Lamson legend grows: Oak Ridge wins first D-I title behind star quarterback
He’s a passer by nature, the next sure-thing quarterback ace in El Dorado Hills, but check out the wheels on Justin Lamson.
The junior quarterback adapted brilliantly to the elements Saturday night at Hughes Stadium — wind and rain in abundance — and his three rushing touchdowns and sheer force of will helped propel Oak Ridge High School past Monterey Trail 35-27 in a thrilling Sac-Joaquin Section Division I championship game.
A lean, strong and quick 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, Lamson rushed for a season-high 138 yards on a season-high 25 carries to offset the efforts of Monterey Trail’s Prophet Brown.
Perhaps the area’s fastest player, Brown caught touchdown strikes of 45, 61 and 35 yards from Viktor Timonin and also bolted for a 79-yard score on a reverse.
Lamson’s arm worked fine, too, though he passed for just 82 yards — all in the first half. But his 36-yard touchdown strike to Gui Lozada pushed the second-seeded Trojans to a 28-13 lead in the second quarter, a lead that was only mildly threatened the rest of the way by the No. 5 Mustangs.
“I obviously hate playing in the rain because I’m a quarterback, but I had so much fun (running the ball),” Lamson said. “It’s a credit to our offensive line. Tonight might have been their best night. I’m so happy for them and so happy for this team.”
Lamson also makes it a habit to feed his linemen on Mondays out of appreciation. That’s a quarterback tradition at Oak Ridge. The menu for the guys who never miss a meal in Ethan Criswell, Sean Gatson, Cole Hathaway, Nicholas Scalise and Brandon Summers?
“Whatever they want, baby!” Lamson said.
Oak Ridge (11-2) stopped Monterey Trail (12-2) on downs at midfield with 3:34 to go, and Lamson and company ran out the clock from there. By that time, the rain was coming down in sideways sheets on the Sacramento City College campus, but here’s the thing about inclement conditions: the winners don’t really feel it. It becomes part of the fun.
Oak Ridge players giddily raced onto the track to belt out a spirited alma mater song to a throng of fans, family and students who braved the elements.
There was plenty to cheer about. Oak Ridge became a powerhouse shortly after it opened up Highway 50 in 1980. By 1986, the Trojans reached their first section final, falling to Colfax 3-0 in D-III.
By 1998, Oak Ridge was champions of D-II under coach Mark Watson, and then it three-peated under coach Chris Jones in 2002-04 in D-II.
Eric Cavaliere was an assistant coach on the three-peat and became head coach in 2007. He reached the D-I finals in 2012 and ’13 and soaked in the championship breakthrough this time, and he was emotional holding up the blue banner as rain came down with the scoreboard serving as a backdrop.
“Coach Cav cares about the kids so much,” Lamson said. “He puts in so much work in the offseason. He deserves this.”
Cavaliere’s quarterback coach is Watson, who at Oak Ridge groomed Ian Book, now a star quarterback at Notre Dame.
“Justin’s the real deal,” Watson said. “He’s fun to watch.”
And the season still has life. Oak Ridge will host Central of Fresno (13-0) on Friday in a CIF Northern California Regional D1-AA finale. Central lost to Folsom in each of the past two NorCal title games.
Monterey Trail fell to 0-4 in title games, but the fact that the Mustangs made it this far this season with such a young roster is testament to coach T.J. Ewing and his veer rushing team. Monterey Trail dethroned powerhouse Folsom in a semifinal 35-23.
Timonin hit Brown for the game’s first touchdown, on fourth-and-5, as Brown got past the defense. Lamson then went to work, scoring on runs of 2, 15 and 22 yards for a 21-6 lead. Brown’s 79-yarder cut it to 21-13, and his touchdown catch with 8:14 left amounted to the final score.
This story was originally published December 1, 2019 at 6:50 AM with the headline "Lamson legend grows: Oak Ridge wins first D-I title behind star quarterback."