Prep notes: Two key football coaches step down and a big-name transfer rocks section
It’s the middle of winter, yet it is still football season in some way or another.
Two prominent area high school coaches have stepped down, fatigued by the grind and pulled by the need to spend more time with family, a decades-long coach seeks another school and challenge, and a player transfer went down that sent shock waves throughout the state.
Big on Barker
Travis Barker resigned after six wildly successful seasons at his alma mater of East Nicolaus, a small-school power in the Northern Section that has played big. Barker guided the Spartans for six seasons, including five Northern Section championships and the 2015 CIF State Division 6-AA championship.
East Nicolaus peeled off seasons of 13-2, 13-1, 13-1, 13-1 and 12-2 in each of the past years. Barker played line and linebacker in the 1990s for Geoff Wahl, a 218-game winner at East Nicolaus, whose stadium bears the old coach’s name.
Kramer Hagan of Capital Christian roots was named the Spartans’ coach on Tuesday.
Ray Gun
Matt Ray resigned as the only varsity head coach in Antelope High history, having started the program from scratch when the school opened in 2008.
Ray guided 10 consecutive playoff teams with seven league winners. His teams from 2015-2017 went 12-1, 12-1 and 10-2, pulling off historic victories. Ray set Northern Section passing records at Quincy High in the heart of Plumas County for his coaches — father Jeff and grandfather Don. Those Rays coached Quincy football for 50 years. Ray coached three seasons at East Nicolaus from 2005-2007, winning 25 games with three playoff teams, including two Northern Section championships.
Hoskins alive and well
Dave Hoskins is still in good working order, though he creaks when he walks and waddles.
Having finished his 53rd season in regional coaching, Hoskins said he seeks a new chapter after coaching offensive linemen the past two seasons at Capital Christian. A master of one-liners, line play and strength and conditioning, Hoskins can see himself as an assistant several more seasons.
“I’m bionic but still tall, dark and handsome,” Hoskins said, pointing to a recently replaced shoulder. Hoskins started coaching in the 1960s at Christian Brothers, was the head coach at Valley in the 1990s and was co-coach with Ed Lombardi when Elk Grove thundered to championships in the late 1990s.
Major transfer
National recruit running back Raleek Brown has left Edison of Stockton and enrolled into national powerhouse Mater Dei in Santa Ana, a crippling blow for the Vikings. Edison went 9-2 in 2018 and was a rising-fast program, pushing Folsom to the brink in a Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoff game.
A 5-foot-9, 175-pound speedster, Brown will be a junior next fall, his family explaining to the Stockton Record that the move was “a life decision.” Brown has rushed for nearly 2,700 yards in two varsity seasons and has scholarship offers from powerhouse programs such as Alabama and USC.
Brown remains
Prophet Brown may just emerge as the section’s most heavily recruited player this fall. The Monterey Trail all-purpose star and state-meet track winner received a scholarship offer from Michigan. He dazzled in the playoffs on handoffs, receptions and on defense. Brown helped Monterey Trail go 12-1 in 2018 and 12-2 in 2019.
Basketball
The Bee’s boys rankings include Sheldon, and everyone else in a scramble of talented and even teams.
No. 3 Whitney had its 14-game winning streak halted by new No. 7 Folsom 74-55 on Jan. 14 in the Sierra Foothill League. For Folsom and coach Mike Wall, Tiler Fears scored 19, Jaylen Wells 15, Malik Rose 11 and Brycen Shackelford 10.
No. 8 Franklin beat No. 4 Jesuit on Jan. 15 in Delta League action as Marquis Hargrove scored 19 with Jaztein Blackmon contributing 14, Davion Wright 13 and Albert Green 14. In that game, Isa Silva went over the 1,000-point mark for his career for Jesuit. He is a standout junior guard.
Two nights later, No. 13 Davis beat Franklin 87-84 as Joey Asta went for 30 points on 13 of 18 shooting to offset the 24 and 20 from Hargrove and Wright, respectively.
Capital Christian moves up to No. 2 this week. It beat nationally ranked Riverside Poly 60-43 Monday night at Saint Mary’s in a Martin Luther King Challenge as sophomore Darrion Williams scored 15 points and had 15 rebounds and four blocked shots.
Sheldon beat Capital Christian on Saturday night in its own Adidas Challenge 88-68 behind game MVP Josh Williams. On Monday in the Bosco Dream Showcase, Marcus Bagley earned game MVP honors and paced six Huskies in double figures in a 91-53 rout of Mayfair. Bagley had 19 points, Xavion Brown 13, Williams 16, Dontrell Hewlett 13 and Xavier Brown 12.
Herd reunion
Elk Grove hosted Jesuit on Friday, a night that included the 25th anniversary of the 1995 Thundering Herd team that won its last section championship, winning it in Division I. The team was coached by Todd Reiswig and led by star forward Myron Richardson. Jesuit won this game 60-41.
Girls basketball
No. 7 Franklin has won six of its last seven and are 4-0 to start Delta League play. The Wildcats are paced by senior guards Reba and Rena Sy.
No. 9 Colfax has won eight of its last nine and are 2-0 in Pioneer Valley League play. In 2018, the Falcons went 10-0 in league play and could do the same behind senior guard Grace Bliss, who is averaging 20.5 points and 8.4 rebounds. Jazzy Owens compliments Bliss in the backcourt, averaging 15.5 points.
After opening up SFL action with a loss to Granite Bay, No. 6 Oak Ridge has defeated Whitney and Del Oro. Sophomore guard Teagan Brown has played well.
THE BEE’S TOP 20
Girls
1. Antelope (15-2)
2. Laguna Creek (18-1)
3. McClatchy (16-2)
4. Woodcreek (16-3)
5. Folsom (14-4)
6. Oak Ridge (12-5)
7. Franklin (16-4)
8. Placer (16-2)
9. Colfax (14-4)
10. Lincoln (18-2)
11. Vanden (14-4)
12. Granite Bay (13-6)
13. Del Oro (13-6)
14. West Campus (13-3)
15. Sacramento (9-9)
16. Christian Brothers (12-6)
17. Grant (13-7)
18. Monterey Trail (13-2)
19. Sheldon (12-7)
20. Vista del Lago (11-7)
Bubble teams (listed alphabetically): Bear River (9-4), Capital Christian (10-10), Davis (9-8) Forest Lake Christian (14-5), Inderkum (10-8), Nevada Union (11-9), Pioneer (17-4), Rocklin (11-9), Roseville (9-8), St. Francis (9-9).
Boys
1. Sheldon (14-2)
2. Capital Christian (13-7)
3. Whitney (18-2)
4. Jesuit (13-5)
5. Grant (15-4)
6. Vanden (13-6)
7. Folsom (15-6)
8. Franklin (12-8)
9. Rocklin (17-4)
10. Woodcreek (18-3)
11. Cosumnes Oaks (13-6)
12. Elk Grove (16-4)
13. Davis (12-5)
14. Burbank (15-6)
15. Monterey Trail (12-8)
16. Oak Ridge (12-6)
17. Inderkum (14-5)
18. Vacaville (13-4)
19. Sacramento (9-8)
20. Kennedy (12-9)
Bubble teams (listed alphabetically): Antelope (13-7), Bradshaw Christian (12-9), Christian Brothers (12-8), Del Campo (13-7), El Dorado (15-6), Florin (15-4), Oakmont (13-2), Ponderosa (12-8), Rio Americano (14-6), Wood (15-4)
This story was originally published January 21, 2020 at 12:17 PM.