Prep football: Cosumnes Oaks beats rival Pleasant Grove to keep Delta League hopes alive

It was a festive Thursday night in the Elk Grove Unified School District, punctuated by Pleasant Grove High School’s “home” football game against rival Cosumnes Oaks.

Pleasant Grove plays home games at Sheldon. The school encouraged students and fans to wear all black for the Delta League showdown against Cosumnes Oaks. CO players said they took the theme personally, which inspired a 21-9 victory thanks to strong defense and a sound running game that churned out 240 yards.

CO has won three consecutive games to remain in the league championship hunt.

Wolfpack players said they saw posters on their way to the field and took note. Running back Brandon Lambert rushed for 125 yards and a touchdown as CO improved to 4-4 overall and 3-1 in league play. Lambert wrote “immortal” on the back plate of his football pads.

“We don’t die,” Lambert said. “I don’t know who they are burying (by wearing all black), but it’s not our funeral, man.”

Pleasant Grove took its only lead on a 46-yard field goal by Carter Tseu before Lambert put CO up 7-3 with his touchdown. He has played a paramount role in his team’s surge, and he said he was not going to be denied.

“Well, when I came out, I wanted to just come out, break tackles, get at least four yards, then try to see what I can do from there,” Lambert said. “That happened. I’m not gonna let them tackle me. Just give me the ball and we just ran it down their throat.”

Defense wins games

The Wolfpack’s stifling defense forced Pleasant Grove into four turnovers, including a blocked field goal and a sealing 41-yard interception return for a score by Kam Totton with 3:43 left for a 21-3 lead.

“Those plays really hurt us; it’s momentum,” Pleasant Grove coach Josh Crabtree said. “You can’t go into a game and expect everything to be perfect.”

Mason McFarland was responsible for one of those turnovers, picking the ball off with 9:39 remaining in the third quarter, and he made it 14-3 with a 6-yard TD run. McFarland said his role is to play as many positions as he can.

“I think I am very versatile,” he said. “I’m one of the best players on this team. I could play both sides of the ball. I think I’m one of the most valuable players on this team as well. But I also think it was a team effort. We won because of a team effort.”

Totton’s interception was his first pick-6 at the varsity level.

“It felt good to turn on the jets and get out of there,” Totton said.

There was no high-stepping or taunting on his way to the end zone, just strictly business.

“No, I just had to get home, you know, focus on the prize,” Totton said.

The game went without incident, and the coaches raved about each other.

“The coaches over there are fantastic guys,” Crabtree said looking toward the Cosumnes Oaks postgame gathering across the field. “One of the first people I met when I started at Sheldon 1,000 years ago, in 2004, was Martin Billings, and Martin Billings is as good a human being as you’re ever going to find.”

Billings said his team has overcome injuries and is hitting its stride.

“It’s a Delta League victory and every win, every game is important,” Billings said. “This puts us in a great position to be in the playoffs.”

CO will next play at Bee No. 9-ranked Jesuit on Oct. 14. The Marauders entered the weekend unbeaten in league play.

Pleasant Grove is 3-4 and is one win shy of becoming playoff eligible. The Eagles play at defending Delta League champion Elk Grove on Oct. 13.

Cancer awareness

Cosumnes Oaks players and coaches wore a lot of pink to promote breast cancer awareness, with Billings reminding his team their message can resonate.

“We’re celebrating women who have fought to beat cancer or, if they didn’t beat cancer, they still fought,” he said.

Billings’ mother, Gloria Ladson-Billings, overcame her battle with breast cancer.

“We just want to make sure that we show our respect to all the moms and that we support them through their challenges and their journey and we love them,” Billings said.

Senior defensive back and wide receiver Jeremiah Archie said wearing pink has a special meaning to him, too. His mother, Angela Desmangles-Archie, was diagnosed with breast cancer and has been cancer free for 11 years. Archie said he doesn’t take her presence for granted.

“It means a lot to me because not everybody is able to have their parents or mom in general in the stands watching them,” Archie said. “I know she’s screaming my name all the time. My No. 1 fan of all-time.”

Said Desmangles-Archie: “My forethought was always making sure that my kids were taken care of and doing my thing (as a mom) even though I’m the one going through the things that I’m going through. My kids promote and they support me all the way. They always represent and wear pink and tell anybody ... ‘Yes, my mom, she’s a survivor.’”

This story was originally published October 6, 2023 at 2:07 PM.