Tough on turf. Great on grass. Sacramento-area JC football offers plenty for players and fans
It’s simple, it’s quaint and it is theirs.
The American River College football team plays home games in venerable Beaver Stadium, where the old-school look and feel include wide-open views and a unique playing surface: grass.
That’s right. The real stuff, the green that has to be mowed, tended to and painted red, white and blue for game day. In an era of field turf at all levels, the Beavers revel in their throwback digs. ARC is ranked third in the state by the California State JC Athletic Bureau due in large part to time-tested values of sweat and of blocking and tackling, and then hauling a truck load of uniforms and game pants to get washed.
“We love our Bermudagrass here, and it’s in exceptional shape,” said Beavers coach Jon Osterhout, who spoke Wednesday with the glee of a man discussing a new car or a firstborn child. “It’s the smell, it’s the feel, it’s the cut, it’s the paint on the grass. ”
Also cool: a natural playing surface is cooler than the surface-of-the-sun field turf where temperatures can soar.
“Visiting teams come here and step on that grass with this look of walking on Mars,” Osterhout said. “They’re not used to it. The feel, the vibe, the crown on the middle of the field, it’s a different vibe and feel. We can smell it, and you can tell if you’ve had a game or not by looking at the uniforms.”
Beaver Stadium has housed events, including the school’s famed track and field program, since the late 1950s. There are no immediate plans by the Los Rios Community College District to lay down a field turf, though there are advantages of doing so. Field turf does not need grooming, nor does it get muddy after months of cleat abuse.
The 1986 film “Wisdom” with Emilio Estevez and Demi Moore was shot on the ARC campus, including scenes inside and around Beaver Stadium. Fortunately, that has not been the crowning moment for the Beavers’ football fortunes. This has been a juggernaut for the better part of 15 years.
ARC on Saturday hosts Diablo Valley College of Contra Costa County. You might see kids sliding down the hills of Beaver Stadium on makeshift cardboard sleds. On the field, there will be collisions and touchdowns as ARC aims to extend its legacy. The Beavers finished ranked third in the state last season after falling to national powerhouse San Mateo 30-27 in the Northern California championship game, one of several such trips to the state final four for Osterhout and his staff over 10 seasons.
JC ball is an eye-opener
JC ball isn’t a destination for high school stars or those who think they are. They dream of landing at a Power Four conference program such as USC, Michigan, Georgia or Miami, or landing at FCS schools like Sacramento State or UC Davis, all while wondering if a verbal offer from a coach is binding at all (it isn’t).
Fewer than 2% of high school seniors receive full athletic football scholarships across the country. It’s a numbers crunch, so the JC route becomes a haven for the overlooked, the underdeveloped and those finding out that, yes, academics do count. JC coaches don’t promise prospects anything more than an opportunity to make their 100-man roster.
The JC rosters have always been strong. Locally, they have become more so since the NCAA Transfer Portal allowed four-year programs to reload quicker with NCAA transfers, starting in 2018. The product has been strengthened by 15 padded spring practices, including proper-tackling techniques to keep the game safe. The spring addition to JC ball is a second-year perk Osterhout helped get through legislation in his role as the state coaches association vice president.
For many, the JC or JuCo route is a shock to the system at how good the talent is. Some use the two-year college route as a launching pad.
Receiver Brandon Aiyuk of the San Francisco 49ers burst onto the national scene at Sierra College in 2016 and ‘17, arriving after a prep career in Nevada where he received little recruiting interest. Aiyuk was a first-round pick after starring at Arizona State, and he remains in regular contact with Sierra College coach Ben Noonan.
JC coaches wear many hats, including as runners to Costco. It is not uncommon for Osterhout to run into Noonan as they load up carts of hot dogs and other eats for an army of players.
ARC opened this season with a 35-18 victory at College of Sequoias in steamy hot Visalia behind quarterback Jett Harris of Dixon High School, running back Elias Brown of Rocklin, receiver Jadon Anderson of Oak Ridge and defenders such as Diallo Washington of Folsom.
Storied Hughes Stadium is 96
At Sacramento City College, the Panthers enjoy their home digs in as fine a JC facility as there is in the country.
Hughes Stadium is 96 years old, and its 1-year-old field turf glistens. The venue has housed everything from pro football to baseball, boxing, soccer and concerts in an era of grass.
The Panthers ruled this football region in the 1980s and ‘90s and fielded good teams in the decades since. Sac City is ranked 23rd in the state this week and ninth in NorCal. The Panthers went 4-6 in 2023, when Hughes became a place of healing for heart-broken Panthers players and coaches.
Early last season, offensive lineman Justin McAllister collapsed after a routine Monday practice drill. He did not survive the night, his heart giving out. The team and head coach Dannie Walker rallied behind him and his family from Clarksburg, where he was a three-sport athlete and a beloved teammate.
Sac City boasts a roster full of those eager to play and extend academic and athletic careers, including sophomore receiver Scott Nixon, The Bee’s Player of the Year in 2022 from Sheldon High and a straight-A student. In defeating Feather River 24-20 last Saturday at Hughes, Jesiah Maschado of Sheldon and Jason Lindhahl of Casa Roble each passed for a touchdown, Nixon had 130 yards receiving, and fellow Bee All-Metro achievers Arthur Draeger of Liberty Ranch in Galt and Jack Carner of Pioneer in Woodland had big rushing days.
Sac City plays at Delta College of Stockton on Saturday afternoon.
Sierra College night games at ‘The Buzz’
The cozy stadium at Sierra College is the newest of the local venues, opening in 2006 in Rocklin with a fast field turf. It is a festive scene for night games on the Rocklin campus with big crowds.
It goes by Homer “Buzz” Ostrom Stadium, in honor of the beloved old coach who won conference championships at the Placer County school in the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s.
Ostrom inspired the coaching careers of famed regional gridiron leaders such as Max Miller, Rich Brooks and John Volek. The 49ers used the venue for their training camp from 1981-97, when there were grass fields, hatched by one-time Sierra College linebacker and 49ers linebacker great Dan Bunz, a Roseville native.
Ostrom Stadium is surrounded by campus growth. There is 81,000 square feet of renovation and new construction in progress, including a new gymnasium and football offices. It’s no wonder Coach Noonan is optimistic about the current and the future.
Ranked No. 18 in the state and seventh in NorCal, Sierra lost its opener to state-ranked No. 2 San Mateo 27-26 at “The Buzz” in front of an overflow crowd of more than 2,100. Maddox Varella of Oak Ridge passed for 279 yards and two touchdowns to Dontae Robinson for Sierra in a game that came down to the final moment.
Sierra plays at Fresno on Saturday night.
JC ball is worth a peek, from the players right on down to the playing surface.