioneer (Woodland)
Husky Memorial Stadium will be the site of Hughson High’s first playoff game as they try to make it four section championships in a row. The difference this year is that the Huskies are in the Division IV bracket, having moved up due to their continued success in the lower brackets over the last three seasons.
The Huskies went 8-2 in the regular season, including a 4-2 record against TVL opponents, earning them the four seed. They will welcome in a sixth-seeded Pioneer team that was 7-3 overall and 4-2 in the Monticello Empire League.
There are no common opponents between the two programs.
The winner will advance to take on whoever comes out on top in Friday’s game between a fellow TVL force, No. 7 Escalon (5-5), and No. 2 Roseville (8-2).
Division V: No. 2 Hilmar vs. No. 7 Rio Linda
Speaking of the TVL, the Hilmar High program joins Hughson in being awarded a home game to kick off the playoffs. As the second-seeded team in the bracket, they will take on seventh-seeded Rio Linda at McSweeney Field.
The Yellowjackets were one of the most intriguing small schools during the regular season, faring well in the ultra-tough TVL, finishing 3-3 and in fifth place. They had wins against Ripon, Ripon Christian and Orestimba, while dropping games to Hughson, Escalon and an undefeated Sonora team that is defending a state title.
Amid Sonora’s dominance was a scare from the ‘Jackets, as it ended in a 22-21 final.
As for the Knights, they achieved a 5-5 overall record. They went 3-3 in the Golden Empire League.
There are also no shared opponents between the two teams.
The winner of this game will advance to take on the victor of Friday’s clash between No. 3 Sutter (9-1) and No. 6 Rosemont (6-4).
Division VII: No. 5 Denair at No. 4 Mariposa
The Division VII bracket is flooded with teams out of the Southern Athletic League, and Friday will deliver one of the few yet highly anticipated rematches of the season.
In a meeting of league co-champions in the foothills, No. 5 Denair will take on No. 4 Mariposa, a battle that first took place on Oct. 10 with the Grizzlies pulling out a thrilling 24-23 victory.
The programs had matching 5-1 league records atop the SAL standings, finishing in a three-way tie with Stone Ridge Christian, the second seed in the bracket. Overall, the Coyotes had an 8-2 record, while the Grizzlies were 9-1.
A fourth SAL team, Le Grand, snuck into the bracket’s final spot with a 6-4 overall record after going 3-3 against conference opponents. The Bulldogs will take on top-seeded Calaveras (8-2) on Friday.
The winners of those two games will meet in the semifinal round next Friday.
The Coyotes cruised to a 49-21 victory over the Bulldogs back on Oct. 3.
— Reporter Joe Cortez contributed to this report.
