ELK GROVE, CA (MPG) - With the homecoming season coming to a close for high school football, it marks the beginning of the end of the 2025-26 season. Pleasant Grove and Franklin played their senior night games on Friday, Oct. 17.                

Pleasant Grove faced Cosumnes Oaks while Franklin played Monterey Trail.

Senior night is the last home game of the season, where the school and the program give the senior athletes their flowers for the commitment of time and effort that they had put towards the team and the program.          

The seniors took the spotlight and walked with their families and loved ones, commemorating the last time they were going to play on their home field. 

Pleasant Grove takes the field. 

                       

Pleasant Grove had previously lost in a close game against Franklin, 39-34, and was looking to bounce back with a win on senior night. Cosumnes Oaks was coming off a win against Sheldon with a score of 34-16 and hopes of spoiling the Eagles’ senior night and starting a two-game win streak.               

The Pleasant Grove-Franklin game started slow, with both defenses doing their jobs to contain the offense. The first quarter ended scoreless.              

Once the second quarter had started, it was a completely different game. Both teams were able to score, ending the second quarter with a combined 41 points and Pleasant Grove leading 27-14.

The Eagles were able to carry the momentum from the second quarter into the third quarter, scoring 13 more points while holding the WolfPack to only six.  

The game ended with Pleasant Grove winning 40-20. The Eagles sent their seniors off right and move to 5-3 on the season while Cosumnes Oaks fell to 2-6.

Quarterback Jaxon Kertel, No. 6, hands the ball off to running back D.J. Oropeza, No. 22.

The Franklin Wildcats and Monterey Trail Mustangs were the two top seeds in the Delta League going into the game and looking to be a very eventful night.    

Franklin was coming off a second-half comeback win against Pleasant Grove that started a two-game win streak. The Wildcats were looking to extend that streak on senior night.                

Monterey Trail was looking to get back into the win column after losing to Rocklin 35-14.              

The game, however, was not a high scorer, with 14-7 at halftime.        

 

Eagles Offense in the Huddle 

   

The third quarter started just like the first half: a defensive outing. Franklin was the only team to score and it was only a field goal that gave the Wildcats three points.

The fourth quarter is where the game was flipped and decided. Monterey Trail was able to get the offense started while the defense continued to be impactful. The Mustangs were able to score 14 unanswered points, ending the game 28-10 and spoiling Franklin’s senior night.

The Franklin Wildcats fall to 6-3 on the season while the Monterey Trail Mustangs push to 6-2.

Pleasant Grove travels to play Elk Grove not just for the Thundering Herd’s senior night but for “Battle of the Groves,” while Cosumnes Oaks will travel to Monterey Trail. Both games take place on Friday, Oct. 24.