Vista del Lago improves to 4-0 for first time ever with win over Christian Brothers
After Vista del Lago High School beat Christian Brothers on Friday night 52-34 in Folsom, seniors on the Eagles roster were emotional.
Some had tears in greeting family. That included star running back Ethan Menezes.
Friday marked the final time this senior class would play at home. In essence, this field was built by the senior football class. Vista del Lago opened in 2007, but it wasn’t until these seniors were freshmen that the football team played at home.
“We used to play at Folsom High, now we have our own facility,” Menezes said. “It’s grown a lot over the last couple of years. We didn’t have a field when this whole stadium was built. This has been our home for four years and I don’t know if some of these guys are ready to leave.”
Menezes reflected on his accomplishments at the school, which includes closing in on school history. He needed about 380 yards coming into the game to break the school rushing record set by Dominick Norris. He ran for 250 yards and had touchdown runs of one, five, six and 13 yards.
He heavily praised his offensive line made up of Jackson Burgess, Noah Case, Ryan Goff, Blake Harville and Kellen Murphy which helped his team finish with nearly 500 yards of total offense.
The defense did its job, too. Joe Carrera, Jack Goyeau, Harville, Tanie Jones and Nathan Zan each had sacks. The defense had multiple fourth-down stops and forced two turnovers, including an interception by Grabriel Babiano.
“(Tonight) was great,” Menezes said. “Last game here is definitely emotional, I love these guys. My offensive line has been great all year. I can’t say enough about them.”
Other senior leaders on this Vista team include quarterback Aydan Edwards and receivers Carson King, Erik Johnson and Brycen Santero. Edwards threw for 181 yards and two touchdowns. Santero had three catches for 44 yards and a touchdown and King had four catches for 85 yards and a touchdown. Johnson had an 11-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.
Vista del Lago coach Mike Struebing was impressed with how Menezes and his offense performed.
“I don’t think you need to say anything when you have a performance like that,” He said. “Ethan is tremendous. Our offensive line is amazing. They have done a great job building chemistry.”
Struebing added, “We have developed a culture of strong offensive and defensive line play throughout the years here,” “Our guys continue to get better. I love all of them.”
The final touchdown Menezes scored at home was memorable. He plowed over multiple Christian Brothers defenders to get into the end zone. The public address announcer afterward played Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down.”
No other song would better symbolize this season for Vista del Lago. The Eagles haven’t backed down from anybody and are 4-0 with wins over Christian Brothers, El Camino, Inderkum and Ponderosa.
Vista led at halftime 20-7 and 40-22 at the end of the third. Menezes’ three touchdowns in the third quarter blew the game open.
Christian Brothers (2-3) quarterback Jake Elorduy threw for 170 yards and had touchdown passes of 40 and 37 yards to sophomore receiver Jet Wiley, son of coach John Wiley. Junior running back D.J. Crowther ran for 136 yards and had a 40-yard touchdown to open up the second half.
Christian Brothers will play Del Campo on Friday in the season finale. Vista del Lago will travel to play Sacramento High on Saturday.