Bradshaw, PG Play For V-ball Championships

There are two local volleyball teams vying for Sac-Joaquin Section championships beginning tonight.

In Division V, Bradshaw is taking on Vacaville Christian tonight. I'll be texting a score as soon as I get that @EGSportsCorner.

On Saturday, it's a rematch of last year's Division I championship as Pleasant Grove will try to unseat Pitman. The first slam will be at 7:30 p.m. at Tokay High School. Last year, PG took Pitman to five games before dropping the match.

I'll be on the sidelines with tweets from Saturday's championship match.

Congrats to Elk Grove, who lost to Rocklin Tuesday in the Division II semi-finals. EG was the runner-up in the Delta League this year to the Eagles.

A Dirty Team?

Because of a personal matter I won't be covering second round football action Friday night, but football fans may want to take on the Division VI showdown between Bradshaw and Gustine at BCHS.

The reason, some Pride fans say, is that Gustine plays some of the dirtiest football in the Section. In last year's playoff opener, won by Bradshaw, 47-6, coaches were constantly complaining that Gustine players were putting elbows into Pride players, poking them in the eyes and stomping on Bradshaw's guys even well after the play was over.

To further disgust the Pride coaches, officials acted like they didn't see anything. Section officials claim they haven't had any negative report this year about Gustine's play this year.

Friday's game at Bradshaw is the semi-final round in Div. 6 and football followers in the south Section say this may be one of Gustine's best teams in many years. The winner will take on the Hilmar/Ripon Christian victor for the Section championship on 11/28. That game could be played at Elk Grove H.S.

Last week the Pride easily dispatched Amador, 49-15, to open the post-season.

The only other local playoff game in town will be Merced at Elk Grove in Division I. Franklin is on the road to face Folsom, but Mike Johnson's squad is dealing with injuries. However, this could be a great opportunity for Lamar Jackson to really show his stuff for the Wildcats.

Also in Division I, Cosumnes Oaks will be at Oak Ridge. The winner of that game will face the Elk Grove/Merced victor next Friday in the Section semi-finals.

Basketball Opens Nov. 30

We are just over a week away from the season openers in high school basketball.

The annual "Foundation" games played that night won't count in the win-loss standings, but it is a good opportunity to see area teams. The money from the gate of those games go to the A. Dale Lacky Scholarship and Women in Sports Conference.

One game to see will be Franklin at home against Burbank.  It will be the debut of new Wildcats' boys coach Ken Manfredi. The girls play at 6 p.m. and the boys at 8 p.m.

Other foundations games will be: Bradshaw Christian at McClatchy, Laguna Creek at Enochs, Elk Grove at Tokay and Sheldon at Yuba City.