Inderkum football team holds off Monterey Trail to win season opener in playoff rematch

You won’t find too many games in the Sacramento area that open the football season — and the school year — with the hype and prestige of a matchup like the one in Natomas on Friday night.

An overflow parking lot led to a boisterous crowd at Inderkum High School to watch the Tigers take on Monterey Trail in a rematch of last year’s opening round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoffs. Inderkum won that playoff game, 51-20, and knew the Mustangs would come into Friday hungry for some payback.

The Tigers prevailed once again, holding on for a 27-21 victory to open the season.

“We knew we couldn’t take them for granted because they’re rated No. 7 in the area,” Inderkum linebacker Isaac Estacio said. “We’ve been watching film. They’re a very disciplined team, very coachable. We just knew we had to lock in and we had to win this first game.”

Estacio has gone by the nickname “Bam” since he was little because he used to smash his toys on the ground, yelling “Bam! Bam!” That tendency translates well for him at the linebacker position.

Estacio had a hand in the final defensive moments for Inderkum. Monterey Trail trimmed a 20-6 deficit into a one-score game by the closing minutes of the fourth quarter. But on a fourth down, Estacio pounced on Mustangs quarterback Christian Coronado to give the ball back to his offense, helped the Tigers move to 1-0 with the win.

Inderkum head coach Reggie Harris expects Estacio to be a first-team all-league player this year along with several others for an Inderkum squad that is deep with talent.

“We’re standing on business,” Harris said before the game. “We’re trying to finish and not come up short. It’s all about believing that you belong there.”

Inderkum gave eventual the state champion Folsom Bulldogs all they could handle in a section semifinal last year. With an abundance of explosive players returning on offense and lunch-pail guys on defense, the Tigers hope to push the program to new heights in 2024.

“I feel like we’re gonna go to state this year,” Estacio said. “Every single day, we get better. We try to improve on the things we missed in the game at practice. We watch film all the time. We all get on each other, and it just makes each other better.”

The Division I field has been a loaded bunch for the past few years. The obstacles have historically been too great for the Tigers. But Harris says his team relishes being picked against.

“We like being the underdogs,” Harris said. “When the Friday night lights come on, we’ll show you who the true stars are. We’re not centered around one or two players. We have a whole team.”

While Inderkum enjoys the “underdog” role on the field, the Tigers overachieve in the classroom, Harris said. Harris might be more proud of how many potential future Ivy League students he has, much like his son, Christian, who Harris dropped off at Dartmouth earlier this week after a stellar football career at Inderkum.

“I’m blessed to have a team of bright young people whose families are great, so when it comes to instilling hard work, they’re cut from that blue-collar cloth,” Harris said. “Football is just a vehicle to become whatever you want to become. I always tell my guys, ‘Don’t strive to be an NFL player, strive to be an owner.’ I want kids who want more for themselves.”

Monterey Trail’s opening drive ate up more than seven minutes, but after a defensive stop by the Tigers, Inderkum drove down the field and scored in less than a minute. Ricky Cole hit Leandrew Jenkins for a short score to make it 6-0.

Monterey Trail responded in the second quarter with a big 27-yard touchdown run from D’Adrien Sanders to tie the score at 6-6. But on the very next play from scrimmage, Cole launched a deep ball to his top target, Lono Chouteau, who took it in for a 62-yard score.

Inderkum defensive lineman Manny Colon recovered a Mustangs fumble on the next defensive possession. Inderkum once again scored on the very next play as Denzaiah Lewis broke free for a 10-yard rushing TD to make it 20-7 Tigers at the 9:28 mark.

Monterey Trail once again called on Sanders for a big 38-yard run to get into Inderkum’s red zone. Coronado took a QB keeper into the end zone two plays later to shrink the deficit to 20-12 before halftime.

In the third quarter, Cole once again found Jenkins for a 17-yard scoring play to up the Tigers’ lead to 27-12.

From there, Subhan Barakzai had two sacks, including one in the end zone for a safety in the closing moments of the third quarter for Monterey Trail. The Mustangs then scored on their next possession when Coronado found Jimmy Jackson from 16 yards away to make it 27-21 with just under six minutes remaining.

Trail had two other offensive opportunities within the final three minutes, but the Inderkum defense held strong for the 27-21 win.

Monterey Trail remains the last Sac-Joaquin Section team to defeat Folsom in a playoff game back in 2019. The Mustangs have earned enough of a top-tier reputation to know they’re going to get everyone’s best effort. That includes nonleague heavyweights in Pittsburg, the No. 2 team in Northern California behind Folsom, and El Cerrito, the D-II North Coast Section champ from 2023.

“Might as well jump into the lion’s den right away,” said Monterey Trail head coach and program founder TJ Ewing.

After years of dominance in the Metro League – MT carries an active streak of 28 consecutive league victories – the Mustangs move back into the Delta League with the section’s 2024 realignment. The Delta now features all Elk Grove area schools, including Cosumnes Oaks, Elk Grove, Franklin, Laguna Creek, Monterey Trail, Pleasant Grove and Sheldon.

Inderkum travels to Marin Catholic next Friday. Monterey Trail will host Pittsburg.

Nick Pecoraro is a sports journalist and host of “Premier Preps with Nick Pecoraro,” a weekly prep show available on YouTube that recaps games and teams in the Sacramento area each week. Find it at youtube.com/@PremierPreps

This story was originally published August 23, 2024 at 11:52 PM.