Placer reaches section final for fourth consecutive year, downing unbeaten Buhach Colony
For the fourth year in a row, the Placer Hillmen will be playing for a Sac-Joaquin Section championship.
Led by 13th-year coach Joey Montoya, the second-seeded Hillmen defeated third-seeded Buhach Colony 21-20 on Friday night in a nailbiter.
Placer (10-2) has won nine consecutive games and advanced to the section Division III final against Manteca (10-2) next Saturday at 4 p.m. at Hughes Stadium.
Placer relied on two seniors and it’s wing-T rushing attack to derail the Thunder of Atwater. Fullback Hans Grassman and running back Jesse Whigam were each effective for the Hillmen. Grassman, who played Friday’s game under the weather, had 22 carries for 102 yards and a touchdown. Buchach Colony finished 11-1.
“I couldn’t be more proud of that kid,” Montoya said. “Hans is the glue of this team. You got so many tough kids at this school that sell out for each other, are selfless and put their teammates ahead of themselves. Because of that we’re still playing.”
Whigam looks a little like Carolina Panthers’ running back Christian McCaffrey, as he is versatile and much more than a running back. Whigam rushed 16 times for 85 yards and a touchdown and caught two passes for 71 yards and a scoring strike from Martin Haswell.
“I’m happy with my performance,” Whigam said. “But when I talk about my performance, it’s all about the (offensive) line and I’m just so grateful for them. They blocked amazing.”
Friday’s game was back and forth. Buhach Colony opened the scoring on the last play of the first quarter when senior wide receiver Trey Paster broke away for a 96-yard rushing touchdown on a jet sweep. A Cal commit, Paster was explosive when given the opportunity as he had five carries for 173 yards and two touchdowns.
The Hillmen responded midway through the second quarter with a 1-yard rushing score from Grassman and closed the half with a 13-8 lead following a 53-yard receiving touchdown play from Haswell to Whigam.
Following a Buhach touchdown at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Hillmen responded as Whigam rushed 12 yards into the end zone with just over six minutes remaining in the game. Paster broke away again for a 40-yard rushing touchdown with 2:37 remaining to cut the deficit to one.
However, the Thunder missed a crucial extra point attempt. Whigam had a chance to score another rushing touchdown with under two minutes remaining in the game, but instead listened to his coach’s advice to avoid the end zone with the goal of kneeling and running out the clock.
“I’m glad he listened because us being up seven or eight points against a team like that, with that kind of speed, who can score in one play and having the kickoff return team that they had was huge,” Montoya said. “Jesse did a great job of listening and because of that we could take a knee and run out the clock.”
Whigam was complimentary of the Thunder following the game and very proud of his team overall.
“They’re a phenomenal team,” Whigam said about Buhach Colony. “They got phenomenal athletes. We came out and got physical with them. I’m just so proud of our defense and offense all around.”
Montoya echoed the comments of his senior running back about the previously unbeaten Thunder.
“We knew they were 11-0 for a reason,” Montoya said. “Speed, size, physical – they look like a Division I football team, let alone a Division III football team. Our kids just did their thing. They stayed the course and really overachieved tonight. Because of that, we were able to pull it out.”
Placer will not get a rematch in the title game against Capital Christian. The top-seeded Cougars lost 20-14 to Manteca in the other semifinal. Placer is familiar with Manteca, as the programs met for the 2016 D-IV championship, won by the Buffaloes 50-28.
This story was originally published November 23, 2019 at 4:03 AM.