High school football: A look at top players, teams, themes for a yet-unplayed season
Football should be here — this week, next week and right on through the fall, punctuated by Thanksgiving’s good cheer.
School equates to distance learning now, not a soul on campus, for all the wrong dreadful reasons.
The coronavirus pandemic is winning, for now, and it is quite the adjustment for coaches conditioned to teach blocking and tackling this time of year, to mold young lives and teams, to remind parents there’s a reason they are in the stands and not on the sideline.
Regional high school programs were scheduled to have season openers on Friday and Saturday. That’s all on hold until winter with seasons across the state pushed back in an effort to hold off or solve COVID-19.
Had the virus not turned things upside down, this week’s football theme would have been heavy on the 110-degree heat — How to practice on the surface of the sun? — and likely opening-night postponements across much of Northern California due to fire smoke. Football fields are silent. The gymnasiums in scorched Solano County are being used as evacuation centers.
Coaches otherwise twist and turn.
“I can tell you, I’m bored as hell, miss it terribly,” Pleasant Grove coach Matt Costa said in pretty much speaking for all of his peers. “I’ve been distracting myself with playing a whole lot of guitar.”
Said Chris Horner of Casa Roble, “I should be getting ready for the season, talking to my assistants, making sure my team moms are all dialed in with the snack bars and the volunteers are in place answering any last-minute logistics. Sweating going up and down the bleachers making sure to check in with the scoreboard operator.
“We should be playing football. Fingers crossed we get a season in.”
The last time the state did not have fall football or rugby was in 1918, when the flu pandemic swept through. There were a smattering of spring games then, and then normalcy returned.
Top players, movers and shakers
This fall would have been a final prep hurrah for top senior performers, movers and shakers, including:
Prophet Brown of Monterey Trail, a receiver/defensive back headed to USC; Kaleb Higgins of Folsom, a defensive back committed to Cal; Justin Lamson of Oak Ridge, a quarterback bound for Syracuse; Keleki Latu of Jesuit, a tight end off to Cal; Moses Oladejo of Cosumnes Oaks, a linebacker committed to Cal, and Ari Patu of Folsom, a quarterback signed with Stanford.
That’s quite a lot. Each has grades that turn heads as much as their skills.
Other seniors receiving scholarship interest include Antelope lineman Dean Abdullah; Rocklin kicker Cole Becker; Cosumnes Oaks linebacker Isaiah Byars; Rocklin lineman Ilaisa Gonebure, a transfer from Capital Christian; Cosumnes Oaks quarterback Anthony Grigsby; Jesuit receiver/DB Nate Lewis; River City lineman Joshua Ngaluafe; Rocklin lineman Bobby Piland; Capital Christian lineman Kenndel Riley and Christian Brothers quarterback Jacob Stewart.
And a guy sure to get on the recruiting radar with good speed and a name to match: Jet Wiley, a receiver for Christian Brothers and the son of coach John Wiley.
Unsung and relentless
Football is all about the unsung grinder and leader. There are more of them than there are scholarship players. About 1-2% of high school football players in America land full-ride athletic scholarships.
At Sheldon, quarterback Sean Nixon leads the way, the definition of commitment. He’ll play in college somewhere.
At nearby Pleasant Grove within the Delta League, three-year starters Logan Ellner and James Turrentine lead the defense in the secondary and in the trenches, respectively. They’re not done defending beyond this season.
At Lincoln, three-sport performer J.T. Willis is defined by his will.
At Colfax and Bear River, scores of athletes step up for small-school heavies that thrive despite declining enrollment. They compete for 200-game winning coaches in Terry Logue and Scott Savoie at Bear River and Tony Martello at Colfax.
At East Nicolaus, same thing. And also in Winters, where football remains a driving force on campus.
Old schools, new faces
The season will usher in a host of familiar coaching faces with success dotted on their resumes landing at new spots.
For a lot of these coaches, there were only a handful of in-person meetings due to social distancing mandates, and endless amounts of Zoom meetings.
The coaching moves include: Kramer Hagen to East Nicolaus; Reggie Harris to Antelope; Mike Maben to Del Oro; Chris Nixon to Sheldon; Saul Patu to Capital Christian; Casey Taylor to Inderkum and Adam Reinking to Roseville.
Hagen was a star at Capital Christian, eager to coach since he was a teenager. Harris was the fierce and fiery defensive coordinator at Grant under famed head boss Mike Alberghini before he went to Florida. Maben coached championship wrestlers at Del Oro and called football games as the entertaining public address voice at his alma mater. Nixon led a powerhouse at Elk Grove. Patu arrives from out of state. Taylor elevated Capital Christian from small-school power to any-sized power. Reinking kept El Camino winning.
And a new school welcoming an old coach is Jason Tenner at West Park in Roseville. He still awaits all of his football gear but he has a few months to go, at least, until the season kicks off.
Off the schneid
We know one thing for certain: After enduring four successive 0-10 seasons and riding a Northern California record 43-game losing streak, Bella Vista will not lose a football game this fall.
But come winter, who knows. New coach Jim Gray has top-tier scholars on his campus that can skunk a lot of rivals in scholastic test scores but the first-year coach does not have much football tradition to work with.
All-Metro sneak peak
Our preseason Bee All-Metro breakdown, fleshed out a bit and subject to change (transfers, injuries, no season at all):
Quarterbacks
Justin Lamson, Oak Ridge, Sr.
Ari Patu, Folsom, Sr.
Anthony Grigsby, Cosumnes Oaks, Sr.
Running backs
Joe Brijs, Roseville, Sr.
Ethan Menezes, Vista del Lago, Sr.
Christian Ridgway, Cosumnes Oaks, Sr.
Ace Saca, Jesuit, Sr.
Receivers
Brandon Barthel, Oak Ridge, Sr.
Antonio Henry, Yuba City, Sr.
Nate Lewis, Jesuit, Sr.
James Mintmier, Oakmont, Sr.
Dylan Overstreet, Casa Roble, Sr.
Jaylen Pickens, Rocklin, Sr.
Tight ends
Keleki Latu, Jesuit, Sr.
Moses Oladejo, Cosumnes Oaks, Sr.
Offensive line
Dean Abdullah, Antelope, Jr.
Vincent Carter, Granite Bay, Sr.
Joaquin Gamez, Capital Christian, Sr.
Bobby Piland, Rocklin, Jr.
Christian Salinas, Franklin, Sr.
Brian West, Del Oro, Sr.
Defensive line
Ilaisa Gonebure, Capital Christian, Sr.
Kelvin Jackson, Center, Sr.
Joshua Ngaluafe, River City, Sr.
Simione Pale, Elk Grove, So.
Kenndel Riley, Capital Christian, Sr.
Peyton Vota, Oak Ridge, Sr.
Linebackers
Zach Brooks, Davis, Sr.
Justin Eklund, Folsom, Jr.
Ryan Enney, Oak Ridge, Sr.
Austin Hauptman, Whitney, Sr.
Sean Myles, Oakmont, Sr.
Hunter Nabers, Oak Ridge, Sr.
Defensive backs
Prophet Brown, Monterey Trail, Sr.
Roman Cannan, Jesuit, Sr.
C.J. DeShong, Christian Brothers, Sr.
Jerry Huddleston, Antelope, Sr.
Jamauri Jackson, Monterey Trail, Sr.
Christian Perry, Granite Bay, Sr.
Kicker
Cole Becker, Rocklin, Sr.
Punter
Woody Brennan, Rocklin, Sr.
All-Purpose
Isaiah Bass, Capital Christian, Sr.
Zeke Burnett, Elk Grove, Jr.
Isaiah Byars, Cosumnes Oaks, Sr.
Rico Flores, Folsom, So.
Thomas Froberg, Rio Linda, Sr.
Anthony Garcia, Capital Christian, Jr.
Jake Hall, Jesuit, Sr.
Sean Nixon, Sheldon, Sr.
Cian Slone, Rocklin, Sr.
Nick Tawney, Whitney, Sr.
Richie Watts, Rocklin, Sr.
J.T. Willis, Lincoln, Sr.
Carlos Wilson, Inderkum, So.
Who’d we miss? A player, a coach, a theme or team? Email jdavidson@sacbee.com or csalerno@sacbee.com
This story was originally published August 22, 2020 at 4:00 AM.