EG, PG, Franklin Wins, CO Loses Playoff Openers

Wyatt Demps showed he didn't want his high school football career to end Friday night. Though he's headed to Nevada-Reno next fall to continue playing the sport, the wide receiver/safety returned a punt 73 yards for a TD in the second quarter and caught a pair of touchdown passes to lead his high school team, Pleasant Grove, into the second round of the Sac-Joaquin Section's Division I playoffs. His heroics on both sides of the ball helped the Eagles to a 48-12 thrashing to Modesto Friday night at Downey High School.

The Eagles (9-2) scored 20 points in the first quarter and had 34 points by halftime and cruised from there.

It all started with Esley Simmons who returned the opening kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown and Pleasant Grove was unstoppable the rest of the way. Running back Ian Broom had 127 yards rushing on 14 carries while Demaree Morris added 88 more yards on the ground on 15 totes and a touchdown.

Quarterback Dre Terrell was sharp throwing the ball as he was seven-for-ten passing for 116 yards and four touchdowns.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Eagles were led by junior linebacker Derek Carroll who had 12 tackles.

In a bit of a quirk in the playoff brackets, the Eagles, the seventh seed in D-I, played at Modesto, the 10th seed, because they were co-champions of their league.

This Friday, Pleasant Grove will once again be on the road as they travel to No. 2 Stagg, a 32-14 winner over Beyer in the opening round.

Other EGUSD scores:
Franklin 44, Pitman 27 - Joey Banks scored four TD's, including a fumble recovered in the end zone.
The Wildcats now face top-seeded Folsom, 50-17 winners over Lincoln-Stockton.

Whitney 33, Cosumnes Oaks 9 - Has to be a bitter pill to swallow for Coach Ryan Gomes and the players. This was a team many thought would go deep into the Division II playoffs.

Elk Grove 42, Atwater 7 

Jesuit 49, Merced 39 



Burbank 61, Wood 28

Luther Burbank may have five players committed to NCAA Division I schools, but the Titans used the inside running of fullback Benji Jones, a  young man almost forgotten in all the hype over the Metro Conference champion football team, to defeat Will C. Wood, 61-28, Friday in the Sac-Joaquin Section's Division II playoffs.

The Titans' (9-2) used its big-play potential to the max in the home contest at Titan Stadium to go along with an opportunistic defense to defeat the No. 10 seeded Wood squad. Burbank converted three interceptions in the second quarter alone into touchdowns. In the end, the Titans picked off four Wood passes and recovered two fumbles.

Jones, a 6-0, 215-pounder, gained 278 yards on the night including a 53- yard run on the first play of scrimmage and touchdown runs of 70 and 87 yards in the second half. 

Washington State-commit Calvin Green scored a pair of TD's and had one interception. Quarterback Ernest Jenkins, likely headed to Wyoming, had a 47 yard TD run in the first quarter along with three scoring strikes. 

The only negative for the Titans was the fact they were flagged 22 times for 215 penalty yards.

Burbank, the No. 6 seed in Division II, will now take on Elk Grove, 42-7 winners over Atwater, this Friday in the second round of the playoffs.

Grant 52, Downey 14