Bee’s Best prep football: No. 21 Casa Roble ready to unleash Megatron, Tarzan and more
.JPG "Casa Roble Rams running back Josh Taylor (8) rushes for a first down past El Camino Eagles defense during the first quarter in a Division V Sac-Joaquin Section Section first round football playoff game at Casa Roble High School in Orangevale on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021. Taylor had five touchdowns and rushed for 267 yards. The Rams won 51-34.")
The Sacramento Bee will unveil our Top 25 football rankings from No. 25 to No. 1, a team every weekday, right up to the Aug. 19 kickoff.
No. 21 Casa Roble
City: Orangevale
School opened: 1966
League: Golden Empire League
Division: lV
Enrollment: 1,181
2021 record: 7-5
Coach: Chris Horner
Outlook:
Chris Horner is a nickname guy. If you play for his Rams and do anything distinctive, you’re getting a nickname. Star running back Josh Taylor? He’s Tarzan, because he seems to have an aversion to wearing shirts.
“Shoot, if I looked like him, I’d have my shirt off too,” Horner said.
From Cyborg to Tarzan, Casa Roble has plenty of guys with established nicknames already. The Rams bring back talent on both offense and defense, and Horner is eyeing a more-formal nickname: section champs. But there’s the matter of replacing star quarterback Jason Lindahl. Sophomore Connor Campbell is jumping from the freshman team to varsity, and Horner already likes what he sees.
“He’s athletic, he’s got a live arm,” Horner said. “He makes good decisions, he has a strong arm and he’s got moxie. He’s got a little swagger to him.”
He’ll have plenty of weapons to play with. Junior Cole Owens, AKA Megatron, had 36 catches and 20 touchdowns in just six games last season. Owens also had a pair of interceptions in his short season.
And of course there’s Tarzan in the backfield. Taylor ran for 1,188 yards and 14 touchdowns as a junior last season.
Horner gets excited to talk about his guys, even if they don’t have a nickname yet. Sophomore receiver Elijah Huddle is 6-foot-2 and expected to be a starter for the first game.
There’s also junior Logan March, a slot receiver who is expected to also play as a bruising safety. And Evan Combs is a junior receiver who will be fighting for playing time.
“I’ve been here for 22 years and it could be the most talented receiving corps we’ve ever had,” Horner said.
Junior Ethan Elder is expected to anchor a bruising offensive line, with sophomore Nick Castillo and junior Michael Burkhart adding their varsity experience.
On the other side of the ball, Garrett Cavalli is expected to provide a push on the defensive line. Linebacker Daniel Renner is the top returning tackler and will captain the defense as the linebacking corps is all juniors.
Yes, there are only seven returning seniors but Horner says the Rams are a team to watch, for more reasons than the nicknames.
“I’m an eternal optimist. I’m always going to say we’ll compete for a section,” Horner said. “We are young but we are really, really good at football.”
This story was originally published July 22, 2022 at 5:00 AM.