Instant prep football classic: Casa Roble upsets No. 11 Placer behind QB’s star turn

Casa Roble High School quarterback Jason Lindahl has been waiting for his moment to shine for a while.

Lindahl has been through it all since starting with the Casa Roble Jr. Rams in fourth grade. He missed his freshman season due to chest surgery and played one game on varsity as a sophomore before getting sent back to junior varsity. He struggled in spring ball and didn’t win the starting quarterback job.

Lindahl waited his turn, worked hard and stayed patient. Now he’s reaping the benefits.

In Friday’s season opener against No. 11 Placer, Lindahl passed for 308 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran eight times for 118 yards and another score in No. 21 Casa Roble’s 40-33 victory in Orangevale.

“I was nervous (when I was pulled up as a sophomore),” Lindahl said. “Now I’m ready, prepared and comfortable. Junior year, it was the plan for me to be the starter. Then I came back for the last game and we won the league.”

He added, “This game is going to stay in my memories forever. I love this team.”

Lindahl’s coach, Chris Horner, was impressed and surprised by his quarterback. He was proud of how he’s handled adversity.

“Holy cow, Jason surprised me tonight,” Horner said. “I knew he was good, but he’s cool as ice. He had big play after play. ... He put himself on the map tonight.”

He added, “This win means so much. These guys have been busting their butts for the last five months and it’s so fun to watch them play with adversity.”

Casa Roble sophomore Cole Owens was another player who put himself on the map. In his first varsity start, Owens caught 10 passes for 203 yards and had a 77-yard touchdown reception in the second half. Casa Roble running backs Josh Taylor and Daniel Renner also had big touchdowns, with Renner’s coming with 2:28 left to give Casa Roble a touchdown lead.

All of this couldn’t have been possible without the dominant line play from Jack Dexter, Ethan Elder, Ben Gumpfer, Adam Lish and Ryan Nishida. Horner called his line the “strength of his team” and said that “linemen win games.” Those five didn’t allow a sack and allowed Casa Roble’s offense to explode for over 500 yards of total offense.

“Those are my guys,” Lindahl said of his line “They are down in the trenches every day at practice. They are the most dominant people I know. I think they are the best line in the area, easily. My line is incredible.”

Placer led 12-7 after the first quarter and Casa Roble took a 21-19 lead into the locker room at the half. Placer’s last score of the game came with 10:41 left on a 10-yard touchdown run by Lavelle Davis, who finished with 174 yards rushing and four touchdowns. Placer senior quarterback Andy Hall threw for 145 yards and a touchdown.

The Hillmen had a chance in the final minutes to put together a drive to tie the game, but on fourth down, Hall was sacked by Elder. It was the only sack of the game.

Casa Roble will host Wood of Vacaville on Friday and Placer will play Roseville.

This story was originally published August 21, 2021 at 6:01 AM.