NCP Pickem Week 10

League titles are on the line throughout the region, highlighted by Placer and Folsom trying to cap undefeated regular seasons. Also, California takes on De La Salle in non-league action and Serra-St. Ignatius battle for second place in the West Catholic Athletic League.

Del Campo (7-2) at Rio Linda (8-1) 7:00 PM: In a theme for Week 10, league titles are on the line starting in the Capital Valley Conference. Rio Linda is 8-1 with its only loss coming to fellow 8-1 Center. Sophomore running back Marcel Brown is an emerging recruit for the Knights and has 1,261 yards with 13 touchdowns. Del Campo has lost to Enterprise and suffered a narrow defeat to Elk Grove, but is outscoring its league opponents by an average of 27 points per game. Del Campo is going for its third league title in the past four years. Go with the Knights getting the home win. Rio Linda 21-17

San Ramon Valley (4-5) at Monte Vista (6-3) 7:00 PM: The Battle of Danville sees two teams coming off losses. The Wolves are 4-1 in East Bay Athletic League play after going 0-4 in non-league action this year. They are led by quarterback Cameron Birse and become a tough offense to stop if the running game behind Marcus de la Pena gets going. Monte Vista was upset last week by Amador Valley in being held to less than three yards per carry. The Mustangs have a common opponents win over California, which beat San Ramon Valley earlier this season. This one could be high scoring with the team having the better running game getting the win. San Ramon Valley wins 38-35

#1 De La Salle (9-0) at #12 California (8-1) 7:00 PM Game of the Week: California has already clinched a share of the EBAL title and has played De La Salle as well as any EBAL team in recent years. Cal is paced by a good running game with Karris Johnson and quality play from quarterback Cameron Owen. The defense has given up some big totals and goes up against the De La Salle offense which will try to build some momentum heading into the playoffs. Tiapepe Vitale is the top runner for the Spartans, which are averaging just shy of 40 points per game. De La Salle completes another perfect regular season on Friday. De La Salle wins 31-14

Castro Valley (5-4) at Berkeley (4-4) 7:00 PM: Berkeley has clinched a share of the West Alameda County-Foothill league, but can get the outright title with the home win on Friday. Berkeley's four losses have a combined record of 26-10 and it have won all four league games by single digits. The Yellowjackets have relied on defense in holding teams to eight points per game during league play. Castro Valley comes in averaging 31 points per game and has won three league games by at least nine points. Looking at common opponents outside of league, Berkeley lost to Monte Vista 21-0 while Castro Valley lost 35-22. Go with Castro Valley to get the win. Castro Valley wins 28-21

Pleasant Grove (6-3) at #6 Folsom (9-0) 7:15 PM: This game usually has been the de facto championship game in the Delta River League, but Folsom already has a share of the league title this year. The Bulldogs continue to be one of the top offenses in the region in breaking in sophomore quarterback Jake Browning. The Bulldogs trailed at halftime last week against Ponderosa before pulling away in the second half. Pleasant Grove got off to a good start against Oak Ridge, but eventually fell 38-19. In the loss, Pleasant Grove was held to less than 200 total yards and gave up seven sacks to the Trojans. Pleasant Grove is still a threat in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoffs, but Folsom caps its undefeated regular season this week. Folsom wins 35-24

Antelope (8-1) at Whitney (8-1) 7:30 PM: The Capital Athletic League comes down to Week 10 between defending champion Whitney and Antelope. Led by NCP Top 40 recruit Tyler Winston, Antelope has been balanced on offense in racking up 397 total yards per game. Winston has 586 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. A year after graduating now Oregon quarterback Jake Rodrigues, Whitney is averaging 269 yards on the ground led by Sutter Choisser with 1,087 yards and 18 touchdowns. In league play, Whitney has a 36 point average margin of victory while Antelope is at 29 points per game. Go with Whitney to grab another league title. Whitney 28-21

Center (8-1) at #8 Placer (9-0) 7:30 PM: Placer will look to close out the regular season with a perfect record and also clinch the Pioneer Valley League crown. The Hillmen's defense has 34 sacks and forced 29 turnovers, led by Eddie Vanderdoes, Stone Sander and defensive back Isaiah Pineiro. Center has been the most productive offense in the PVL and has scored at least 34 points in seven of nine games this year. Center's only loss is a 30-19 season opening defeat to Chico and it boasts a win over one loss Rio Linda. While Placer hasn't produced the dominating results expected during league play, this is still a top 10 team in Northern California. Placer wins 24-10

Rocklin (5-4) at Del Oro (4-5) 7:30 PM: The Golden Eagles, ranked in the Top 5 to start the year, needs a win over Rocklin to reach the playoffs after winning the past two SJS Division III titles. The Golden Eagles got 311 total yards of offense from San Jose State commit Brandon Monroe in the win over Nevada Union. However, Del Oro will have to corral the passing attack of Rocklin, led by junior Logan Webb. The Thunder have scored at least 34 points in each Sierra Foothill League game this year. Home field decides this one for Del Oro. Del Oro wins 28-24

Cardinal Newman (8-1) at Casa Grande (7-2) 7:30 PM: Cardinal Newman suffered its first loss of the year to Rancho Cotate last week and now travels to Petaluma in a battle for second place in the North Bay League. Cardinal Newman scored a season low 14 points in the loss and has only one win against a team with a winning record (Novato). Casa Grande boasts Washington commit Elijah Qualls and talented junior quarterback JaJuan Lawson. Both teams are ranked in their respective bowl divisions, but look for Cardinal Newman to bounce back with a road win on Friday. Cardinal Newman wins 29-28

Saturday

St Ignatius (6-2) at #5 Serra (7-1) 2:00 PM: St. Ignatius is coming off a tough 35-28 home loss to Bellarmine and will try to rebound against another physical running team in Serra. St. Ignatius fell behind 21-7 at halftime before scoring three touchdowns after the break against the Bells. It did give up more than 300 yards to Bellarmine on the ground and here comes Eric Redwood and the Padres, which escaped Valley Christian with a narrow 38-35 win. Serra's only mark on its resume is a one point home loss to Bellarmine. Go with the Padres to grab second place in the WCAL. Serra wins 42-35