High school football notes: Father, son coach at Granite Bay

Friday evening turned out to be a double win for Granite Bay High School coach Jeff Evans and his father, Lee.

At halftime of a cross-sectional contest in San Jose, the 1986 Oak Grove team that won the Central Coast Section championship was recognized with players and coaches trotting to midfield. Lee was an assistant coach on that team and became the head coach. Jeff was a ballboy on the 1986 squad, already hooked on the sport. He played at Oak Grove for his father, now in his second season as an assistant for his son at Granite Bay and in his 49th year of coaching.

The Grizzlies beat Oak Grove 27-14 to earn their first win of the season after losses to Jesuit and Whitney. The three-hour bus ride back to Placer County was joyous.

“It was nice to see what we could do against one of the best teams in the Bay Area,” Jeff Evans said. “Friday was a great night.”

The best part was enjoying it with his father.

“Having my dad coach with me, it means everything to me,” Jeff Evans said. “Not only is he one of the top offensive-line coaches around, he is my best friend. He and I have been coaching together for 24 years, and I played for him before that. Not everyone gets to have that kind of relationship with their father. I do, and I do not take it for granted.”

Holy roller – Calvin Brownholtz hit Jonathon Amadi for touchdown passes of 45 and 6 yards, and Amadi returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown to power No. 7 Jesuit past Christian Brothers 25-7 in Holy Bowl 46 on Saturday night at Hughes Stadium.

Christian Brothers tied it 7-7 on Aarmon Euwing’s 1-yard run. Lorenzo Burkes gave Jesuit a 19-7 lead with a 27-yard touchdown run.

Holy rout – In the 209 area-code version of the Holy Bowl between St. Mary’s of Stockton and Central Catholic of Modesto, an expected showdown was reduced to a rout when Central Catholic benched 19 players for the first half for disciplinary reasons.

Raiders coach Roger Canepa made the call after players violated the team’s curfew rule during a trip to Mission Viejo the prior week. St. Mary’s, ranked ninth in the state by Cal-Hi Sports, rolled to a 49-0 victory over the four-time defending CIF State champions, who were ranked 25th in the state.

On Friday, St. Mary’s (3-0) hosts Cosumnes Oaks, ranked 19th by The Sacramento Bee.

Fear the veer even more – No. 10 Monterey Trail beat Vista del Lago 62-42 on the strength of five touchdown passes? It’s true.

The Mustangs much prefer to run out of the veer offense, but quarterback Robert Holt completed 8 of 13 passes for 222 yards and a school-record five touchdowns. Bishop Brown and Jehiel Budgett caught two scoring passes each and William Madsen the other. Budgett also rushed for 112 yards and two touchdowns.

Holt, a three-year starter, completed 5 of 10 passes for one touchdown as Monterey Trail opened the season with wins over Wilcox of Santa Clara (40-14) and Del Campo (48-21).

What happened to the veer trap plays against Vista?

“Those passing touchdowns,” Mustangs assistant coach Rick Arcuri joked, “are just extended veer-run plays.”

Bye weeks – The California Interscholastic Federation allows schools 11 weeks to play 10 regular-season games. Many schools are taking a bye this week, including No. 4 Grant, No. 7 Jesuit, No. 8 Antelope, No. 10 Monterey Trail, No. 11 Whitney, No. 12 Roseville, No. 14 Sheldon and No. 18 Inderkum.

This story was originally published September 12, 2016 at 4:42 PM.