Backup quarterback helps Woodland Christian win first Sac-Joaquin Section championship
If the third time playing for a CIF Sac-Joaquin Section championship was to be the charm for Woodland Christian, it would have to be done without senior Gabe Sanchez, the team’s starting quarterback.
Despite playing in just seven games this season, Sanchez led the Cardinals with 1,492 passing yards and 20 touchdowns, and he was also the team’s top rusher with 446 yards. But Sanchez exited Saturday’s Division VII championship game at Sacramento City College’s Hughes Stadium after just two plays due to an apparent ankle injury.
Fortunately for Woodland Christian, sophomore Isaiah Hunt wasn’t afraid of the big stage.
“When (Sanchez) went down, I was like, ‘Oh, I’ve gotta step up,’” Hunt said.
With 11 games of his own quarterbacking the Cardinals, Hunt was a major difference maker Saturday in Woodland Christian’s 36-14 victory over defending champion Ripon Christian. Hunt threw for 76 yards and a touchdown on 9-of-14 passing while rushing for 82 yards on 16 carries, scoring the first and final touchdowns to help the Cardinals claim their first section title.
“Isaiah Hunt is just a tremendous sophomore. He’s ready to go,” Woodland Christian coach Michael Paschke said. “He’s the one who said ‘Hey, coach, I don’t want to throw. Let’s just run.’”
It was the third straight year Woodland Christian was in the finals. The Cardinals fell to Ripon Christian in last season’s championship game.
“The third time was the charm,” Paschke said. “We came back, we were super physical, got a little nervous at halftime. The O-line was begging, ‘Just run behind us. We got you.’ And we ran it right down their throat the whole second half.”
Noah Hinkle had 84 rushing yards, 57 receiving yards and three total touchdowns for Woodland Christian, which moved to 13-0 and will play at Orland in a CIF NorCal D5-A championship on Saturday at 6 p.m.
“All season, all our coaches told us to do was execute,” Hinkle said. “That’s all we had to do to get the dub.”
After Hunt stepped in, the Cardinals were forced to punt on their opening drive. Fortunately for Woodland Christian, the ball’s momentum carried the Knights’ return man into the end zone, allowing the Cardinals’ Devin Herrera to record a safety for a 2-0 WC lead.
After a 45-yard run by Hinkle on the ensuing drive, Hunt punched a 2-yard keeper into the end zone. Hunt then found Hinkle for a 2-point conversion to make it 10-0 Cardinals at the 9:19 mark of the first quarter.
Ripon Christian (12-2) responded with an eight-minute drive capped by a Mason Tameling touchdown pass to 6-foot-9 receiver Jace Beidleman. The same pair connected again for the 2-point conversion to make it 10-8 at the end of the first quarter.
An Amos Cady interception halted the Cardinals’ final drive of the first half to keep the score 10-8 at halftime. The score remained unchanged entering the fourth before Hinkle scored from 6 yards out midway through the fourth to make it 17-8.
Then, 6-foot-7, 360-pound lineman Noah Rico intercepted a Ripon Christian pass at the line of scrimmage and barreled upfield for a short return, igniting the Cardinals’ sideline.
“I’ve never seen anything like that. He was crazy,” Hunt said of Rico’s takeaway. “We needed that.”
On the ensuing drive, Hinkle scored once more from 16 yards out to extend the lead to 23-8. Hinkle caught a Hunt touchdown pass on the following Woodland Christian drive after Hunt scrambled left to right for a 25-yard score.
Ripon Christian’s Brady Grondz returned a kick for an 84-yard touchdown to give the Knights some late life, but Woodland Christian capped the game with Hunt’s second rushing touchdown of the game to make it 36-14.
Paschke allowed Sanchez to return to the game to take a knee in the victory formation as the Cardinals ran out the clock.
“Gabe is our team leader,” Paschke said. “Gabe is everything to us. It was hard to watch him go down, but our team could handle adversity, and we bounced right back.”
Woodland Christian remains as the last unbeaten team in the section. Only Twelve Bridges of Lincoln had another unblemished record heading into championship weekend, but the Raging Rhinos lost to Casa Roble in Friday’s Division V championship game at Hughes Stadium.
Paschke has led the Cardinals to the D-VII final in each of his three seasons as head coach at Woodland Christian. This time, they came out on top.
“These boys work so hard,” Paschke said. “Football’s a grind. It’s long. It’s all year. These boys have been putting on the weight. It’s just really awesome to watch this.”
The Cardinals have one of the longest active league winning streaks in the entire section. After another 4-0 campaign in the Sacramento Metro Athletic League, Woodland Christian has won 31 consecutive league contests, the second-longest active streak behind St. Mary’s of Stockton, which has won 47 in a row in the Tri-City Athletic League. Woodland Christian will join the D-VI Sierra Delta League next season under the section’s realignment plan.
This story was originally published November 25, 2023 at 4:16 PM.