NORTH HIGHLANDS — After a solid end to the regular season that saw the Davis Junior Blue Devil Blue squads go 3-1, three of the local Blue teams are headed to the playoffs. The Pee Wees will play at noon Saturday against Pleasant Grove, before the Junior Midgets (2 p.m.) and Midgets (4 p.m.) meet squads from Colfax.

All games are at Rio Linda High on Saturday.

Regardless of Saturday’s outcomes, Davis will host the title games on Nov. 4 at Ron & Mary Brown Stadium.

Here’s a look at last Saturday’s action …

Junior Midgets Blue

The Blue Devils played a near-perfect first half of football on Saturday, ultimately beating Highlands, 20-6.

Davis’ running game was in full force, and a multitude of weapons were used to frustrate the Scots throughout the half.

Tailback Luke Maffly led the locals with a seven-yard scramble for the first touchdown of the day — he finished with 57 rushing yards — and quarterback Neil Welch ran four yards for the second score, before completing a four-yard pass to receiver Will Smith for the final Devil TD.

Running back Zach Thornburg added 43 yards to the effort and quarterback Welch contributed 22 of his own.

Arcel Rusangawa, Jimmy McGlynn and Kayden Hoal also had carries to help Davis march toward the win.

The Blue Devil defensive was no less impressive, ending the first half with a huge sack for a safety by linebacker Hoal.

In the second half, Highlands managed to slow down the tempo of the game, but Davis protected the lead by playing tough defense and allowing only one score.

Hoal led the defense in tackling, but it was a true team effort with key stops made by linebacker Tyler Brown and linemen Eric Balderama, Luke Scoggins and Joe Morrison.

Three interceptions, two by safety Maffly, and another that safety Charlie Easton returned for 18 yards, helped seal the Devil victory.

“We played a smart and solid game,” said head coach Josh Maffly. “And we’ll go far in the playoffs if we continue to play with this level of effort and focus.”

Midgets Blue

Davis ended its regular season with an impressive victory on the road, scoring on its first three possessions and eventually putting the Highlands Scots to rest, 38-7.

On their opening the drive, the Blue Devils only needed five plays to score on a run from leading rusher Ish Perez. In a monster day, Perez carried 12 times for 167 yards and had three touchdowns.

Many of those yards were created by the impressive efforts of the local offensive lineman.

“The O-line absolutely dominated Highlands’ defense all afternoon,”said Devil head coach Marty Morse. “Tucker Fisk, Nicholas Amoah, Jesus Jiminez, David Yo and center Austin Griffiths are a dominating force in our league. The line doesn’t get too much attention, however, these guys are turning some heads.”

Christian McCoy would agree. He carried the ball through some gaping holes for 44 yards on four carries, including a nifty 22-yard touchdown that featured several broken tackles.

The stingy Blue Devil defense also stepped up. Fisk led the effort with seven tackles, including two sacks, middle linebacker Liam Condon contributed six tackles, and defensive end Miles Lampley and tackle Jiminez each contributed five stops each.

Kyle Morse and Connor Bunfill both intercepted passes for the locals and Bunfill used his blocks well, weaving his way to a 75-yard touchdown.

Daniel Castro did a fabulous job returning several punts forced by the Davis defense. Place kicker Ben Easton made all five of his conversions — though a missed call cost him the points on one of them.

If the second-ranked Devils beat Colfax on Saturday, they will meet the winner of the Pleasant Grove/Highlands game for the SYFL title on Nov. 4 at home.

Pee Wees Blue

The Blue Devils used teamwork and focus to advance to the postseason with an 18-7 victory over Highlands.

In the first quarter, the Scots caught Davis off-guard and scored their first — and only — touchdown. But after the wake-up call, it was all Devils.

On defense, Joey Asta had a forceful hit on the first possession that was followed by other great tackles by Sebastian Tamayo, Gerad Christian-Lichtenhan and Tsadiku Obolu.

Once the offense took to the field, Davis was on fire, with Lucas Griffiths picking up yardage and Taylor Vaughn scoring.

Subsequently, on the defensive side, Payne Barksdale, Tsadiku Obolu and Griffiths — alongside the triple tackle threat of Jeremiah Jones, Tanner McNamara and Christian-Lichtenhan — made stop after stop for the locals.

The second quarter illuminated even more Devil skill with another touchdown by Vaughn, which was followed by a 40-yard kick by Obolu, pinning the Scots deep.

With guys like Andrew Battistoni, Cole Bertrand, Ben Busano, Koshan Schiffman, Michael Cantanzaro, Francisco Cortina, Donovan Ruelas, Isaiah Cady and Jesse Cady working together, the locals remained diligent in the third quarter. Later, Kel Williams smashed the Highlands quarterback and the ball was back in Davis’ hands.

Soon after, Barksdale and Griffiths moved the ball forward on a drive that ended with a Barksdale’s score.

Ayize Gwedu made a late tackle to seal the victory.

Junior Pee Wees Blue

Although they didn’t make it onto the scoreboard, the Blue Devils competed hard on Saturday in a 38-0 loss to host Highlands.

Despite the score, the Scots’ trips to the end zone did not come without resistance by the Davis defense. Six local players — Jude Vaughn, Adam Perry, Ethan Cavanaugh, Jamie MacNear, Baron Rosario and A.J. Hasson — had tackles, with MacNear picking up a sack in the first quarter.

In several attempts to score, Vaughn rushed for 42 yards and Perry and Rosario each ran well. Davis’ Ethan Christian-Lichtenhan threw a nice pass to Vaughn on one occasion and Kai Roberts made a valiant effort to thwart a second-quarter touchdown

“I am so proud of this team,” said head coach Paul Hasson. “My goals for these boys at the beginning of the season were to have fun and to never give up. They have accomplished both.

“This is a Division I league. It’s not easy and the true test of  these kids’ drive will be to see how many come back next season and are ready to continue to compete at this level.”

For more information about the Davis Junior Blue Devil tackle football organization, visit www.juniorbluedevils.com.

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Junior Midgets Blue quarterback Neil Welch (9) throws to Luke Maffly (bottom right) in the locals’ 20-6 victory over Highlands. Courtesy photo

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Pee Wees Blue’s Payne Barksdale scores a touchdown on a quarterback keeper during an 18-7 victory over Highlands. Courtesy photo

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