Prep notes: Jesuit lights up new era; Ponderosa’s wild win; Destiny Christian has arrived
The opening-night of the Sacramento-area high school football scene was not short on memorable moments, and we’re not talking about just the ranked teams.
There is more to the regional game than the ranked programs, but we start with what’s happening in Carmichael, home of the longstanding, tradition-rich Jesuit Marauders.
New lights, new era
After years of effort, Jesuit will officially kick off a new era on Friday. The school will host rival Rio Americano on Friday at 7 p.m. in what figures to be a packed house to formally celebrate permanent stadium lights at Marauder Stadium after using portable ones for select games in recent years. The four poles were installed on Monday at Marauder Stadium.
It’s not an easy task putting in lights, and not just because of fundraising efforts. Members of the Carmichael community near the campus resisted lights and the night traffic that comes with it, but what does one expect when you live near a high school? It took Kennedy High of Greenhaven in the Sacramento City Unified School District some 25 years to get lights before it happened in 2014.
It took decades for Del Campo of Fair Oaks and the San Juan Unified School District to do the same, and that happened in 2016. The fight to get on-campus stadium lights is a familiar one for Rio Americano, located so close to Jesuit that you can hear the angst of Raiders alums who want and deserve lights.
“It’s big-time excitement for us to have lights,” Jesuit athletic director Hank Weinberger said. “It’s what the high school experience is about: night games, students, the community. Hopefully, Rio gets lights soon. Everyone deserves lights.”
The digging in recent weeks includes four poles for those lights, a lot of concrete and optimism. One day, the power went out on campus when someone dug too deep and hit wires. That was a brief lights-out problem in the pursuit of progress. And this bonus for the community: The Jesuit poles are topped by high-grade LED lights, meaning they are shaded from peripheral glare, a concern for people who live close by.
“It’s state of the art, top of the line, and we’re super excited,” Weinberger said. “It’s like having a new toy.”
Amid the joy on Friday there will be some reflection. Marauder Stadium on Friday will be renamed to Chief Warrant Officer 2 Shane Barnes ‘07 Field.
A 2007 Jesuit graduate, Barnes served in the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment and was one of five U.S. service members who died in a training exercise over the Mediterranean Sea last November.
Pondo stuns Eldo
The Ponderosa vs. El Dorado football rivalry dates back to 1963 when Ponderosa opened in Shingle Springs. There have been showdowns that went to the wire and blowouts, leading to a pause in the series in recent years as Ponderosa’s enrollment soared well above that of the El Dorado Cougars of Placerville.
The Gold Pan series resumed in 2023, and Friday was one of the great finishes in the history of the event. El Dorado, with its roster of 19 gritty go-getters, was lining up for the game-winning field-goal attempt when the snap went too long. Marshall Alvernaz scooped up the ball and raced 75 yards to the end zone as time ran out for a wild 20-14 victory, which delighted the hometown Bruins and scores of alums on hand for the school’s 40th class reunion.
“The kids were excited the way it ended but realize we were lucky to sneak away with a win,” Ponderosa coach Davy Johnson said. “I knew El Dorado was well coached and had enough guys to beat us.”
El Dorado coach Kevin Placek shared the disappointment with his team. What a way to lose.
“It was the most heartbreaking loss I’ve been a part of,” said the fifth-year Cougars coach. “Field goals have been our best operation all offseason. Tons of experience at long snapper, holder and kicker.”
The El Dorado long snapper is one of the team’s top players and students, Hayden Gervaise, a senior who plays every down, including fullback and linebacker and on all special teams units. He is a campus leader. The loss should not be on his shoulders. It’s football, he’s human, and crazy things happen in this sport.
“The boys have rallied around (Hayden) over the weekend to make sure he keeps his head up,” Placek said. “This is the tightest group of guys I’ve had here yet. Hayden had an amazing game at linebacker. He’s an all-around great human.”
River Valley, Oakmont end skids
The only good thing about losing streaks is ending them, so let’s give game balls to River Valley of Yuba City and Oakmont of Roseville. River Valley earned a 48-31 home victory over McClatchy to halt a 22-game losing streak in giving spirited coach Alex Gomes-Coelho his first victory with the program.
The coach has a big star, literally, in 6-foot-6, 245-pound quarterback Jackson McPeak, a scholar who can really play. McPeak rumbled for 277 yards rushing and five touchdowns on 17 carries and passed for 185 yards and another score.
Oakmont ended a 13-game skid with a 27-13 home effort over Bella Vista, backing up coach Jake Messina’s claim that the Vikings were vastly improved and united. Kendall Barber rushed for two touchdowns, Suleiman Hassan-Olajoku rushed for 111 yards and a score, Mac Hughes had 16 tackles and Tyler Shade 13.
First win for ‘new’ school
Destiny Christian Academy has officially arrived in football. The school located off Highway 50 just south of Rancho Cordova had since 1977 gone by Capital Christian before the church changeover became official on campus this summer. What a way to start a new era.
With new school colors, a new mascot and a new start in front of a big crowd, the Lions rolled Sheldon 40-6 under coaches Aaron Garcia and Antuan Simmons, prep greats in their era who starred in college (Garcia at quarterback at Grant in the 1980s and later at Sacramento State, and Simmons as a defensive back at Valley in the 1990s and at USC). The team went 2-8 last season.
Malakai Taione rushed for 200 yards and two touchdowns for DCA. Caleb Hill ran for two scores and Dallas Munn had 175 yards passing, including three strikes inside the 5-yard line to set up scores.
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