Prep football picks: Local schools to clash with NorCal, Reno powers

High school football season has opened, and while some teams flexed their muscles against quality opponents on opening night, others stumbled out of the gate and look to avoid falling into an 0-2 hole. This Friday's slate matches two of the top teams in Northern California, as well as strong interstate and intersectional games. Each week, Gold Mountain California News Media will pick 10 games to showcase, as reporters Jordan Georgeson, Matt Long and Bill Poindexter give their 2 cents on what they expect: Serra (0-0) at Folsom (1-0) Jordan: Did anyone make a better statement on opening night than Folsom? After drubbing Long Beach Poly by 43, I think the Bulldogs keep the momentum going against the Padres. Folsom 28, Serra 20. Matt: I know Folsom is 0-2 vs. Serra, but after last week's butt-whipping of Long Beach Poly, I have to go with the Bulldogs here, 28-21. Bill: This is Serra's season opener, and I don't know a thing about the Padres – other than they've replaced De La Salle atop the Northern California mountain. Serra 38, Folsom 35. Twelve Bridges (1-0) at Reed (Sparks, Nevada) (2-0) Jordan: Reed had an impressive win over Del Oro last week for its first win against a Sac-Joaquin School since 2016. Twelve Bridges will be a little bit of a tougher test but with so many new starters mixing in, there are bound to be a few growing pains. The Raging Rhinos will play deep into November, but the Raiders get the win at home here. Reed 28, Twelve Bridges 24. Matt: Reed got me a win last week, as I picked them to beat Del Oro, but I picked against Twelve Bridges and I lost. This week I'm going with Twelve Bridges, 35-21. Bill: I don't know much about Reed, either, other than its victory over Del Oro. Going with the home team? Nah. Reed 31, Twelve Bridges 21. Colfax (1-0) at East Nicolaus (0-0) Jordan: The Falcons aren't messing around with this nonleague slate. First, Colfax makes a statement with a win over defending state champion Colusa 28-27, but now it travels to another Northern Section power in East Nicolaus. Colfax has a game of experience and has beaten a tougher opponent, so I think the Falcons soar past the Spartans here. Colfax 27, East Nicolaus 21. Matt: Last week I picked Reed to beat Del Oro because Reed had already played a game. I'm going with Colfax this week for the same reason, as this will be their second game of the season, while East Nicolaus is playing its first game. Colfax 24, East Nicolaus, 14. Bill: How do you pick a game when a team is playing its season opener? You look at last season's record, and East Nicolaus' 6-6 in 2023 won't top Colfax snug and impressive dub over Colusa. Colfax 34, East Nicolaus 19. West Park (1-0) at Casa Roble (0-1) Jordan: Aidan Lopez, remember the name because he will be one of best quarterbacks in the section this year. Casa Roble is eager to get a win after a frustrating loss against Placer, while West Park is looking to have a better performance after surviving an upset minded Whitney in overtime. It's a close game, but I say the Rams win at home. Casa Roble 36, West Park 35. Matt: West Park nearly lost to Whitney last week because their offense couldn't get anything going. Star receiver Mason Johnson looks like he will be out of the lineup for several weeks injured. West Park should be OK because they're deep and I don't anticipate four INTs from Jaden Jackson again. Casa Roble, with high expectations this season, lost to a very good Placer team. So who do I go with here when it's tough to see either of these teams start 0-2? Hmmmm. I'm going West Park only because their defense was top-notch last week. West Park 21, Casa Roble 20. Bill: Most surprising to me is West Park's OT win over Whitney. West Park 27, Casa Roble 21. Whitney (0-1) at Woodcreek (0-1) Jordan: Two teams that lost overtime thrillers at home. Already heartbreaking, but one of them will be 0-2 after this week to rub some salt in the wound. I think it's another close one, let's say the Cats get the job done in overtime. Whitney 24, Woodcreek 21. Matt: Gulp! Whitney, as we already know, took West Park to overtime before losing, while Woodcreek lost in overtime vs. Sac High. Both teams played pretty well defensively a week ago, but struggled offensively. I like Woodcreek to come through on their home turf, 21-14. Bill: Jordan makes a good point; then again, he always does. I just don't always agree with his picks. Woodcreek 27, Whitney 20. Lincoln (1-0) at Woodland (0-1) Jordan: After a lackluster 2023, the Fighting Zebras stampeded over Rio Linda for their first win of the season. Lincoln football is a sleeper pick to make some noise this season for me and I think the Zebras stick to their winning ways this week. Lincoln 31, Woodland 17. Matt: I'm going to keep this one short. Lincoln 18, Woodland 17. Bill: These wildlife survival videos have been showing up on my Facebook page of late, and the poor zebras are professional victims against the lionesses. Wolves fare well, as well, but Woodland's Wolves lost to Mesa Verde last week so these Fightin' Zebras exact a measure of revenge. Lincoln 41, Woodland 20. Bishop Manogue (Reno, NV) (2-0) at Rocklin (1-0) Jordan: The Miners of Bishop Manogue are coming off an impressive win over St. Mary's that makes this game much more interesting. Rocklin had a few mistakes on opening night, but it still came away with the win. The Thunder will need to play a cleaner game here, but I think the home crowd helps will them to a win. Rocklin 23, Bishop Manogue 20. Matt: I would think this would be a tough test for the Thunder, as Bishop Manogue comes in a 2-0 with a win over St. Mary's. But a tough test it may be, I like the Thunder at home in this one, 28-24. Bill: We shall see what Rocklin is made of. If I weren't going to be in Seattle to see Metallica (sorry guys), I'd play the El Jefe card over Jordan to cover this game. Rocklin 30, Bishop Manogue 21. Bradshaw Christian (1-0) at Vista del Lago (1-0) Jordan: Sad but true, I wasn't even invited to Bill's Metallica concert. The least he can do is bring me back a lanyard or something. Don't let the school size fool you here, Bradshaw is legit and has the ability to win this game. The biggest questions will the smaller roster size hurt the Pride late in the game when attrition sets in? I like Vista in a close one. Vista del Lago 21, Bradshaw 17. Matt: I can't pick a good Division VI school to be a good Division III school. I don't even think these teams should be playing but that's besides the point. If nothing else, Vista should wear these guys out with a deeper roster. Vista 35, Bradshaw Christian 24. Bill: Meanwhile, back to those wildlife videos, Bradshaw's Pride handled Woodland Christian's Cardinals, but Cardinals aren't Eagles in the survival department. Vista swoops in and flies off with dinner. Vista del Lago 35, Bradshaw 22. Oakmont (1-0) at Roseville (1-0) Jordan: Kudos to Oakmont for snapping a 13-game losing streak with last week's win over Bella Vista. This is a great rivalry game and while the Vikings will be better this year, the Tigers have a section championship contender. I'll take Roseville here. Tigers 35, Vikings 14. Matt: Two teams that are both better than last year's version. Roseville has more weapons and should win this game, but if they don't show up, I wouldn't put it past Oakmont surprising them. Roseville needs to put this game out of reach early. Roseville 42, Oakmont 14. Bill: I plan to see Roseville this season at some point. Roseville 42, Oakmont 13. Rio Linda (0-1) at Placer (1-0) Jordan: If anyone made a statement close to Folsom's, it was Placer with a 42-20 thumping of Casa Roble. The scariest part? The Hillmen played far from a perfect game and they still looked that good. Placer teams always get better and better as the season goes on and this year will be no exception. The Hillmen roll into Del Oro next week at 2-0. Placer 49, Rio Linda 7. Matt: This should be a big win for the Hillmen, 48-14. Bill: Down here at the bottom of the pile, I just realized we all went 8-2 in week zero. Not 10-0 out of the gate like last season. But this is what makes it fun. Placer 55, Rio Linda 13. Records: Bill 8-2, Jordan 8-2, Matt 8-2 Other notable local games: Oak Ridge at San Clemente Vacaville at Granite Bay Highlands at Foresthill