Woodcreek storms past Vanden to reach championship game for first time in school history

It got a bit slippery and soaked on the field at Woodcreek High School on Friday night.

Timberwolves coach Brad Hunkins said it reminded him of his own playing days in the drizzly northwestern part of California at Humboldt State University.

“This weather was right up my alley,” Hunkins said. “This is good football weather.”

Embracing the sporadic rain falling from the Roseville sky, the second-seeded Timberwolves created a storm on the field and ran past third-seeded Vanden, 46-13, in a Sac-Joaquin Section Division III semifinal.

“Who doesn’t like playing in the rain?” Woodcreek senior defensive lineman Issac Earls said. “Nice little shower, you know what I mean?”

Not only did the win set a new school record for Woodcreek with its 11th victory of the season, it also hoisted the Timberwolves into the program’s first ever section championship game, where they will face top-seeded Grant on Friday at 3 p.m. at Hughes Stadium at Sacramento City College.

Hunkins has been there through the highs and lows at Woodcreek. He shutters at the thought of being in the basement of the Sierra Foothill League for several years before joining the Capital Valley Conference in 2018. But it was after the COVID-19 pandemic, when football was played in the spring of 2021, that Hunkins welcomed in a special freshman class — now seniors on this history-making Woodcreek team.

“These seniors, the first game they played in the COVID year was in March, and it was raining,” Hunkins said. “So, we’ve been there since their first game at home they ever played in high school in the rain. ... It’s just come full circle.”

Senior running back Hakeem Anderson’s 1-yard touchdown run began the scoring and Austin Katapodis followed with a 2-point conversion to hoist Woodcreek to an 8-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Timberwolves benefited from errant snaps on back-to-back Vanden punt attempts. Ryan Barry followed with a 26-yard field goal for an 11-0 lead before Woodcreek linebacker Matthew Malia intercepted a tipped Vanden pass on the ensuing drive and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown. That play gave Woodcreek an 18-0 advantage at halftime.

Brody Krupp ran in a 4-yard TD run for Woodcreek on its opening drive of the second half to put the Timberwolves ahead 25-0 before Vanden finally broke loose with long scoring plays from quarterback Kalani McLeod. The section’s leading passer connected with Brayden Chavez and Marcellus Chandler for scores of 42 and 76 yards, respectively, on back-to-back drives.

But Woodcreek had answers for each Viking score. Anderson took a 30-yard carry to the 1-yard line, allowing Katapodis to score on a QB keeper. Then Woodcreek got tricky. Katapodis pitched the ball to Krupp, who fired a long pass downfield to Joey Nielsen, who broke a tackle inside the 5-yard line to score on a 55-yard connection. That play put Woodcreek up 39-13 at the end of the third quarter.

Dylan Perrault and Elijah Taylor had back-to-back interceptions for the Timberwolves, setting up Krupp’s second rushing TD of the night, putting the game away for Woodcreek.

“We’ve been working our whole high school career to get here,” Anderson said after the game.

At 11-1, the Timberwolves’ lone loss came against Inderkum after starting the season 4-0. Despite the loss, Woodcreek held Inderkum’s high-powered offense to a season-low 20 points. Woodcreek will need a similar type of effort to take down the defending state champion Pacers next weekend.

“It’s gonna be a good game,” Anderson said. “They’re a good team. They got some guys. We got some guys. It’s gonna be a battle. I think it’ll be a good fight.”

Vanden, a reigning two-time section champion, won a CIF state championship in 2021. The Vikings halted rival Vacaville’s six-year reign atop the Monticello Empire League with a 24-9 win on Oct. 6 that ended Vacaville’s 32-game league winning streak and earned Vanden its first outright league title since 2008.

“This team really had a chip on its shoulder,” Vanden head coach Sean Murphy said before Friday’s game. “They were told by last year’s senior class that they weren’t going to be as good. They took that to heart. They want to prove that they’re just as competitive as the other two classes that came through. That’s kind of been this team’s identity: to prove the naysayers wrong.”

Murphy, a Vanden grad from the class of 1997, plans to step away from coaching football after 26 years and step in as the Vanden athletic director next year.

“I’m not a great football mind, but I’ve got great football minds around me,” Murphy said. “My biggest thing is that the program continues to progress and get better. I think I’ve taken it as far as I can go with my skillset.”

Last season, Woodcreek lost in the section semis to Christian Brothers, a team the Timberwolves took down last week in the quarterfinals, 50-14. Now, Woodcreek awaits its biggest test to date against Grant.

“All it took was us wanting it,” Earls said. “As coach says to us, ‘Pressure is a privilege.’ We all want it.”

This story was originally published November 17, 2023 at 11:23 PM.