Casa Roble goes for 2-point conversion to top Twelve Bridges in championship game thriller
Father and son will remember this season, this stage and this moment for as long as they chat up football. And that won’t end anytime soon. They live for this.
On Friday afternoon amid the sunshine and crisp breezes at Sacramento City College, the coach, Chris Horner, celebrated all of his gritty Casa Roble football players for carving out their piece of history. He couldn’t resist doling out extra kudos to his son, Ethan, a junior receiver with great grades and a shock of hair that his pop can only imagine.
Oh, the kid also has good hands. Ethan Horner’s misdirection reception on the go-for-the-jugular 2-point conversion was the difference as the Rams beat top-seeded Twelve Bridges of Lincoln 23-22 in a CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division V championship game at Hughes Stadium that was every bit as thrilling as anticipated.
It’s the first such title for the Rams of Orangevale since the 13-0 team of 2008 (D-III), and it’s a signature moment for the San Juan Unified School District, which hasn’t had a lot of football teams to celebrate this late in the season over the decades. It’s also a lifetime memory for every Rams player who grew up in the region dreaming of such fun, right on down to the father-son dynamic, too.
“It’s fantastic!” coach Horner said of the storybook ending with his son and a team full of players he considers his own boys. “I wish I could say it was Daddy Ball, but he wasn’t supposed to get the ball. Not designed for him. But he got it.”
Said the good son: “It’s an amazing feeling. I love my dad so much.”
The game pitted old-school Casa Roble, established in 1966, and the new kids on the block in the Raging Rhinos of Placer County, fielding their first senior class and rolling in at 12-0.
Casa Roble (12-1) ramped up its schedule in anticipation of such a run, and the Rams responded with early victories over section playoff teams Placer (21-7) and West Park of Roseville (35-14) and competed against powerhouse De Oro in a nonleague loss, leading 7-3 at the half.
Casa Roble received a 6-yard touchdown run and a Cole Owens 2-point conversion run to tie it 8-8 against Twelve Bridges, and Conner Campbell tied it again at 15-15 with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Braylen Blevins. Nathan Crawford, the section’s leading point producer coming in, had 112 yards and two touchdowns on 27 hard carries.
Campbell, the steady to superb passer for Casa Roble, rushed in from 8 yards for the final touchdown, setting up the winning conversion. That decision came after a timeout to make sure everyone was on the same page. They were, and the Rams’ storybook season has at least one more chapter. All section champions in California advance to Northern or Southern California Regional championship games next weekend at home sites. The CIF will release those brackets on Sunday by 2 p.m.
“I knew I had to step up and we went for it,” said Campbell, whom his coach often calls, with gusto, “Conner freaking Campbell.”
The Rams went for it because coach Horner wanted to roll with the momentum and because key players were either banged up or had become really banged up. End it now, he and the coaches agreed, and then hold them off.
Casa Roble held quarterback star Whit Kruse and the upstart Rhinos on downs and the celebration was on.
For a passionate coach such as Horner, it all came pouring out. He belted out compliments after the game as his team huddled in front of him with the scoreboard showing the final results behind them. He then hugged all comers as he clutched the blue championship banner, and he cried. Tears of joy. He is in his 24th season at Casa Roble, his seventh as varsity head coach, having taken the 2018 team to the section finals. His classroom is open during lunch hour for students to come in and chat or chow down. Never a dull moment.
“I just love this group of boys,” Horner said. “The boys kept battling, and on defense, we just needed one more stop. We were not going overtime, man. We had to go for it. We had too many dudes down. We went for the jugular and said, ‘Screw it! Why not?’”
As for the moment with his son, whom he drove home with after practices this season to talk football and the good life, Horner was ecstatic.
“Oh, my gosh! I love that guy,” the coach said. “You remember those essay moments. I spoke at a clinic one time. It’s like, ‘Hey coaches, the most important thing if you get a chance to coach your son, be a part of those essay moments.’ Pulled groin, could barely walk today. We had no other receiver. Hey, are you good? He said he’s fine.”
Horner’s energy and commitment to make a grueling sport fun have played a role in festive home games in Orangevale. It’s a party, and the team has backed it up with a team to cheer for.
The Rams have big guys who grind away in the trenches. They have defenders who make stops when the offense isn’t marching downfield, including the UC Davis-bound Cole Owens and leading tackler Evan Combs. The season started with championship ambitions, the best team Horner said he’s been around. And here it is.
“It’s a big day for the Orangevalians,” Horner said. “Here’s the thing: When we’re good at football, man, this city is freaking nutty professor, and we’re good at football right now.”
On the opposite side of the field, Horner’s coaching pal, Chris Bean, addressed his team, thanking them for their record season. New schools just don’t do this.
“Pretty special,” Bean said.
This story was originally published November 24, 2023 at 4:03 PM.