‘That’s our 1-2 punch’: Elk Grove thunders past Cosumnes Oaks behind senior backs
John Heffernan was in good enough spirits Friday night that he offered one last tidy reminder to his hungry bunch after his Elk Grove football team beat Cosumnes Oaks.
Go snack. By the handful.
“Hey, they have Halloween candy over there, so go get some,” the Elk Grove High School football coach told his group, pointing to the rooting section and parents packing treats.
What the Thundering Herd really wanted was to close the regular season with emphasis, and after slogging through a scoreless first half against rival Cosumnes Oaks, No. 7 Elk Grove found a new gear and was off to the races. The aim now is to repeat as Sac-Joaquin Section Division II champions. With Ethan Archuleta and Zeke Burnett doing EA and Zeke things, the Thundering Herd rolled 34-7 to lock up a second-place finish in the Delta League, and even more important, they have some momentum heading into the postseason chase that starts next week.
Elk Grove is in the playoffs for the 33rd time since 1982.
A Sacramento State-bound scholarship commit, Burnett had 35 rushing yards at the half and finished with 241 on 26 carries, including touchdown runs of 49, 11 and 78 yards.
“He’s a load!” Heffernan said.
Archuleta, the shifty and quick quarterback who leads the team’s triple-option run game, went for 127 yards on 24 carries and scoring runs of two and one yards, the second of which made it 20-0 on the first play of the third quarter. Both seniors eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the season. Elk Grove, in true smash-mouth form, rushed for 322 yards and had none passing, not that it cannot complete passes. That was not the aim Friday.
The offensive line under position coach Moe Loller set the tone, especially in that second half. That unit is made up of James Cocker, Soni Finau, Kylan Fontes, Payton Maze and James Minot. National recruit lineman Misi Pale did not play as he’s healing a bad calf. He expects to be ready for the playoffs.
“We had a great second half,” Heffernan said. “We’ve got the pieces to do really well. Just don’t turn the ball over.”
That’s been the mandate since the wheels fell off in Carmichael on Oct. 16. No. 3 Jesuit blasted Elk Grove 70-35 as the Herd surrendered the most points in program history. They were undone by eight turnovers, three of them returned for scores. But the Herd responded with two big wins to cap the regular season at 6-3 and 5-1 in Delta action.
“That was rough,” Archuleta said. “We all improved. We all got better. We had to.”
Said Burnett, “That was our wake-up call. We know that once we link up, we’re smooth, like a machine, and when we play well, we can’t be stopped.”
Heffernan said it was the worst loss he has been associated with as a player or coach.
“Everything that could go wrong did, but the kids have responded,” he said. “We had to flush that game. We were not going to stay down. I’m an old Irishman, and my dad used to say that when you get knocked down, you get back up, keep swinging, keep fighting, and we did.”
Of his senior star runners, Heffernan said, “That’s our 1-2 punch. We’re going to ride that train.”
Elk Grove players were special camouflage jerseys to honor military members. He reminded the team that they can keep those unis for keepsakes. That drew more applause than the Halloween treats.
“They earned it,” the coach said