‘It’s amazing!’: Sheldon High football team celebrates first win in 580 days
As milestones go, this was a good one to confront, bury and then celebrate.
The Sheldon Huskies won their first football game in 580 days on Thursday night, a 26-13 home triumph of River City on the strength of two Sean Nixon touchdown passes to his brother Scott, all under the direction of their head coach and father Chris.
Of course, the delay in success is a bit misleading.
Sheldon (1-1), like everyone else in the state, did not play a fall schedule due to the pandemic. But the joy of players and coaching cheering and dancing after the game spoke volumes of what this game and season means. It was a long time coming, and it left the old coach a bit misty-eyed and his players all-out giddy.
Coach Nixon isn’t in this to coach his sons. He’s in it to help kids, period, dating back to his Elk Grove coaching days in the late 1990s and into last decade when he peeled off 12-win seasons.
“It’s so amazing,” Nixon said later. “None of this is normal. It’s very un-normal with the testing and delays. In a way, this win might be more special then if it happened in the regular season in the fall because there have been so many obstacles. Just to get any games means a lot to these kids.”
Sean Nixon led the charge even before the game. The senior captain has the attention of his teammates when he leads stretching drills before kickoff, and when he speaks to them on the sideline and in the huddle. Or after the game when he praised linemen, receivers, backs and defenders. He’s a team guy if there ever was one.
River City opened the game in a flash when Jerale Griffin bolted 73 yards on the first play for a touchdown. He ended the game in similar big-strike fashion, breaking free for a 66-yard score on the final play.
In between, there was a lot of Nixon action. Sean Nixon hit Scott Nixon for a 27-yard touchdown in the first quarter, then hit Devin Green for a 4-yard score and then found brother Scott again, from 7 yards out for a 20-7 lead with 6:24 to go.
Scott Nixon also had two sacks on defense. The only quarterback the sophomore didn’t hit was his brother, who was hit plenty. Sean Nixon absorbed crunching hits and kept getting back up. He is a 4.0 student, bested at the dinner table by Scott, who fancies a 4.2 GPA.
“We’re having a great time playing ball together,” Sean said.
“Having been that kid who played for his dad (Marshall Nixon at Nevada Union in the 1980s), I know what it’s like,” Coach Nixon said. “It’s special, a great experience. It’s high school ball, and for my sons to have some games this spring is great.”
Other targets for Nixon included Isaiah McMillan, Malcolm McGlothlin and Isaiah Bickham.
Sheldon concludes the spring schedule with a home game against Pleasant Grove on Friday. River City (1-4) finishes at El Camino.
This story was originally published April 10, 2021 at 5:30 AM.