Bradshaw Christian bests Sutter with 99-yard 4th-quarter drive. ‘They played their butts off’
The coach was spent, and so was his quarterback son.
Drew Rickert’s voice was hoarse, his words slow and deliberate, thick on pride. His son, fourth-year varsity starting signal caller, Ethan, was equally exhausted, his eyes watery, his body sore.
That was the toll on the Bradshaw Christian Pride leadership on Friday night in south Sacramento, the result of a remarkable 99-yard drive in the final 3:20 of a showdown encounter with the Sutter Huskies.
Mateo Mojica’s burst up the middle and spinning 12-yard touchdown with 1 second to go lifted the No. 20 Pride past the No. 21 Huskies 28-21 in a nonleague tilt every bit as good as advertised.
The plan was to set up a field goal. Mojica never slowed down. With 18 starters back from a team that fell 2 points shy of the program’s sixth CIF Sac-Joaquin Section banner last fall, Bradshaw Christian displayed championship grit against a fierce defense that has similarly stacked up trophies over the years in an overflowing trophy case.
Ethan Rickert fired passes and kept the team moving in the final, frantic moments, and leading rusher Mojica finished it off, another highlight to his remarkable Pride two-way career. Pride players barely had enough energy left to celebrate, and they listened intently as the only varsity head coach in the 20-year history of the program praised his grinders for a night well done.
“Those guys play defense over there,” coach Rickert told The Sacramento Bee after the game, pointing to the Sutter sideline. “We needed a big drive and we got it. Ethan really stepped up. So did the backs and the line. They all did. Just amazing.”
Ethan Rickert will bow out of Bradshaw Christian as the most accomplished athlete in the history of its sports programs. He has started on the varsity football, basketball and baseball teams as a freshman with a lot of games to go. Friday marked his 194th varsity start with the Pride, a total that stunned the 3.5-GPA student when informed.
This is who he is, a relentless competitor and graceful winner. He grew up around sports, eager to play for his father, who also coaches the hugely successful baseball program on campus. It’s not easy playing for one of the top coaches in the state, but the son would have it no other way.
Neither would the father.
“He loves this, the competition,” coach Rickert said. “Nothing rattles him. So proud of him and the team. This is what he does, and Mateo did his thing again.”
For a team that relies heavily on the run as a throw-back smash-mouth team, quarterback Rickert reveled in a chance to lead a drive with his arm, mind and leadership. He was in his element in front of an overflow home crowd that made for an intimate, carnival-like atmosphere in a cozy stadium that features a real-grass field, a rarity in football at any level any more.
“There’s a lot of emotions on my mind and everyone else,” quarterback Rickert said. “That was a crazy final 3 minutes. So proud. I live for the pressure. I enjoy things like this, all or nothing.”
He added of playing for his father, “I love nothing more. He’s my father, my coach.”
Said the coach of the game setting, “You can feel the crowd, the support, and the kids appreciate it. They played their butts off.”
Bradshaw Christian players urged their head coach to ramp up the schedule, to test them before league play. The Pride opened the season with a 27-6 triumph of a defending CIF state champion that had a state-leading 15-game winning streak coming in. Then the Pride stunned much-larger Vista del Lago of Folsom 50-48, and then this latest effort certainly cemented their Bee ranking.
The Sierra Valley Conference schedule starts next week, in which the Pride will be favored.
“The kids told me, ‘Coach, find us some games to challenge us,’” coach Rickert said.
Rickert the player scored on a 1-yard dive for a 6-0 lead after the point-after play missed, and he made it 13-6 in the second quarter with a 3-yard scoring toss to Devyn McDonald. Sutter took a 14-13 lead late in the half on a Sammy Sharma 1-yard run, and Marcus Meras pushed Sutter ahead 21-13 with 4:35 left in the third quarter on a 20-yard touchdown run.
BC rallied behind a 1-yard run by Isaiah Ladesma as the Pride converted two fourth-down plays on the drive. A Sutter punt was downed at the 1, and then quarterback Rickert and the Pride went to work with a season-defining drive to remember.
This story was originally published September 13, 2024 at 11:25 PM.