Bee’s Best prep football: No. 8 Vacaville hopes to reload, win sixth-straight title
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. 20 kickoff. (Editor’s note: We were a day late on this one. Apologies to all.)
No. 8 Vacaville
City: Vacaville
School Opened: 1898
League: Monticello Empire League
Division: II
Enrollment: 1,924
2021 spring record: 8-3 overall (5-0 in league)
Coach: Mike Papadopoulos
Outlook: An undefeated season in league play and a fifth-straight league crown last year left the Vacaville Bulldogs wanting more in 2022.
That’s because the team’s first-place finish in the Monticello Empire League, and No. 7 finish in the Bee’s end-of-season-rankings, was dampened by a first-round playoff loss to Elk Grove.
That dramatic 52-48 defeat included allowing 559 rushing yards. The loss snapped a six-game winning streak. It marked the third-straight season, not including the pandemic year, Elk Grove beat the Bulldogs in the playoffs.
It ended the 2021 season for an experienced, senior-laden team that went through rough patches brought on by the pandemic that upended football around the country in 2020.
“It always hurts when you end your season,” longtime head coach Mike Papadopoulos told The Bee. “It was a very, very fun group of kids to work with.”
Vacaville had four players earn All-Metro honors last season, including playmaker Darian Leon-Guerrero, quarterback Ryan Vaughan, offensive lineman Jacob Edmonds and receiver/safety Timothy Plowman. All of whom were seniors that will need replacing.
Vaughan threw for 2,065 yards with 20 touchdown passes, and added seven rushing touchdowns and just three interceptions last season. Leon-Guerrero was one of the best running backs in the league, rushing for 1,159 yards and 13 touchdowns. He went on to earn a spot at UC Davis, where he’ll be a freshman this fall.
Edmonds will be playing at the University of Utah to bolster the Utes’ offensive line. Receiver Cameron Faucher will be playing down Highway 5 at the University of Pacific. Running back and defensive end Blake Espino earned a spot at Minot State in North Dakota. Matthew Ochs, who played receiver, running back and safety, will play at Dakota State, in South Dakota.
All that talent for the Bulldogs made their first-round playoff exit a bitter pill to swallow.
“We put ourselves in some bad spots and some one-on-ones that really hurt us,” Papadopoulos said. “That said, it had come down to the last drive. So we were right there on that component of it.”
With the season opener less than two weeks away, the Bulldogs are still in the thick of their quarterback battle. On one side is Alex Barkley, who backed up Vaughan last season, and Brody Fortunati, a junior who is already on the radar of college recruiters, Papadopoulos said.
There’s encouraging news for the Bulldogs in that their junior varsity team finished last season 5-1 with many key players joining the varsity ranks this fall. And Papadopoulos has a history of winning despite roster turnover. He coached the Bulldogs to league titles in five straight seasons back in 2009 to 2013. A repeat this season would set a new school record with six straight MEL crowns.
Much of that has to do with the traditions of the Vacaville program and the high standards that come along with them. It’s why the Bulldog home games are known for having some of the best atmospheres in the region.
“We’ve had kids in our program that are third generation playing football for our school,” said Papadopoulos. “So their families, the town still comes to support us. And we reciprocate those when things are going tough. It’s just one of those that’s kind of our collective village, and just with the work the kids put in, and they feel it when you’re around town, and the support that they’re getting. They have a duty of just continuing to work hard and making themselves as prepared as they can for what we’re going to see.”
This story was originally published August 11, 2022 at 8:14 AM.
