Selection Sunday: SJS announces postseason bracket, bowl game matchups for 2025
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Section expands postseason to 16-team brackets, adds 29 single-game bowl matchups.
- Top eight teams per division vie for section titles; seeding grants first-week byes.
- Bowl participants seeded 9–16 receive one-game postseason play but no NorCal berth.
Buckle up. The 2025 high school football postseason is here, along with some old and a lot of new.
Let’s start with the old: There are still seven 11-man football divisions. Teams in each division will compete for the chance at a coveted blue Sac-Joaquin Section championship banner and a spot in the CIF Northern California Regional postseason.
Section championship contests will still start the day after Thanksgiving and continue that Saturday. Both days are at Sacramento City College’s Hughes Stadium. Teams that qualify for championships will have earned the right to practice on Thanksgiving, a tradition many Stanislaus District schools embrace.
At an October board of managers meeting, the section voted 55-2 to pass a new playoff format with the main goal of shortening the length of the high school football season by one week. The section increased the amount of teams that make the playoffs from 12 to 16 teams per division and introduced bowl games.
Each division’s top eight teams play in the brackets, while the ninth through 16th will play bowl games. Bowls are just one-game postseason competitions for those outside of the playoff brackets. Bowl game teams will not compete for section titles and NorCal qualification, while the section’s top eight teams will compete for titles.
Each top-eight team will have a bye this Friday. Nov. 7, and each bowl game will be played at host sites. There will be 29 bowl games, with tan banners awarded to the winners.
Division does not matter in bowl games. While the committee tried to have teams from the same division match up, that did not always happen. One example is Gregori (Division I) facing Johansen (Division III).
Eight-man football had its inaugural season in the SJS this year and will have its own playoff division, Division VIII.
The playoff brackets were announced Sunday via a selection show streamed on the NFHS Network featuring Sac-Joaquin Section assistant commissioner Will DeBoard, Sacramento Bee sports reporter Joe Davidson and Turlock Journal reporter Joe Cortez.
In Division I, four-time defending section champion Folsom took the top seed. The star-studded Bulldogs, led by five-star quarterback Ryder Lyons, have been ranked the section’s top team all season. Stanislaus District teams Downey and Central Catholic also made the cut. Downey made it by virtue of winning the Central California Athletic League. A three-point win over Turlock essentially wrapped up its spot in the D-I postseason top eight. The Raiders overcame early injuries to finish as the No. 7 seed in the division, earning a spot in the bracket. Neither team has a home game.
In Division II, there was speculation all season about who would get the top seed. After beating Oakdale to secure the Valley Oak League title and a 10-0 regular season, head coach Mark Varnum said there was no doubt which was the No. 1 team is in the division: It was his. Varnum was right. The section’s seeding committee made the back-to-back VOL champs the Division’s top seed.
In Division III, Oakdale is the No. 2 seed despite its loss to Manteca and season-opening loss to Sonora. In between the two losses, the Mustangs won eight straight games and boasted one of the section’s most explosive rushing offenses. They are led by Wes Burford, the section’s all-time leading rusher.
In Division IV, Hughson is competing in its third division in three seasons. The Huskies are also chasing a fourth straight section title. In 2022 and 2023, they won Division VI titles and last season, after being moved up to D-V won that title as well. Now, in D-IV due to the section’s continued-success rule, Hughson is a No. 3 seed after finishing the ultracompetitive TVL schedule as one of two teams with a 4-2 record. It is tied with Ripon Christian for second place behind Sonora.
In Division V, Hilmar took the No. 2 spot after what DeBoard during the selection show said was the longest debate the seeding committee had Sunday morning. Coming out of the TVL, Hilmar had one of the toughest strength of schedules of any small school, and if the seeds hold would look to send legendary head coach Frank Marques into retirement with win No. 200 for a section title game.
In Division VI, No. 8 Wheatland travels to No. 1 Sonora. The Wildcats bring back all of their offensive weapons from last year’s section and state champion and have wins over Oakdale and Turlock in addition to running the table in the TVL.
2025 Sac-Joaquin Section Playoffs
Division I
No. 8 Downey at No. 1 Folsom
No. 5 Inderkum at No. 4 Monterey Trail
No. 6 Edison at No. 3 Grant
No. 7 Central Catholic at No. 2 Oak Ridge
Division II
No. 8 Tracy at No. 1 Manteca (10-0)
No. 5 Jesuit at No. 4 St. Mary’s
No. 6 Rocklin at No. 3 Del Oro
No. 7 Chavez (10-0) at No. 2 Granite Bay
Division III
No. 8 Destiny Christian at No. 1 Woodcreek
No. 5 Rio Americano at No. 4 Vacaville
No. 6 Vanden at No. 3 Merced (10-0)
No. 7 Ponderosa at No. 2 Oakdale
Division IV
No. 8 Fairfield at No. 1 Twelve Bridges (10-0)
No. 5 Placer at No. 4 East Union
No. 6 Pioneer at No. 3 Hughson
No. 7 Escalon at No. 2 Roseville
Division V
No. 8 Oakmont at No. 1 Casa Roble
No. 5 Lathrop at No. 4 Lincoln-Lincoln
No. 6 Rosemont at No. 3 Sutter
No. 7 Rio Linda at No. 2 Hilmar
Division VI
No. 8 Wheatland at No. 1 Sonora (10-0)
No. 5 Bradshaw Christian at No. 4 Woodland Christian
No. 6 Amador at No. 3 Ripon Christian
No. 7 Ripon at No. 2 Liberty Ranch (10-0)
Division VII
No. 8 Le Grand at No. 1 Calaveras
No. 5 Denair at No. 4 Mariposa County
No. 6 Rio Vista at No. 3 Summerville
No. 7 Linden at No. 2 Stone Ridge Christian
Division VIII (8-man)
No. 8 Valley at No. 1 Mira Loma
No. 5 Valley Christian at No. 4 Delta
No. 3 Encina at No. 3 Vacaville Christian
No. 7 Florin at No. 2 Foresthill
Sac-Joaquin Section Bowl games
Nov. 7
Pleasant Grove at West Park; Franklin-Elk Grove at Whitney; Turlock at Lincoln-Stockton; Laguna Creek at Stagg; Pitmam at Kimball; Mountain House at Tokay; Golden Valley at Enochs; Rodriguez at Christian Brothers; Gregori at Johansen; Vista del Lago at Elk Grove; Grace Davis at Atwater; Del Campo at Bella Vista; Sacramento at Nevada Union; Antelope at Yuba City; Los Banos at Patterson; Woodland at Wood; Livingston at El Capitan; Center at Dixon; Ceres at Argonaut; Gustine at Pacheco; Beyer at Orestimba; Union Mine at Highlands; Golden Sierra at El Dorado; Lindhurst at Bear River; Esparto at Marysville; Burbank at Colfax; Big Valley Christian at Waterford; Bret Harte at Delhi; West Campus at San Juan
This story was originally published November 2, 2025 at 5:35 PM.
