Ripon Christian declined a chance to take a free win this week.

The Knights (0-1) were scheduled to face former Southern League rival Le Grand, which is appealing a three-game suspension levied by the Sac-Joaquin Section for its involvement in a brawl during a preseason scrimmage. If upheld, the SJS would award a forfeited win to any of Le Grand’s opponents left without a game.

After RC dropped its opener at Summerville, 24-21, coach Phil Grams figured his young team could use the reps. So, he accepted a new opponent for this Friday, and the Knights are now cramming to get to know El Capitan (1-0). They’ll travel to Merced to meet the larger-school squad out of the Central California Conference.

“We didn’t feel good about (Le Grand’s) chances for an appeal, so we started looking at a couple possibilities,” Grams said. “We had nothing secured, and El Cap called us because they saw that we were looking for a game. I’d rather do it than not play a game.”

El Capitan had an opening for this week after its opponent, Florin, canceled its varsity season because of low player turnout. Fellow Elk Grove Unified member Valley also had its football season shut down last week.

Xavier Ramirez is the Gauchos’ fourth coach in as many years, but the team is coming off its best season 4-6 and has many returning players.

They trekked to Sparks, Nev. last week and returned home buzzing from their commanding 52-0 victory. El Capitan’s defense, which boasts nine returning starters, forced four turnovers and recorded five sacks in the shutout.

The Gauchos’ spread offense was limited by its own big plays and the running clock. They were balanced with their 20 plays from scrimmage, amassing 187 yards on 10 rushes and 79 yards on 5-of-10 passing. Quarterback Sergio Mendoza threw for two touchdown passes, and seven different Gauchos hit paydirt.

“We don’t really know them that well,” Grams said. “We’re just glad to have a ballgame and hoping for the best possible outcome.”

Grams hopes to know a little more about his team by the end of the game. Ripon Christian matched up well with Mother Lode League contender Summerville, but its usually effective ground attack was held to just 2.7 yards per carry.

“Summerville is very well coached, and I have a lot of respect for Coach (Sean) Leveroos up there,” Grams said. “His son (Bryce Leveroos) is the quarterback and is very dynamic. Our defense played well enough for us to win the game, we just didn’t execute on offense.

“It’s the first time since 2011 in my first game as head coach at Capital Christian that somebody shut down our run game. We have some new pieces on the offensive line and are still putting the puzzle together.”

Here’s a glance at other Week 1 contests in the area:

East Union (1-0) at Kimball (0-0): Kimball has left the Valley Oak League for the Division I Tri-City Athletic League, but the rivalry rages on with East Union.

Though it has been a one-sided rivalry, with Kimball winning six straight, the last five meetings were decided by six or less points. Both teams have new head coaches, and EU’s Booie Daniels is off to a flying start with his Lancers’ 63-0 pummeling of Elite.

Kimball coach LeConte Vaughn is working with a reloaded roster after heavy graduation losses. The Jaguars, who had a zero-week bye, are led by speedy running back Jermaine Nance, 6-foot-3, 250-pound defensive end/offensive tackle Jaylin Rodgers and second-year juniors Richard Sandoval and Josiah Wilson, who split snaps at quarterback last season.

Grace Davis (1-0) at Sierra (0-1): Coming off a disappointing 28-24 defeat to rival Lathrop is enough for Sierra to enter Week 1 with some urgency.

But its next opponent is sure to have the Timberwolves’ full attention.

That’s because Grace Davis, a team Sierra waxed 62-14 last year, produced one of the most stunning Week 0 results in the region — a 19-14 win over Trans-Valley League heavyweight Hilmar.

Hilmar, however, sidelined its best player; do-it-all dynamo Caden Bailey is easing into the season after sustaining a hamstring injury during the track season.

It’s still an impressive win for the Spartans, who had a balanced attack behind sophomore QB Caleb Zaragoza (10-19, 124 yards, three TDs, interception) and running back Izmael Sanchez (79 rushing yards, 21 passing). Grace Davis ground out 178 rushing yards and 145 through the air, while holding Hilmar to just 155 total.

Mountain House (0-1) at Lathrop (1-0): The Spartans’ gauntlet of VOL non-league opponents continues with a familiar foe.

Old River Rivalry counterpart Mountain House, formerly of the Western Athletic Conference, is looking to snap a two-game slide against Lathrop. They’re tied 3-3 all-time. The Mustangs were shut out for a half and could not keep pace with McNair in their 42-20 setback last week.

Junior Erin Foster still established himself as a dual-threat quarterback, throwing for 57 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 80 yards and two scores. He’s joined in the backfield by freshman running back Jacoby Johnson (21 rushes, 64 yards) got the bulk of the touches.

Ripon (0-1) at Enochs (1-0): The Indians go from one prolific pass offense to another after their heartbreaking 47-44 loss to Linden.

Enochs is embracing its fresh start after an injury-ravaged 2023. The Eagles had their way with Beyer in Week 0, scoring the first 42 points in the 42-14 triumph.

Senior QB Johnny Staggs anchored the attack, completing 14 of 21 passes for 215 yards, four touchdowns and no picks. Running back Eric Myles finished with 75 yards from scrimmage, scoring two rushing TDs and one receiving. Staggs has two towering receivers in 6-4 Brennan Whitten Jr. and 6-3 Anthony Brown, who each contributed a touchdown catch.

Defensive end Matthew Bercham highlighted the defense with 2.5 sacks.

River Islands (0-1) at Modesto Christian (0-0): River Islands was introduced to the varsity level with a 41-0 road loss at the hands of a senior-laden Franklin team.

Now, the Riptide face a young team with just 19 players, most of them underclassmen. Head coach Michael McFadden was hired in the middle of the summer when it was unclear that Modesto Christian was going to be able to field a team this season.

Although the school, known for their talented boys basketball team, has struggled to compete with the rest of the TVL in football in recent years, the Crusaders have still managed to produce talent. Jeremiah Bernard was one of the most productive receivers in the state last year and is now at Cal Poly.

Modesto Christian’s big grid-iron prospect now is Alhassan Iddrissu, 6-8, 220-pound, 3-star defensive end who holds 10 Division I offers.