Boom, boom: Sacramento High powers past Christian Brothers behind one-two running punch
Sacramento High improved to 4-0 Saturday afternoon, taking a 39-34 win over rival Christian Brothers in an intense, see-saw battle that should lift the Dragons in The Bee’s Top 25 rankings.
Lamar Radcliffe led the ground attack for Sacramento, rushing for 356 yards and three touchdowns.
“My linemen were blocking good,” Radcliffe said. “I’m just looking through the holes, reading the field.”
There were plenty of holes for the Dragons to choose from. No. 2 running back Keimari Benjamin also had a pair running touchdowns as the one-two punch accounted for almost all of Sacramento’s offense.
But it was Christian Brothers that scored first, on the first possession of the game. Quarterback Jake Elorduy threw over 50 yards to 6-foot-1 receiver Jayden Nero, who hauled in the opening score.
The Dragons responded on their next drive, with Radcliffe running for a 20-yard touchdown. He was just getting warmed up. Per usual.
“We come out slow typically every game, we got to learn to practice better so hopefully that will make us come out fast,” Sacramento coach Justin Reber said. “Our kids play better when they are behind. We try to be balanced, but we knew that we had an edge on the running game. We knew that our two running backs, Lamar and Keimari were a little too much of a load for them for four quarters.”
The Dragons have started the season on a tear, beating smaller schools in the Stockton area to go to 3-0 before facing Christian Brothers. The Dragons allowed just five touchdowns in the first three games of the year as Sacramento continues to be a very dangerous team on defense.
Sacramento led the state in interceptions this past spring season, and the Dragons are among the best again this fall. They had six interceptions entering Saturday afternoon’s game, with five different players picking off passes.
And the Dragons are doing it with youth. The top running back, Radcliffe, is only a sophomore. The only defender with two interceptions, Damarion Taylor, is also a sophomore. Quarterback Naaman Branyan is a relative old man as a junior; he’s averaging over 200 yards a game passing. Amarion Sanders is the lone senior to lead the Dragons in any statistical category, with his three sacks entering Saturday’s game.
Christian Brothers struggled a bit entering Saturday’s game. The Falcons offense lost most of its punch with star running back D.J. Crowther missing the past two games because of an injury. Christian Brothers faces a stern test this week against Capital Christian before the schedule softens up a bit as Capital Athletic League play goes into full swing.
This story was originally published September 19, 2021 at 9:38 AM.