Prep football notes, rankings: Sheldon win Monday eases panicked ending to Friday game
Homecoming on Friday night at Sheldon High School kicked off at dusk with a packed house for a game between the host Huskies and Franklin.
Halftime was scheduled to last 20 minutes for homecoming festivities, but it lasted nearly 72 hours following a panicked exit of students, parents and spectators after someone yelled, “Gun!”
The second half of that game ended at dusk Monday with a handful of parents in the seats. Sheldon won 41-24, but it’s not the final score of this Delta League opener that anyone involved will remember. It’s the chaos and confusion that was the root of the longest and oddest games you can imagine, including the image of a member of the homecoming court scaling the fence to get away from a gun — there was no gun — or a crunch of bodies.
“I’ve never been a part of a Monday night game,” said Sheldon coach Chris Nixon, after complimenting his team for being ready for a game that didn’t come about until just before noon Monday. “There’s always a lesson in every game, and this one for us was to expect anything. I’m going over plays on a white board by the scoreboard where we had water and coolers, and all these students start rushing over. It was a weird way to end what was a great night.”
The root of the reactions is tied to two female students who started fighting at the top of the stadium bleachers. After they were detained by Sheldon administrators and Sacramento County Sheriff’s officers onsite for event security, someone shouted back inside the stadium, “Gun!”
Then it was a free for all.
Wrote Sheldon principal Paula Duncan in an email to parents, faculty and staff in explaining what happened and why law enforcement stopped the game for safety concerns, “The disappointing and frankly maddening behavior of a few resulted in a panicked crowd. ... Immediately (after someone yelled “gun”), students and spectators began running out of the stadium. The exiting students were running throughout campus and our staff directed many into a classroom until calm was restored.”
The football teams also got into the locker rooms, some sprinting as they tried to sort things out. Law enforcement did not find a gun and determined that one was not discharged. There were no injuries and no arrests. Later, as the parking lot cleared out, someone lit a firework to cap a dud of a night.
Kudos to the Sheldon administration for immediate action. Anytime someone yells “gun” in a crowded spot, and especially during a school event, after so many school shootings over the years, chaos will ensue. Duncan was also right to think out the benefits of playing Monday, to finish the game, and to not just be done with it.
Franklin earned that chance to finish the contest out, trailing only 21-8 when halftime started Friday, and so did Sheldon, the home team with plenty to showcase. It is a young team growing by the weekend. To not finish the second half Monday would have allowed the moronic moments of a few to win the weekend. Duncan stressed in her email that Friday’s behavior exhibited by the fighting students and the “poor choices made by a few will not be tolerated.”
Sheldon fans to return?
Friday included the largest home football crowd since the school opened in the Elk Grove Unified School District in 1997, but here’s hoping the actions of a few don’t prevent students and spectators from returning in large numbers for the Oct. 8 game against Davis and the Oct. 29 contest against Jesuit in a league finale. This school has longed for good football teams to match the state-ranked championship basketball and softball teams. This is one in the making.
Ranked 20th by The Bee, the Huskies are 3-1 behind running back/linebacker Edgar Montes, a 4.0 student whose favorite class is AP Spanish. The team captain had eight pancake blocks, a touchdown run and a touchdown catch from Jesiah Machado, who tossed two scoring strikes Friday and two more Monday ... in the same game. Scott Nixon, son of the coach, had one touchdown catch Friday and one Monday. Devin Green had nearly 200 all-purpose yards over two nights, Isaiah Bickham rushed for 151 yards and a score and Carveon Smith had 14 tackles.
“I’m just glad we won,” Montes said. “You never know.”
Nixon said he was proud of the youngest team he has coached.
“We had 34 seniors on Senior Night in the spring season, and the eight non-seniors tried to form a tunnel for them to run through,” he said. “We have some kids who have not played a down of high school football before this season (with no season last fall and some not playing spring ball), but we’re here. Heck, having a Monday night game beats doing twelve 100 (yard sprints), which is what we usually do on Mondays.”
New blood to The Bee’s Top 25
Three new teams dot the bottom of this week’s rankings, including Yolo County rivals who meet next week in Golden Empire League play. Pioneer is No. 23 and crosstown Woodland is No. 24.
Pioneer is led by junior running back Jack Carner, who has averaged 176.6 yards rushing a game on a 9.8-yard average and 11 touchdowns. For Woodland, senior quarterback Santana Munoz has accounted for 10 touchdowns and sophomore running back Jonathan Thompson has scored five rushing touchdowns.
Rosemont is No. 25 at 5-0, the best start since the school opened in the Sacramento City Unified School District in 2004. Sophomore backs Michael Cherry and Wayshawn Parker have combined for 11 touchdowns, and Parker had a remarkable 27 tackles in a 39-14 win over Amador on Friday.
Mustangs might
How do we justify ranking Monterey Trail ranked 19th at 0-4? Strength of schedule. These rankings are not win-loss standings.
The Mustangs ended the 2019 season ranked second, started the summer 2020 campaign ranked second (no season) and ended the spring season and started this season second. The losses this season are to Northern California’s top two teams in Folsom and De La Salle, to longtime Central Coast Section power Los Gatos and to highly touted Lincoln of Stockton, the latter happening on Saturday, a 38-35 setback. Lincoln players celebrated fourth-down stops, turnovers and the victory because the Trojans know a win at Monterey Trail is a special thing.
It gets no easier with 2019 CIF State champion Clayton Valley Charter of Concord visiting on Saturday. The scheduling is by design. Coach T.J. Ewing needs a stiff challenge, as the Metro League schedule has offered no resistance in recent years.
“It’s a monster schedule but our kids understand why we do it,” Ewing said. “We are very proud of our team’s effort so far. We’ll be back.”
Against Lincoln, Ali Collier rushed for 265 yards and two touchdowns, Ronnie Brutus went for 113 and three scores — and both thanked lineman lead Uvante Usher for the lead blocks.
Duran to the house
Steven Duran III started the Cosumnes Oaks season as the quarterback but has settled in nicely on defense in the secondary. The senior punctuated a 28-13 Delta League win over Davis on Friday with a school-record 100-yard interception return for a touchdown. Kris Bridgers had a 99-yard interception return for a score for Marysville earlier this season.
The longest pick-sixes in regional history, according to Bee archives and listed in the Cal-Hi Sports record books are:
108: Dylan Overstreet of Casa Roble in 2019.
106: Earl Hannibal of since-closed Norte Del Rio in 1973.
103: Paul Robinson of Capital Christian in 2007
THE BEE’S Top 25
1. Folsom 4-0
2. Rocklin 4-0
3. Jesuit 3-1
4. Granite Bay 4-1
5. Del Oro 4-1
6. Vacaville 3-2
7. Oak Ridge 2-2
8. Inderkum 3-0
9. Elk Grove 1-2
10. Lincoln 2-2
11. Sacramento 4-0
12. Vanden 4-0
13. Woodcreek 5-0
14. Antelope 4-0
15. Christian Brothers 2-2
16. Whitney 2-3
17. Capital Christian 2-2
18. Yuba City 2-2
19. Monterey Trail 0-4
20. Sheldon 3-1
21. Vista del Lago 2-2
22. Union Mine 4-0
23. Pioneer 4-0
24. Woodland 5-0
25. Rosemont 5-0
Bubble teams (alphabetical order): Bradshaw Christian (4-0), Casa Roble (1-2), Center (2-1), Colfax (2-2), Cosumnes Oaks (2-2), El Camino (3-1), El Dorado (3-1), Grant (0-2), Johnson (4-0), Laguna Creek (2-2), Marysville (3-1), McClatchy (3-1), Nevada Union (2-2), Oakmont (2-2), Pioneer (3-0), Placer (0-3), Pleasant Grove (2-2), Ponderosa (2-0), Roseville (2-2), Sutter (2-1), Vacaville Christian (4-0), Wood (3-1). - Joe Davidson