Capital Valley

Schedule/Scores

Week 1 Scores
Dixon 20, Antelope 6...River City 40, San Juan 6
Foothill 16, Oakmont 12...Center 7, Colfax 28
Cosumnes Oaks 0, Escalon 35...Rio Linda 36, Roseville 20
West Campus 11, Encina 0

Week 2 Scores
Antelope 29, Highlands 7...Cosumnes Oaks 30, River City 20
Dixon 41, Winters 7...Rio Linda 13, Union Mine 12
West Campus 26, Millenium 6...Center 27, McClatchy 6
Foothill 26, Natomas 41

Week 3 Scores
Rio Linda 41, West Campus 3...Center 17, Natomas 20
Antelope 7, River City 6...Dixon 34, Amador 14
Pioneer 49, Foothill 27...Mira Loma 25, Cosumnes Oaks 10

Week 4 Scores
Foothill 47, West Campus 0...River City 14, Mira Loma 42
Rio Linda 42, Center 14...Dixon 10, Vanden 33
Antelope 20, Bella Vista 48...Cosumnes Oaks 25, El Camino 7

Week 5 Scores
Rio Linda 23, Natomas 22...Dixon 14, Center 0
River City 6, Northgate 47...West Campus 7, Vacaville Christian 38
Antelope 56, Kennedy 20...Foothill 52, Cosumnes Oaks 17

Week 6 Scores
Dixon 26, West Campus 0...Foothill 55, River City 12
Antelope 38, Center 16...Rio Linda 37, Cosumnes Oaks 21 

Week 7 Scores
Dixon 26, Cosumnes Oaks 17...Foothill 24, Antelope 14
Center 34, West Campus 7...River City 48, Rio Linda 6

Week 8 Scores
Dixon 41, Foothill 20...Cosumnes Oaks 47, West Campus 6
River City 25, Center 20...Rio Linda 40, Antelope 7

Week 9 Scores
Dixon 33, Rio Linda 28...Antelope 13, Cosumnes Oaks 14
Center 21, Foothill 35...River City 47, West Campus 14

Week 10 Scores
Dixon 34, River City 14...Center 28, Cosumnes Oaks 21
Antelope 56, West Campus 6...Foothill 28, Rio Linda 14

2009 CNS SPORTS CAPITAL VALLEY CONFERENCE AWARDS

LEAGUE MVP: Cameron Mikell, RB, Rio Linda
OFFENSIVE MVP: Jeffery Anderson, QB, Dixon
DEFENSIVE MVP: Austin Knapp, DL, Dixon
BEST LINEMAN: Alex Khan-Watson, OL, Rio Linda
C.V.C. ELITE 15: Cameron Mikell, RB/DB, Rio Linda...Alex Khan-Watson, OL, Rio Linda...Cameron Bennett, WR/FS, Rio Linda...Jeffery Anderson, QB, Dixon...Michael Hendrix, RB/LB, Dixon...Rhiley Norton, WR/DB, Dixon...Austin Knapp, DE, Dixon...Sam Welch, RB/LB, Dixon...Josh Byington, RB/LB, Dixon...Fou Saechao, FB/LB, Foothill...Shavonce Raiford, RB/LB, Foothill...Dylan Crabtree, RB/LB, Center...Xavier Lacy, RB/LB, Antelope...Raheem Jackson, TE, Antelope...Wesley Scobee, LB/RB, Rio Linda.


UNIT/TEAM AWARDS
Best Offensive Backfield: RIO LINDA 
Best Offensive Line: FOOTHILL
Best Receiving Corps: DIXON
Best Defensive Line: DIXON
Best Linebacking Corps: DIXON
Best Defensive Backfield: FOOTHILL


  
2009 CAPITAL VALLEY ALL-LEAGUE SELECTIONS
MVP: Jeffery Anderson, Dixon

All-League:
OFFENSE: Jeffery Anderson, QB, Dixon; Kendall Martin, QB, Antelope; Cameron Lawrence, QB, River City; Michael Correa, QB, West Campus; Cameron Mikell, RB, Rio Linda; Shavonce Raiford, RB, Foothill; Dylan Crabtree, RB, Center; Josh Byington, RB, Dixon; Jordan Session, RB, Cosumnes Oaks; Chris Carter, RB, River City; Jullian Marchand, OL, Foothill; Mark Mattingly, OL, Dixon; Alex Khan-Watson, OL, Rio Linda; Nick McCleod, OL, Rio Linda; Raheem Jackson, TE, Antelope; Cameron Bennett, WR, Rio Linda; Rhiley Norton, WR, Dixon; Devon Hightower, WR, Foothill.
DEFENSE: Nick Stanley, DB, Foothill; Josh Chamblee, DB, Dixon; Terrell Dorsey, DB, Foothill; Nate Whitaker, DB, Rio Linda; Clifford Redmond, DB, Cosumnes Oaks; Ryan Nonu, LB, Rio Linda; Sam Welch, LB, Dixon; Fou Saechao, LB, Foothill; Alonzo Johnson, LB, Cosumnes Oaks; Ahmad Malik, LB, Cosumnes Oaks; Xavier Winrow-Lacey, LB, Antelope; Johnny Munoz, LB, Antelope; Jordan Spicer, LB, Center; Austin Knapp, DL, Dixon; Josh Hsu, DL, Foothill; Robert Ash, DL, Cosumnes Oaks.




PLAYOFF WEEK TWO: ITS ALL OVER

November 29, 2009

The last hope for the Capital Valley League, Rio Linda had the difficult task of trying to knock the Del Campo Cougars out of the playoffs.  That means trying to slow down Cougar quarterback Ryan Dimino, who rushed for nearly 2,000 yards and 16 touchdowns in the regular season and passed for another 1,600 plus yards.  It means finding a way to deal with Del Campo receivers Orlando Ortiz and Jaron Wilson, who have combined for well over 1,000 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns.  It means getting in the way of a massive offensive line led by the likes of Chad Jividen, Matt Phipps and Rudy Hall.  It means dealing with massive defensive end Eddie Plantaric, linebacker Dyan Bunfil and a defense that ranks 15th in the section in total yards allowed and fourth in total points!  As expected, the Del Campo Cougars were too much for Rio Linda to handle...about 28 points too much in fact.

Ryan Dimino rushed for 252 yards and four touchdowns and threw for 77 yards and another touchdown and the Del Campo defense held star running back Cameron Mikell to just 48 yards rushing, by far his lowest output of the entire season.  Still, the score was just 13 to 7 at halftime, and Rio Linda was well within striking distance as the second half began.  A couple of big time touchdown runs by Ryan Dimino in the third quarter put the Knights in far too big of a hole, however, and they started to make mistakes on the offensive side of the ball.  This had a snow-balling effect and the Cougars were able to make it look like more of a blowout than it actually was.  Still, it was a resounding defeat for the Knights, who started the 2009 season at 8-0 before dropping three of their last four contests.




PLAYOFF WEEK ONE: CAPITAL VALLEY ALL BUT DONE

November 22, 2009

Week one of the 2009 Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs is in the books and the Capital Valley has but one remaining team fighting it out for a section championship. 

Capital Valley league champion Dixon was tied with Placer in the playoff seeding as both squads entered the post-season with a 9-1 record.  Due to the fact that Placer had a considerably tougher schedule, however, Dixon was seeded third in the Division IV-A playoff bracket and Placer second.  This meant that Placer would face fellow Capital Valley school Foothill in the first round while Dixon would face a more challenging foe in Calaveras High, of the Mother Lode.  This situation would prove disastrous for the Capital Valley as Dixon was upset by a more physical Calaveras team and Foothill was run over by the high-powered Placer offense.

CALAVERAS 18, DIXON 14
The Dixon-Calaveras game would ultimately be decided up front.  The Dixon Rams won the Capital Valley because they were the most physical team in the league, especially with regards to their league-best run defense (125.8 yards per game).  As good as Dixon has been up front this season, Calaveras is even better.  The Redskins have an outstanding offensive line that has helped to produce 243.5 rushing yards per game while the Redskin run defense is one of the very best units in the entire section, allowing just 106.8 yards per game.  Calaveras dominated the game up front, rushing for 213 yards on the game and allowing the Rams just 19.  Despite this dominance, Dixon led for most of the game, taking a 14-8 lead into the half after a 38 yard touchdown pass from Jeffrey Anderson to star receiver Rhiley Norton.  Anderson threw for 157 yards, accounting for most of the Rams' offense, but was intercepted by Calaveras defensive backs Devyn Vanlier and Ty Seawell.

The Rams still had their 14-8 lead entering the fourth quarter, but the physicality of Calaveras' style had worn down the Rams and they were ready to fall.  The Redskins continued to pound the ball on the ground, and with just over seven minutes left in the game quarterback Garrett Bock tied the game with his one yard quarterback sneak.  The ensuing extra point gave the Redskins a 15-14 lead.  Calaveras' defense finished off Dixon with sacks and a huge interception, and the offense added a field goal for good measure. 

PLACER 57, FOOTHILL 20
While the league's best team was getting upset at home, Foothill was in a war with a superior Placer team.  The Mustangs finished the season strong, doubling up on Rio Linda 28-14 and earning a playoff bid.  In the Placer Hillmen, however, Foothill was facing an offense that was just far too explosive to deal with.  Placer shut the Mustangs out in the first half, put 21 points on them in the first quarter and another 22 in the second, and cruised to an easy 57-20 victory to start their playoff run.  Studly running back Shavonce Raiford had another fantastic game, rushing for 114 yards on 16 carries, and the team had an impressive 305 yards rushing overall, but Foothill simply could not score when they needed to and certainly could not keep the Placer offense out of the endzone.

RIO LINDA 35, BELLA VISTA 26
Rio Linda, meanwhile, was locked in a war with the ailing Bella Vista Broncos (7-3) in their first round Division III playoff contest.  Things looked bad for the Knights early, as the Broncos took an early 14-0 lead on the passing of star senior quarterback Branden Lang and the power running of 215 lb Brandon Kellerman.  Kellerman rushed for just 8 yards on 5 carries, but four of them were short touchdown runs!  Lang, meanwhile, was an absolute menace all game long.  He completed 17 of 31 passes for 216 yards and rushed for an additional 62 yards.  Bella Vista held a 14-7 lead at halftime.

The third quarter, however, saw Rio Linda respond with two more touchdowns and a couple of big defensive stops.  The Knights took a 21-14 lead heading into the fourth.

The two teams would trade a pair of scores in the fourth quarter and Rio Linda held on for the 35-26 win.  As usual, Rio Linda running back Cameron Mikell was superb, rushing for 221 yards and three touchdowns on 31 carries.  

Now Rio Linda is the last hope for the Capital Valley League, but the road ahead is perilous.  Next week, Rio Linda has the difficult task of going head-to-head with the red-hot Del Campo Cougars, who smashed Pioneer 36-0 in their playoff opener.         






DIXON DOES IT AGAIN

November 7,  2009


It has certainly been a year to remember for the Rio Linda Knights.  In fact, many were starting to say that this might be THE year for the Rio Linda Knights.  The players and coaches themselves couldn't help but believe as they ran around and over opponents week after week, building an impressive 8-0 record.  Still, in some small place in the back of their minds, each and every one of the Rio Linda Knights was looking forward to week nine, and their inescapable confrontation with the great bullies of the Capital Valley League.  Since the beginning of the season the simple fact has been that no matter how much success Rio Linda had in their non-league contests and early league games, the road to a Capital Valley league title would run right through Dixon.

That's not to say that the Knights were psyched out or intimidated; they certainly came to play and even looked like the hungrier team in the first half.  Knights' QB Jake Campbell opened up the scoring with a 3 yard run on their opening possession, and Cameron Mikell broke out for a beautiful 70 yard touchdown run to put Rio Linda ahead 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.  Dixon's QB Jeffrey Anderson really started to get things going in the second quarter, and he would hit senior stud receiver Rhiley Norton from ten yards out to cut the Rio Linda lead to 14-6 at the half.

In the third quarter things really started to get interesting as both offenses began to heat up.  Rio Linda continued to run the ball effectively against the league's best run defense as Cameron Mikell broke another long touchdown run, this one a 65 yarder, to push the Rio Linda lead up to 15 points at 21-6.  However, Dixon's Anderson engineered a nice, crisp touchdown drive that was capped by a six yard pass from Anderson to Michael Hendrix.  After a successful Sam Welch run on the two point conversion, Dixon was down just seven at 21-14.  This would be the score as these two teams headed into the biggest fourth quarter of the season.

Rio Linda would finish off a nice drive to open the fourth quarter, with Cameron Mikell going in from 4 yards out and scoring his third touchdown of the day.  Mikell would finish with 204 yards rushing, quite a feat against such an imposing run defense.  After Mikell's last touchdown Rio Linda seemed to be in total command of this football game, but the Dixon Rams answered quickly.  On their next drive, which lasted less than three minutes, Jeffrey Anderson scored on a two yard run.  With the extra point, the score was 28-21. 

The Rams got a huge defensive stop on Rio Linda's next possession and wasted no time in going to work offensively.  After another quick drive Jeffrey Anderson hit multi-threat back Josh Byington from 14 yards out, making the score 27-28.  In the biggest play of the game up to that point, Dixon missed the extra point and Rio Linda went into a quick frenzy of celebration...but it was a bit pre-mature.

When they needed to the most, Rio Linda could not run the football.  Dixon's league-best run defense stuffed the Knights as they tried to run out the clock, giving QB Jeffrey Anderson the time he needed to engineer a late scoring drive.  The Rams had hoped to get in close enough for a game-winning field goal attempt, but instead they drove right down the field and scored on a six yard pass from Anderson to running back Michael Hendrix, sealing the Knights' fate 33-28.



AROUND THE LEAGUE: WEEK 9


November 7, 2009


♦ Of course the big story of the week is the Dixon victory over Rio Linda, but how about Cosumnes Oaks.  This young program got perhaps its biggest win of the season in a showdown with another rising program, Antelope.  On the strength of a two yard Alonzo Johnson touchdown run late in the fourth quarter, Cosumnes Oaks got the 14-13 victory friday night.  The defense was most impressive, however, in holding an Antelope offense that averages 342.88 yards per game to just 13 points.  These are both young programs on the verge of doing some special things, but Cosumnes Oaks might be closer than anyone could imagine.  If they can get by Center next week, there is an outside chance of Cosumnes Oaks making the playoffs at 5-5.  Next year they have even more to be excited about as they return a majority of their impact players, as does Antelope.  Cosumnes Oaks could easily be an area powerhouse in two years or less.
♦ After a dramatic 25-20 victory over Center last week, River City got themselves a nice 47-14 blowout win over West Campus...their third win of the season.  QB Cameron Lawrence had an outstanding game again, combining for four touchdowns.  River City will finish their season at home against Dixon.
♦ The Foothill Mustangs basically secured themselves a playoff slot with their 35-21 victory over Dylan Crabtree and the Center Cougars.  Even if they lose to Rio Linda next friday, the Mustangs, at 6-4, will certainly be in the big show.  PLAYOFF PREVIEW IS UPDATED EVERY SUNDAY.




AROUND THE LEAGUE: WEEK 4

Week four is in the bag and things are getting interesting in the Capital Valley...

♦ Dixon, who had been looking great after three impressive wins to open the season, fell to the Vanden Vikings in week four, 33-10.  The Vanden defense absolutely dominated the Rams in one of the biggest clashes of the weekend.  Rams quarterback Jeffrey Anderson was frustrated and beat up all game.  He threw for just three yards and was sacked and frequently pressured into throwing into thick coverage.  Still, Anderson showed heart in battling all game, running the ball hard, and ultimately scoring the Rams only touchdown.  Defensively, the Rams secondary was picked apart by Vanden gunslinger Ben Scott, who threw for 297 yards and four touchdowns.  However, the Rams have to be happy with their defensive front, which totally shut down Vanden's running game for most of the night.  The Rams are first in the league in run defense, allowing just 108.5 yards per game.
♦  Rio Linda looks like the team to beat in the Capital Valley after pounding Center 42-14.  They again used their massive offensive line led by big boys Brandon Niblett and Alex Khan-Watson to brutalize and beat their opponent.  Running back Cameron Mikell put up some big numbers again, gaining 172 yards on just 13 carries.  If there is one team that might be able to beat the Knights it is Dixon.  Although they were beat up pretty bad by Vanden this week, they showed that their front seven can shut down just about anyboody.  They seem to be the only team in the Capital Valley with a chance at stopping Rio Linda's power running game, and if they can get their offense going again then Rio Linda will have its hands full.
♦ Cosumnes Oaks pulled off somewhat of an upset saturday by beating the previously unbeaten El Camino Eagles 25-7.  QB Quinn Peters and the El Camino offense had been running all over everybody and scoring at will (averaged 312.0 ypg and 36.33 pts/game).  The Eagles had defeated Kennedy, Cordova and Woodland with their high powered offense, but they were pretty one dimensional.  This week, when Quinn Peters was taken out of the game, the Eagles had no answer.  Hats off to the Cosumnes Oaks defense, who made a major statement with this victory.  Cosumnes Oaks might be able to take the next step...this season.
♦ Foothill's running game was in high gear Thursday night as the Mustangs rolled to a 47-0 win over West Campus...without completing a pass the entire game.  Foothill did attempt two passes, although they really didn't need to.  Shavonce Raiford (11 car, 211 yards) and fullback Terrell Corbett (7 car, 76 yards) led the Foothill ground game, which accounted for all 331 of Foothill's yards.  Next week, the big game in the Capital Valley will be this same Foothill team (2-2) against Cosumnes Oaks (2-2).  It will be a battle between Foothill's power running game and Cosumnes Oaks' improving defense.
♦ There were three Capital Valley versus Capital Athletic games this week with the Capital athletic getting the two to one edge.  The one victory for the Capital Valley was the aforementioned Cosumnes Oaks upset of El Camino.  In the other two games, Antelope (2-2) ran into a tough Bella Vista (4-0) team and got crushed 48-20.  Meanwhile, River City (1-3) gave Mira Loma (3-1) everything they had, but the Matadors took it all and dished out a whole lot more in their 42-14 victory.






DIXON TO FACE BIG TEST NEXT WEEK

September 27, 2009

The Dixon Rams (3-0) have started the 2009 season off with a bang, ripping off three consecutive wins and looking better and better each week.  The Vanden Vikings (3-0) have been equally impressive, shutting out their first two opponents 35-0 and 36-0 before pounding McClatchy 57-14 this week.  The two undefeated squads will go head to head this friday in one of week four's monster matchups.

It is hard to say how this one will likely play out.  Dixon has looked fantastic on both sides of the ball, but so have the Vikings.  As far as the statistics go Vanden's offense has the slight edge, averaging 408.34 yards/game (271.67 ypg rushing) to Dixon's 396.33 yards/game (208 ypg rushing).  With regards to quarterback play, Dixon's Jeffrey Anderson has produced more yards (30/50, 565 yards, 3 TD/2 INT), but Vanden's Ben Scott has been a little more efficient and thrown for more touchdowns (25/39, 411 yards, 6 TD/3 INT).  Both offensive lines are good, as evidenced by the high rushing yardage and relatively few sacks allowed by both teams, and both teams have dynamic backfields that use multiple backs to carry the load.  All in all I would say that these two teams stack up evenly on the offensive side of the ball.

Defensively the Rams have been good, but the Vikings have been ridiculous.  In their first two games, the Vikings shutout Vintage and Armijo, respectively.  Both of these teams have gone on to prove that they have decent offenses, with Armijo scoring 33 points and gaining 307 yards in a win over Hogan the week after being shutout by Vanden and Vintage averaging 20 points and nearly 300 yards a game, not including the 36-0 disaster against the Vikings.  After two weeks, the Vikings were allowing just 72.0 yards per game (14.5 ypg rushing) and had not surrendered a point!  These fantastic defensive numbers, including their streak of shutouts, would have remained intact had the Vikings not put in their backups and surrendered 14 fourth quarter points to McClatchy.  

All things considered, this should be one of the most exciting games of week four.  These two teams are outstanding on both sides of the football and are physical and well-disciplined too.  There will be some great athletes all over the field friday night, but the winner of this game will be the team that can control the line of scrimmage and that makes the fewest mistakes.  This one could go either way.

-Justin Cruise