Prep football: Del Campo coach Matt Costa gets emotional win over Sacramento Charter
Del Campo head coach Matt Costa thought his team had gone to the locker room to celebrate its win Thursday over Sacramento High when he was greeting friends and family and speaking with a reporter after the game.
Midway through his interview, his team re-emerged through the northwest gate and mobbed him.
“You finally beat Sac High!” his players echoed sharing hugs and pats on the back.
Costa, who wears his emotions on his sleeve during games and afterwards, couldn’t help but tear up. The coach who grew up in the neighborhood surrounding the high school finally beat his Capital Athletic League rivals with his alma mater. It took longer than a decade; he began coaching in 2011 with stops at Kennedy, then Pleasant Grove.
“I’ve never been as attached to a group of kids as I’ve been to that group,” Costa said. “They’re from the neighborhood I grew up in, so it means a lot. They’ve been through a lot, so it’s pretty big.”
The Cougars of Del Campo officially improved to 2-4 with Thursday night’s 35-27 victory. The program still believes it deserves to be 3-3 after having to forfeit a Sept. 2 win over Bella Vista. The Sac-Joaquin Section ruled the 31-7 result had to stripped because a player appeared in the game who should have been serving a suspension from the previous season.
This season is Costa’s first with Del Campo and his staff was unaware of the required discipline stemming from before he got there. Regardless, Del Campo still has an opportunity to make some noise in the Division IV section playoffs.
“I still believe that we’re a 3-3 football team, for one,” Costa said. “For two, we’re still playoff eligible ... We are playing our best football at the end of the season and that’s what we need to (do).”
The Cougars’ top performer Thursday was star running back Nas Jones, a senior, who scored three touchdowns and had more than 200 yards rushing.
“That kid’s a stud. You saw it. The guy’s just a creature,” Costa said.
The speedy Jones had been absent two games, a 21-20 win over Woodland and 41-6 defeat to Christian Brothers, for the accumulation of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties earlier in the season.
“Him being out the last two games,” Costa said, “you could see the difference in our offense moving the ball. He’s an emotional leader. He’s unbelievable.”
Senior Angel Reyna scored on a fourth-quarter quarterback sneak, coming on a pivotal fourth down, and receiver Richard Johnson added a rushing touchdown while working as a wildcat quarterback for a series in the fourth quarter to give the offense a jolt.
Sac High took a 7-0 lead on their first possession. The game was tight in the second half, but Del Campo scored twice in the fourth quarter to make it 35-21.
The Dragons had a chance to tie the game with at touchdown and 2-point conversion in the final minute but came up 20 yards short. Junior receivers Damarion Taylor and Kendahl Hearne each scored a pair of touchdowns. Hearne’s second came on a double pass in which he was interfered with in the end zone. Quarterback Naaman Branyan threw three touchdown passes.
The Dragons fell to a disappointing 1-6. Del Campo still has eyes on reaching the playoffs despite their forfeit and losing record. The team has four league games remaining against Vista Del Lago, Capital Christian, Rio Americano and El Camino.
“We got a tough game next week against Vista,” Costa said. “Vista Del Lago is well-coached, very athletic, they’re a very good program. After Vista, I believe we have three very winnable football games.”
This story was originally published September 30, 2022 at 6:55 AM.
