Bee’s Best prep football: No. 2 Monterey Trail starts with a rematch against Folsom
This week, we’re blowing up with prep two-a-days. We’re publishing two previews a day as we dive into the top 10 of our rankings for high school football in the Sacramento area.
No. 2 Monterey Trail Mustangs
City: Elk Grove
School opened: 2004
League: Delta
Division: I
Enrollment: 2,335
2021 spring record: 5-0
Coach: T.J. Ewing
Outlook: Monterey Trail coach T.J. Ewing would schedule Sacramento State or the Los Angeles Rams if it wasn’t some sort of violation of interscholastic policy. He appreciates competition that much.
“Before we lost the season (to the pandemic), we had Bosco on our schedule,” Ewing said of the national powerhouse from Southern California. “I don’t care who we play. I like to compete. Our kids love to compete. You find out who you are when you play great teams.”
Monterey Trail has become a great program in part from the sheer will of its coach and the scheduling. This season starts with a whopper with top-ranked Folsom coming for a visit in a rematch of the 2019 Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoff contest, won by the Mustangs.
And for extra kicks and giggles, Monterey Trail also has De La Salle on the schedule, the very program that has not lost to a Northern California team, north of Fresno, since 1991.
Monterey Trail will stick to what it does best — running the ball in the veer offense and defensing with fury. The veer requires a steady hand, and that’s returning quarterback leader Frank Arcuri, who led the team to a 5-0 spring showing. He is the son of longtime Mustangs assistant Rick Arcuri.
“When you have a good quarterback, you always have a shot, and we have one, and Frank will wheel and deal,” Ewing said. “He’s a great football player. I love this team. I’m in love with them.”
It’s a mutual admiration from the start. A Bay Area native, Ewing started the program in 2005 when Monterey Trail opened. The team started 1-19 its first two seasons, then found its way and became a powerhouse.
Other key players include all-purpose back Brevin Amiga, defensive back/running back Ronnie Brutus, lineman Uvante Usher and linebacker Tanaki Tonga.
Monterey Trail plays Cosumnes Oaks on Aug. 27, visits De La Salle on Sept. 3, hosts Stockton power Lincoln on Sept. 18 and hosts Bay Area power Clayton Valley Charter of Concord on Sept. 25 before starting Metro League play.