Gridiron action features three league openers

League play starts tonight for three El Dorado County football teams. Golden Sierra entertains Vacaville Christian to open the Sierra Delta League schedule while El Dorado travels to River City and Union Mine is at Cosumnes Oaks for Sierra Valley Conference games. Ponderosa's final nonleague game is at Rocklin and Oak Ridge has a bye.

Vacaville Christian (3-0)
at Golden Sierra (2-2)

The Grizzlies return home after two straight road losses hoping to end their two-game losing skid. Golden Sierra will have its hands full with the Falcons, who have yet to drop a game.

"It's going to be a tough game. Vacaville Christian brings a lot of speed, has some explosive playmakers who we have to contain and their defense is very aggressive," Grizzly coach John Hilton said. "They run a strong, come-right-at-you running game and a blitzing 4-3 defense.

"We're excited to return to our home stadium and use the electricity to get back to playing fundamental football. We will be ready to go."

Golden Sierra jumped on Vacaville early and won last year's meeting 30-14. That will work again tonight if Jim Hansen, Shawn Alexander and Mike Aplanalp ring up the numbers on the offensive side of the ball and the defense puts forth a gritty effort.

El Dorado (1-2)
at River City (3-1)

The Cougars head to West Sacramento tonight on the heels of their first home victory hoping to win again on the road against the Raiders, last year's co-Sierra Valley Conference champions.

El Dorado had a solid defensive effort last week and over 200 rushing yards from Travis Allec. The Cougars need repeats to have a chance in this one.

"We should do well as long as we don't beat ourselves," Cougar coach Dale Kasnic said. "River City is not the same team as we faced last year and we hope to exploit some of their weaknesses.  They are still very physical and have some athletes, but lost some key personnel."

Kasnic's big concern is penalties and turnovers — two areas the Cougars need to improve.

"We aren't talented enough to overcome those types of mistakes," Kasnic said.

The Raiders prevailed 42-0 last year but the Cougars have a chance if they put some early scores on the board.

Ponderosa (2-2)
at Rocklin (2-2)

The Bruins ride in on a two-game win streak for tonight's game with the Thunder. Chris Hobbs and Ben Boardway combined for an excellent effort rushing last week and the defense was solid against Union Mine.

Bruin quarterback Jacob Bist showed he can throw deep and even though he didn't have great results, he successfully spread the field to keep the defense honest and clear the way for Hobbs and Boardway.

Rocklin, a 35-6 winner last season, is a step up competitively for the Bruins after playing Division IV Union Mine and El Dorado. Ponderosa is big and needs to use that advantage in the trenches while the defense has to level hits on the Thunder.

"Rocklin is physical and well-coached which will make for a fun, yet tough matchup," Bruin coach Jason Tenner said." We're starting to play with some confidence and our execution is getting closer to where it needs to be. We played with passion and energy last week and hopefully we can repeat that effort this week."

Playing at home favors Rocklin but don't count the Bruins out if Hobbs and Boardway have room to run.

Union Mine (1-2)
at Cosumnes Oaks (3-1)

The Diamondbacks won last year's meeting, but these teams may be headed in different directions. The Wolfpack are coming into their own with a top-15 ranking in the section while Union Mine is sputtering the other way.

The D'backs' ace is running back Sean Tow but he can't do it alone or without a passing game to complement his yards rushing. Defensively, Union Mine needs to tighten up.

"Cosumnes Oaks is a very good team. The biggest problem for us will be their speed and athleticism; we aren't very fast," D'back coach Dave Johnson said. "We need to contain their speed if we can, and still play solid pass defense.

"Our best shot is to control the ball as much as possible and keep their offense off the field. We'll need to throw the ball much better than we have been in order to keep their defense off of Sean. If we can't get some type of passing game going, it could be a long night."