Football news, notes, rankings: Game balls for El Dorado, Inderkum, first-year coaches
Friday football came roaring back in stadiums near and far, small schools and large.
The backdrop of game action included everything that makes high school sports resonate: cheerleaders and dance squads, bands, student rooting sections and a sea of parents, alums, faculty and community members. Places were sold out. This played out in Elk Grove, Sacramento, El Dorado Hills, Folsom, Vacaville, Fair Oaks, Orangevale, Foresthill, Sutter Creek and points between.
But there were hiccups, and there will be more, including stops and starts. As long as COVID-19 is in our vocabulary, this is a certainty.
Ponderosa has played good football in Shingle Springs since the early 1960s, but will go this season’s first two weeks without a varsity game. The Bruins are in COVID-19 quarantine, costing them a road visit to Rio Americano last week and this week’s game against Vista del Lago, which now seeks a contest.
Air quality will also remain a concern for anyone competing in Northern California as long as the Dixie Fire and Caldor Fire rage on. The toll included scores of El Dorado coaches and players having to evacuate. Some lost their homes. The gritty Cougars of Placerville moved their home game against Amador to Sutter Creek, and kudos for the sportsmanship and hospitality for making it happen in quick order.
El Dorado, ranked 25th by The Bee, won 32-6. The postgame cheer included tears.
“My kids really needed to play,” El Dorado coach Christian Mahaffey said over the weekend. “Thank God it worked out.”
El Dorado hopes to host Bear River on Friday, if the fires don’t prompt another venue change. Bear River’s game Saturday at Truckee was canceled due to poor air. Same theme applies: these kids need games.
Other things we learned after opening week:
Smashing debut, for pop: Tom Rominger will remember his football debut for Valley Christian Academy of Roseville. The sophomore came off the bench in his first prep game — ever — and completed 12 of 16 passes for 211 yards and three touchdowns in a 46-27 win over Mira Loma. He thought of his firefighting father, Matt, who died of COVID-19 complications earlier this year. You did pop proud, kid.
Boo to the SCUSD: The only school district that has not started classes is the Sacramento Unified, which starts Sept. 2. High schools within the district — Burbank, Johnson, Kennedy, McClatchy and Rosemont — are not allowed to have any fans outside immediate family attend football games, the lingering impact of COVID-19. Bands and cheerleaders are allowed.
This makes this the only district in Northern California still holding onto this policy, a holdover from spring events. That’ll surely dull school spirit right from the start as students hang out on campus but not outdoors in a stadium to cheer their classmates.
Coach has a kid: It’s not easy playing for your dad, but a game ball is in order for El Dorado quarterback Anthony Mahaffey, son of the coach. He passed for 160 yards and hit Ryan Wilson for a touchdown and watched as the defense dominated Amador.
Brotherly act: Two game balls, please, for Roseville brothers Ryan and Brandon Graydon, and good thing they caught the bus for the crosstown rivalry game at Oakmont. Ryan passed for 246 yards and three touchdowns and Brandon ran for 175 and scored three times in Roseville’s 42-7 victory.
Upset of the week: Inderkum delivered a shockwave across the Sac-Joaquin Section with its spirited 15-6 victory over preseason No. 4 Elk Grove, a testament to first-year coach Reggie Harris, who, in a flash, had to learn the names of his players as a late hire, and then get them on the same page. Next for Inderkum is Grant, a program Harris knows well as the school’s one-time assistant coach. Elk Grove impressed against Folsom in a scrimmage, prompting Folsom coach Paul Doherty to say, “They’re incredible. Elk Grove could run the table this year.”
Wolfe snarl: Every powerhouse has an unsung grinder in the mix. Top-ranked Folsom has several, including Lucas Wolfe, a rock-solid 5-foot-11, 215-pound linebacker and receiver. He caught a touchdown from Tyler Tremain, made five tackles and forced a fumble in Folsom’s 56-14 win over previous No. 2 Monterey Trail.
Ace QB at VDL: Vista del Lago has produced scores of solid to superb passers over the years, and here’s the next one: Jakob Hollinghaus. He passed for 340 yards and three touchdowns in an opening loss to Granite Bay.
Cole hands: If it starts in the trenches at Casa Roble, always, then it often ends with the receivers. Cole Owens has arrived, having caught 10 passes from Jason Lindahl in a 40-33 victory over Placer.
Sheldon’s new arm: It’s not easy replacing an All-Metro quarterback in Sean Nixon, now at Sacramento City College, but say hello to Jesiah Machado. He passed for 311 yards and three touchdowns in a 49-14 win over River Valley.
It helps to have an All-Metro set of hands back in Scott Nixon, and he had nine catches for 120 yards and two scores. Nixon showed he can play defense, too, wth eight tackles and a sack. Sheldon has other playmakers in Isaiah Bickham (153 yards rushing, two scores) and Devin Green (three total scores: one rushing, one receiving, one a scoop-and-score).
Technical issues: It started with a hiccup and ended with a bang for McClatchy on Saturday night, playing its home opener at Kennedy against Mesa Verde (Hughes Stadium is the usual home for the Lions but it is a costly venue).
Halfway through the pregame national anthem, the power to the sound system went out. McClatchy players never broke stride. They finished as a chorus unit, a little rough on the edges, but kudos for the effort. Explained McClatchy junior varsity coach Rohit Sharm, pointing to the press box, “Rob Feickert and technical issues!”
Feickert is McClatchy’s athletic director who pleaded ignorance as to why the sound went out. The Lions roared to a 44-0 victory as Hector Espinoza ran for 205 yards and three scores and Frankie Treadway and Jonathan Godout combined for three scores to give coach Zach Cuda his first victory.
Fired up in Foresthill: In beating Modesto Christian 33-30, the Wild Fires gave Mark Tumminelli his first coaching victory with the program. Kiernan Hammer and Ben Mercado each scored two touchdowns, and defensive coordinator Jeff Walters joked that he needs to do more film work to find ways to make more stops.
Toasting Mrs. Z: Bernie Zunino was the lady of the hour, the night and the weekend in Solano County.
The wife of the late/great Vacaville coach Tom Zunino, who won 200 games, received flowers and cheers from Vacaville fans dating back to the 1940s before Vacaville’s game against Davis. She was the honorary team captain as the school celebrated sparkling new Tom Zunino Stadium, and she flipped the coin at midfield. Tom Zunino — Coach Z — died at 71 in 2008. Vacaville rolled Davis 45-8 as Bernie’s son-in-law, Mike Papadopolous coached the victors.
BV strong: Bella Vista is eager for a victory, and when it happens, you can bet Calean Sallander will play a part. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound senior running back rushed for 236 yards and three touchdowns and had seven tackles in a 44-33 loss to Nevada Union. Colleges have noticed his size, skill and superb grades.
Baker beast: The most impressive two-way guy in the region just may be Gabe Baker. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound Nevada Union senior took apart Bella Vista with six touchdowns on offense at quarterback and 12 tackles on defense and is up for Bee Prep of the Week honors in our poll.
Big O at UM: Matt Ray set passing marks at Quincy High in the Northern Section a generation ago and played at UNLV, so quarterbacking is his thing. The first-year Union Mine coach has a leader in Calvin Ownes, who passed for two touchdowns and ran for two in a 34-6 win over Dixon.
Encouraging loss: Is there such a thing? When you’re a new school, yes. West Park of Roseville, with no seniors yet as a second-year school, nearly stunned Del Campo on Saturday, falling 19-18 in a gutty tribute to coach Jason Tenner. It usually takes new varsity programs a year to get their footing. Sheldon started 0-10 in 1998 and Monterey Trail started 1-19 in 2005 and 2006.
Fired up for Feuerbach: Whitney is bidding a farewell to Jason Feuerbach, its impact athletic director and one-time coach who has been hired by the Sac-Joaquin Section as assistant commissioner. He replaces Ryan Tos, who is now the Central Section commissioner.
DLS the destroyers: De La Salle plays at St. Mary’s of Stockton on Friday, the first of three regional heavyweights the national powerhouse plays this season. De La Salle of Concord has only gone 315-0-2 against Northern California teams north of Fresno since 1992, and that includes a 28-0 showing against this section in recent years. DLS also plays host to Monterey Trail on Sept. 3and at Folsom on Oct. 8.
Maben Magic: And in the final game of the first weekend, in a rare Monday night game between Del Oro and Lincoln, the Golden Eagles got their first win since Oct. 25, 2019 in dramatic 13-7 fashion. Del Oro senior quarterback Ryan Lewis passed a touchdown to Aiden Parry and ran for another score. Linebacker Jayden Flores had a key sack on the final drive of the game. The win is the first of Mike Maben’s head coaching career at Del Oro, his alma mater. The game was moved to Monday because of air quality. It was packed.
THE BEE’S TOP 25
1. Folsom 1-0
2. Rocklin 1-0
3. Vacaville 1-0
4. Oak Ridge 1-0
5. Granite Bay 1-0
6. Monterey Trail 0-1
7. Jesuit 0-0
8. Grant 0-0
9. Inderkum 1-0
10. Capital Christian 1-0
11. Elk Grove 0-1
12. Christian Brothers 1-0
13. Pleasant Grove 1-0
14. Whitney 1-0
15. Sacramento 1-0
16. Casa Roble 1-0
17. Placer 0-1
18. Vanden 1-0
19. Yuba City 0-1
20. Cosumnes Oaks 0-1
21. Del Oro 1-0
22. Sheldon 1-0
23. Nevada Union 1-0
24. Roseville 1-0
25. El Dorado 1-0
Bubble teams (alphabetical order): Antelope (1-0), Bear River (0-0), Bradshaw Christian (0-0), Center (1-0), Colfax (0-0), Del Campo (1-0), East Nicolaus (0-0), Johnson (0-0), Laguna Creek (1-0), Lincoln (0-0), Natomas (1-0), Pioneer (1-0), Ponderosa (0-0), Rosemont (1-0), Sutter (0-0), Union Mine (1-0), Vista del Lago (0-1), Winters (0-0), West Park (0-1), Woodcreek (1-0), Woodland (1-0). - Joe Davidson
This week’s games
All games kickoff between 7-7:30 p.m., unless noted
Thursday
River Valley at River City
Friday
Mesa Verde at Johnson, 5 p.m.
Jesuit at Folsom
Monterey Trail at Cosumnes Oaks
Grant at Inderkum
Antelope at Elk Grove
Oak Ridge at Vacaville
Union Mine at Argonaut
McClatchy at Rosemont
Rocklin at Capital Christian
Delta at Los Molinos
Douglas at Center
Delta Charter at Woodland Christian
Oakmont at Foothill
El Camino vs Wood
Liberty Ranch at Natomas
Western Sierra at San Juan
Christian Brothers at Pleasant Grove
Del Oro at Del Campo
Chico at Whitney
Placer at Roseville
Rio Americano at Downey
Wheatland at Marysville
Galt at Summerville
Granite Bay at Davis
West Park at Woodcreek
Lincoln at Yuba City
Bella Vista at Cordova
Bear River at El Dorado
Kennedy at Rio Linda
Dixon at Winters
Franklin at Vanden
Woodland at Colfax
Galt at Summerville
Franklin-Stockton vs. Florin at Monterey Trail
Laguna Creek vs. Valley at Cosumnes River College
Saturday
Bradshaw Christian at Linden, 11 a.m.
Lindhurst vs. Mira Loma at El Camino, 1 p.m.
Rio Vista at Millennium, 7 p.m.
This story was originally published August 24, 2021 at 7:30 AM.