Top players, coaches and highlights from a special year for Sacramento-area high schools
It was a memorable sports years for the Sacramento region on the high school front for 2023-24.
Three teams reached CIF state football championship games, and two won, including a 15-0 team.
Basketball saw a small school with homegrown kids reach another CIF final. The spring seasons included a 30-0 softball team and spirited baseball efforts right down to the final at-bat in the final game. Here’s a closer look at the primary sports The Bee covered (football, basketball, baseball, softball, track):
Fall fun
Super soph leads Bulldogs: A year after quarterbacking his school’s freshman team, Ryder Lyons stepped in as the next sure thing at powerhouse Folsom, and the incomparably gritty and gifted sophomore led the Bulldogs on the winning drive in Orange County to close out the season, firing a touchdown pass in the closing seconds to beat St. Bonaventure of Ventura 20-14 in the CIF state Division 1-A title game.
The 6-foot-2, 205-pound 4.0 student earned Bee Player of the Year honors after passing for 3,578 yards and 38 touchdowns while rushing for 929 yards and 23 TDs for a 13-2 team. The losses were by a touchdown to state powers De La Salle of Concord and Serra of San Mateo. He vowed to be even better in 2024.
Pacers nearly repeat: A year after winning the program’s second CIF state football crown, the Grant Pacers roared back to a final and might have repeated if not for a jarring hit to a key player and a defensive stand. La Serna of Whittier stopped Grant’s 2-point conversion attempt with just over 2 minutes to play to seal a 21-19 triumph in Mission Viejo in the CIF Division 2-AA finale.
Grant suffered a crippling blow when star quarterback Luke Alexander was crunched inside the La Serna 10-yard line late in the half, a helmet-to-helmet shot that sidelined the junior for the rest of the game. But Grant competed to the end because that’s what Grant teams do. Said Grant coach and alum Carl Reed after the loss: “Coming within an inch of being in a tie game, you can live with that. You’ve got to love the effort. You’ve got to love the work of the coaching staff. You’ve got to love everything about these kids, and we knew they were going to fight.”
Showdown bowl: When Rocklin won the D-II Sac-Joaquin Section football championship and Grant repeated in D-III at Hughes Stadium, there was a buzz of anticipation that the super powers would meet in a NorCal title bout.
They did, in Placer County, and behind the efforts of two-way senior stars Devin Green, Wayshawn Parker and Kingston Lopa, the Pacers rolled Rocklin 41-14 in the 2-AA regional final. Parker is on scholarship at Washington State, Green at UNLV and Lopa at Oregon.
Cardinals soar: The formative years for Woodland Christian football were brutal as the Cardinals went 4-32 out of the gates.
Now they are running out of room in the trophy case for the Yolo County school whose athletic program has officially arrived. The Cardinals capped a 15-0 season by defeating much larger Banning of Wilmington 23-13 in the CIF state D-5-A title game in Torrance, all under a coach in Michael Plaschke, who in 2023 insisted: “I’m just an electrician coaching football!”
The school is still building its football program. It has not fielded a junior varsity team, and the Cardinals showed that the CIF’s “competitive equity” formula is better than the old enrollment-based formula for matchups, where blowouts were the norm. Woodland Christian, enrollment 205, rolled larger-school Orland 28-0 in the NorCal finals for the team’s seventh shutout and then took out Banning, a school of 1,200 in Riverside County.
Ram tough: Casa Roble football is a big deal in Orangevale on Friday nights, a party with end zones, and the leader of the pack is spirited coach Chris Horner.
So imagine Horner’s glee when his gritty Rams rallied to beat upstart Twelve Bridges of Lincoln 23-22 in the section D-V title game at Hughes Stadium. The coach’s son, Ethan, caught the deciding 2-point conversion from Conner Campbell, and father and son are still celebrating. Said the coach after the win: “It’s a big day for the Orangevalians. 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.”
Campbell and a host of teammates helped Casa Roble baseball win a section title for coach Ed Tupper, a relay throw away from Hughes Stadium.
Hoops heaven
Colfax champions: Thirty two Sacramento-area girls and boys basketball teams competed in the NorCal tournaments, and only one of them prevailed: the Colfax Falcons girls.
That marked two successive years that the Placer County school stood as the last local team standing in a CIF state final at Golden 1 Center. Proving that it could move up in division and excel in the “competitive equity” model that confuses and irks fans equally, Colfax took its 34-2 record into Golden 1 to play much larger Harvard-Westlake of Los Angeles County, where it was, of course, a game.
Harvard-Westlake used a 12-3 run in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 60-45 victory, but no one will ever label these homegrown girls as anything but champions, and the same with their superb coach, Rexanne Simpton. Colfax led the state in total victories in 2023 and 2024, quite a feat for a school of 650 students going up against schools of some 1,600. The Falcons graduated just one senior. To be a Colfax Falcon means something, players said.
Wildcat wonders: Whitney repeated as section champions in girls basketball behind a host of three- and four-year starters, including an unselfish and inspiring star in the Stanford-bound Harper Peterson and driven coach Sydney Gatson. Gatson nearly quit the grind a few years earlier under relentless parental pressure. Those parents moved on, the coach remained and the program soared.
▪ Folsom was The Bee’s top-ranked girls basketball team all season. The Bulldogs competed for another section title and reached another NorCal Open bracket under leaders such as Cal-bound senior forward Kamryn Mafua and never-dull coach Lynn Wolking.
▪ Nina Cain of McClatchy earned girls basketball Bee Player of the Year honors as a striking example of a student-athlete doing big things. A national recruit forward, the skilled and determined 6-1 Cain is a 4.0 student who feels the game and plays it the right way, and she has her senior season to go.
▪ Vista del Lago won its first section title in girls basketball, thanks in large part to junior star guard Ella Skrzyniarz and her fired-up coach Marty Benjamin. Said the coach after winning that treasured blue banner: “It starts with defense with this team. I never have to worry about if they’re going to bring it defensively. The effort is always there. It’s hard to coach effort. That’s a decision, not a skill. I told them before the season that we’re going to work hard and play great defense, and from Day 1, the effort has been there.”
Dragon fire: Sacramento High repeated as section boys basketball champions, another crowning moment for the Oak Park school that has excelled in this sport since the 1950s.
Behind guards SirMarius Jones and the Cornell-bound Kendahl Hearne, forward Shobal Barksdale and first-year head coach Sidney Duplessis, the Dragons rolled a strong Christian Brothers team 72-49 for the title at Golden 1. Said the coach that night: “Our kids have grit. They’re battle tested at home and at school with academics. Tough neighborhood. Kids come from humble beginnings. Basketball is a way out. For these guys, basketball is home away from home.”
Gibson greatness: Brandon Gibson dropped in 51 points in a game for Monterey Trail this boys basketball season, but what made the senior standout was his overall game, especially his desire to defend.
Leading the best team in the 20-year history of the Elk Grove Unified School District program, the 6-5 Gibson earned Bee Player of the Year honors as proof that one can start a career slow and finish fast. Gibson overcame injuries in his early prep years to flourish.
Natomas rebirth: Under first-year coach Brian McKenzie, the Natomas Nighthawks boys basketball team enjoyed its finest season since 2007, showing that youth can be served.
The young team went 25-10, lost a heartbreaker in the section D-IV finals and regrouped to reach the NorCal regional semifinals before suffering a 64-61 loss to eventual state champion Monterey. McKenzie was The Bee’s Coach of the Year.
Out of nowhere: Small-school wonder Sacramento Adventist Academy placed third in its league, had no seniors and posted no signature wins until stunning defending section champion Faith Christian of Yuba City 54-49 in the D-IV section finals at UC Davis.
An alum of the school, coach Kenny Johnston coached the game of his life and his girls played the game of their lives, a crowning moment for a school that opened in 1958. Star junior Victoria Flower scored 15 points with 10 assists and six rebounds while sophomore Gwen Rosich had 21 points and 14 rebounds.
Spring fling
Myles aces hurdles: An unknown on the regional track and field scene as a sophomore, Myles McFarland made his surge in 2023 and then arrived in full force in a memorable spring season.
Urged to get into hurdling by his mother, the Cosumnes Oaks of Elk Grove senior emerged as the area’s only CIF state champion, taking the 110-meter hurdles in 13.69 seconds in the 104th state meet in Fresno. He became the first regional runner to take this race since Doug Busby of Sacramento High in 1936.
Said McFarland: “I didn’t even get into track until my sophomore year. Mom said I was being a teenager and acting up and told me to do something, and she said track. So I tried it, and now I’m here. I’d never been on a track before to run, and then I found the love of my life: hurdles. This is just the beginning. I’m really proud.”
Trojan power: Oak Ridge repeated as the D-I section softball champion, the 12th title in program history, with a satisfying 3-0 effort over Sierra Foothill League rival Whitney at Sacramento State. Co-aces Kennedi Freeland and Ellison Schroeder, as they had all season, combined to shut down the Wildcats, who came in having won 17 consecutive games.
Oak Ridge coach Sam Toy was The Bee’s Coach of the Year.
Sutter surge: Sutter softball is the little school that could and has, and the Huskies won their second NorCal title in three years with dominating pitching and hitting for a 30-0 season.
Boise State-bound senior ace Olivia Bauer went 25-0 and hit .520.
Cougars repeat: Capital Christian ended the academic year as a repeat CIF NorCal softball champion with the last team to be called Capital Christian.
The school now goes by Destiny Christian Academy, but while still in blue colors, the Cougars rode the considerable talents of sophomore Ayla Tuua back to the top. She batted .487 with 11 home runs and went 16-2 with an 0.98 ERA as the national recruit ace.
Viking power: Under Bee Coach of the Year Paul Martinez, Oakmont baseball capped its finest season with a section repeat, a NorCal championship and The Bee’s No. 1 ranking at the end of the season.
The Roseville school went 30-7 and returns a host of players such as ace Trevor Wilson and slugger Tony Lira for another go in 2025, which will be the final season for the guru coach.
Pride surge: Bradshaw Christian went 32-1 and won its second NorCal baseball title in three seasons. A constant for the program has been coach Drew Rickert, who has 10 section banners to his credit and a few as the school’s head football coach, too.
Micah Nicholson batted .465 with 37 RBI for Bradshaw Christian in earning Bee Small School Player of the Year honors.
Granite Bay grit: Granite Bay repeated as D-II section champions, beating Elk Grove 4-3 in 11 tense innings at Sacramento City College. It was another big night for Pat Esposito, the only varsity baseball coach in the history of the Placer County school, which opened in 1996.
The Grizzlies showed what they had in winning the prestigious Boras Classic at midseason. Said a giddy Esposito: “I’m so proud of these guys. Seeing them grow from the first day to now, how we stuck together, how we kept fighting, it’s just amazing. I don’t coach to win championships. I do it to see teams come together.”
Whitney double play: Whitney slugger Mya Flindt was The Bee’s Softball Player of the Year and fellow Wildcats senior Jax Gimenez was The Bee’s Baseball Player of the Year. They were four-year anchors, leaders on campus, top students and all-time program players.
▪ Who’d we miss? We can’t get every player and team highlight mentioned, but we do want to hear your highlights. Email jdavidson@sacbee.com.