Upset Alerts Across The State

Will Yuba City’s magical run keep going in the Sac-Joaquin Section? We say yes. San Dimas also gets chosen to pull off an upset alert this week.

It’s easy to pick winners in high school football. Just a tiny bit of homework and almost anyone can hit 70 percent.

But what about trying to pick upsets? We move into another week of this new feature by taking a look at two games from around the state in which a higher ranked team or favored team is picked to take a loss. Every team we are pointing at in this post has to be at least on the bubble in the various CIF state bowl game divisions.

Here are this week’s Cal-Hi Sports Upset Alerts:

Yuba City over Del Oro (Loomis)

With the season coming to an end, there aren’t many games that feature a ranked team against a team that is ranked that much lower but one that does is in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division II semifinals between Del Oro of Loomis and Yuba City.

We love so much of what the Del Oro program stands for, but as we will take the upstart Honkers to upset the Golden Eagles on the road.

While the Golden Eagles have clearly played the tougher schedule, with their losses coming against De La Salle of Concord and Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks, they actually now have two common opponents with the Honkers.

Yuba City defeated St. Mary’s of Stockton and Grant of Sacramento already this postseason. Early in the season, the Golden Eagles defeated the Rams by 10 points and the Pacers by three points while the Honkers just defeated the Rams by six and the Pacers by 16. It’s going to be tough, but Yuba City has more than just a minor hope of winning this game.

San Dimas over Arroyo (El Monte)

We had good luck with San Dimas as an upset alert choice from a few weeks ago. The Saints not only upset 9-0 Pomona but they pummeled the Red Devils 49-6.

This matchup in the CIF Southern Section Mid-Valley Division semifinals matches two teams on a roll. Arroyo has won 11 straight after a season-opening loss to Los Altos of Hacienda Heights and has moved up to No. 9 in the CIF Division III South bowl game rankings. San Dimas is just 8-4, but has won eight in a row. The Saints won last week 56-28 over San Marino.

Coach Bill Zernickow’s team has been explosive and balanced on offense. Quarterback Josh Avila has passed for 1,525 yards with 13 TDs and just one interception. Running back Joseph Mayorga has rushed for 1,289 yards and has scored 12 times.

If the San Dimas offense can keep on churning, it looks like the ride may continue into a possible title game matchup against Monrovia.

Last week’s top upsets

1. Newport Harbor (Newport Beach) 49, La Habra 48 (OT)
2. Yuba City 28, Grant (Sacramento) 12
3. Salesian (Richmond) 21, Middletown 13

Upset Alerts So Far This Season: 12-14 (we picked Newport Harbor and Christian Brothers last week; Newport Harbor beat La Habra and Christian Brothers beat American Canyon)

Note: Pick your own upset alerts in the comments section below. Anybody think Alemany has a chance against St. John Bosco? An upset alert contest also may be coming soon.