Prep football: Roseville’s West Park notches school’s 1st playoff win in Nevada Union rout
Head coach Jason Tenner gathered his team on the north side of the field at West Park High in Roseville with a grin on his face.
“Soak it in, fellas,” he told his players Friday night. “You just made history.”
The Panthers of West Park won their first postseason game since the program’s inception in 2021, cruising past Nevada Union 48-28 in a Division IV playoff game that wasn’t as close as the score indicated.
Most of the Miners’ points came after West Park inserted underclassmen to keep starters fresh for next week’s showdown with Capital Christian, who beat Casa Roble 42-35 on Friday. West Park at one point in the second half was up on Nevada Union, 48-7, after going into halftime with a 38-7 lead.
Tenner’s team improved to 9-1 after finishing second to Placer in the Foothill Valley League standings during the regular season. West Park was the No. 3 seed hosting the No. 11 Miners in the opening round of the D-IV bracket. It was the second time the two teams played this year with the Panthers winning the Oct. 7 matchup, 36-6.
West Park in 2021 became the first school in area history to win league in its inaugural season. Tenner’s team didn’t win a league title this season, but his program has bigger goals now that it notched its first playoff victory.
“Everything we do is the first time we do it,” Tenner said. “So we’ve learned a lot of lessons over the last few years. I’m super proud of the growth of our kids learning how to do things the right way — continue to be successful off the field while we’re learning on the field.”
Quarterback Develle Barksdale, the Foothill Valley League Player of the Year, threw for three touchdowns in the first half but gave up an interception late in the second quarter that led to Nevada Union’s first points.
Still, Barksdale was close to flawless, flinging sidearm passes all over the field, both short and long, while his mobility kept him from getting sacked by the Miners’ defense.
“Obviously, he’s the engine of our offense,” Tenner said of his senior quarterback. “He’s done a phenomenal job for us. He’s matured so much over these last three years. ... He’s a tough, tough matchup for opposing defenses and I’m glad he’s on our side.”
West Park opened the game with 38 consecutive points, starting with Barksdale’s 37-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver Ryan Sisson, who had an interception on the following possession while playing defense.
Sisson had a 27-yard touchdown later in the quarter that made it 21-0, and receiver Julian Niulala added a short touchdown catch on the first play of the second quarter. Junior running back Weston Wade added three rushing scores.
For Nevada Union, senior quarterback Maddox Graves wasn’t going to let his high school career end without a fight. He had a handful of on-target passes dropped, including one or two that could have gone for touchdowns early in the game before things got out of hand.
Maddox had a touchdown run and touchdown passes to receivers Andrew Webster and Brett Cota. And on the last play of his high school career, he scrambled for a big gain while breaking tackles even after the result had been decided.
West Park, in its second season, is still trying to find its footing in an area rich with football tradition. Tenner said he told his players earlier Friday that their team meal could have been their last one together. Their reaction emphasized to Tenner how unique the situation is.
“Every other program’s got seniors who have been there,” Tenner said. “When you look at these kids, they don’t know what it’s like to have a season end. Our kids don’t really know yet. When I told them this could be our last team meal, they didn’t understand it yet because they haven’t experienced seeing guys go through that pain and go through that trauma, go through the experiences.
“So it’s super important for us to learn these lessons — and it’s awesome to win while you’re learning those lessons.”
This story was originally published November 11, 2022 at 11:03 PM.
