Bee’s best: Sizing up the top Sacramento-area running backs in prep football playoffs
This is a line uttered countless thousands of times, since football first hit the landscape: You win championships by running the ball.
That line of thinking certainly applies to the high school ranks. For as much as teams like to chuck the ball all over the field, the playoffs do indeed boil down to who can control the line of scrimmage and who can run with success. As the Sac-Joaquin Section football playoffs bound into the quarterfinal rounds for Sacramento-area teams on Friday, The Bee takes a peek at the best backs still standing, or, rather, still running. Some are short and shifty. Others are big and powerful.
For some, running is a way of life. Take Ryan Henning of the Lincoln Zebras. He grew up in Placer County, from youth ball on up. He led the rushing attack for his youth teams and now his varsity teams. He is headed to Air Force to play on scholarship and to learn how to navigate fighter jets.
For now, Henning is navigating his way around opposing defenses geared to slow his act to a crawl. Good luck with that. Henning is a mix of power and burst at 5-foot-11 and 215 pounds. He has played hurt and inspired. He’s healthy now, the knee and ankle woes a thing of the past. He rushed for a school-record 352 yards and five touchdowns in a 52-26 win over Natomas in a Division IV opening effort last week. That came after games of 251 yards and five scores against Ponderosa and 252 and two scores against West Park.
Henning is the Sacramento-area’s leading rusher with 1,869 yards, just ahead of Arthur Draeger of 10-0 Liberty Ranch, who has rushed for 1,733 yards and 28 touchdowns.
Here’s the cool thing about breaking school records: Sometimes the record holder is an idol. Henning has 29 rushing touchdowns this season, one more than Ryan Graham produced for Lincoln in 2016. Henning also broke Graham’s school rushing record.
“Ever since I was a little kid, Graham was someone I looked up to,” Henning said. “He was my junior coach (in youth football). My biggest goal was to break those records. I wanted to do it for the entire community. It felt satisfying, but we’re not done yet.”
Lincoln visits Kimball of Tracy in a quarterfinal on Friday. Henning’s aim: run like the wind.
Also on Friday, Rocklin will host Jesuit in D-II action, where the running backs plan to run amok. That includes Elias Brown and Mason Silva of Rocklin and Jagger Shaddix and Anthony Seibles of Jesuit. In El Dorado Hills on Friday in D-I play, Oak Ridge will host run-heavy Elk Grove. If Oak Ridge stops the run, game over. If it cannot, game over.
Here’s a peek at the top runners left in the playoffs, in order of yards rushing:
Ryan Henning, Lincoln, Sr.
Fast, physical and determined, Henning is on a record tear for the Zebras.
Arthur Draeger, Liberty Ranch, Sr.
A year after scooting for 1,781 yards and 24 scores, Draeger has already set a bevy of school records. He has 1,733 yards and 28 scores this season, and he also impacts games on defense.
Benny Tafoya, Center, Sr.
A powerful runner who says he takes his role “quite seriously,” Benny and the Cougars are off and running. He has 1,400 yards and 22 touchdowns.
Curron Borders, Antelope, Sr.
A year after racing for 2,039 yards and 32 touchdowns in 11 games, Borders is still a monster, going for 1,296 yards and 17 touchdowns in an offense with a lot more balance.
Nathan Crawford, Twelve Bridges, Jr.
The Craw leads the charge for the first-time varsity program, and though not big at 165 pounds, he plays huge, including 192 yards in a playoff win over Modesto Christian. He has 1,210 yards and 17 scores.
Josh Taylor, Casa Roble, Sr.
The owner of the best nickname anywhere as “Tarzan” because he likes to go shirtless. Taylor runs like a madman, too, having rushed for 1,118 yards and 13 scores.
Carter Jackson, Granite Bay, So.
What Action Jackson has is elite, breakaway speed, which makes him a national recruit. He has more 50-or-more-yard sprints than anyone and has 1,299 yards and 20 scores.
Baylor Kelley, Placer, So.
A sprinter in cleats and shoulder pads, Kelley has scooted for 1,086 yards and 16 touchdowns in a backfield that includes equally dangerous Kosta Aleksci (860, 10) and a 6-4, 225-pound bruiser in Jaden Suggs (819, 14).
Mateo Mojica, Bradshaw Christian, So.
The Pride are a run-heavy team and have four super sophomores in Mojica (1081, 12), Brandon Burden (965, seven), Nathan Zeppieri (648, six) and QB Ethan Rickert (345, seven).
Cristian Diosado, Vacaville, Jr.
The next impressive Bulldogs back in a decades-long list of them, CD has rushed for 1,074 yards and eight scores, starting the season slow and gaining momentum by the week.
Malakai Taione-Tauataina, Capital Christian, So.
An impressive looking player at 5-11 and 185 pounds, MTT has rushed for just over 1,000 yards and 13 touchdowns for CC.
Robbie Faupula, Sutter, Sr.
The 10-0 Huskies are experts at rushing the ball, having gone for 3,673 yards and 47 touchdowns with Faupula leading the charge with 1,038. Other grind-away efforts include Troy Brucie (832, 10) and Luke Miller (796, 13).
Eric Jensen, Christian Brothers, Sr.
Yes, the Falcons have all-world receiver Phillip Bell, but Jensen is the workhorse here, having chugged for 931 yards.
Danny Lanini, Marysville, Sr.
Size matters not here, but effort does. Lanini has darted for 919 yards and 10 scores as his team braces for Bradshaw Christian.
Mason Vasquez, Elk Grove, Sr.
Vasquez is the leading rusher for the aptly named Thundering Herd with 917 yards and 16 scores, and he’s joined by Wayshawn Parker, a bruiser with speed, and Jeremy Rosales, a burner.
Silas Umbay, Esparto, Sr.
The neat thing about small towns like Esparto is the stars are connected. Umbay is the program’s best rusher, having gone for 833 yards and 18 scores so far, since his uncle, Jeremy Umbay, raced past teams nearly 30 years ago.
Izaya Rubio, Delta, Sr.
Rubio is sheer effort, all the time, all over the field. He’s gone for 821 yards and 11 scores while also playing every down on defense and special teams for a 9-1 team.
Scott Nixon, Sheldon, Sr.
Wait a second. One of the section’s top receivers is also a top back? Indeed. Having never played the position before, Nixon has gone for 818 yards and nine scores, and he will concede that the team’s best runner is Devin Green (733, 11), who is healthy and off and running again.
Jake Hall, Oak Ridge, Sr.
One doesn’t have to be a 1,000-yard rusher to impact his team. Hall is sheer grit and power, and he has 804 yards and 16 scores when he’s not knocking people for a loop at linebacker.