Oak Ridge hands Granite Bay first loss in battle of Sierra Foothill League heavyweights

The Oak Ridge Trojans may be a little banged up at key positions. But they’re certainly battle-tested and seem to have found their stride just in time for the thick of league play.

Oak Ridge began the year 0-3 with several out-of-area heavyweights frontloading the Trojans’ non-league schedule, which included a cross-country trip to play McCallie, a state championship program in Tennessee.

“We have grit,” said Oak Ridge multipurpose player Jasen Womack. “We’re playing good against really good teams. We’re never giving up, and it just shows in today’s game and last week’s game as well.”

Womack did a little bit of everything on Friday as Oak Ridge handed Granite Bay, The Bee’s No. 4 team entering this week, its first loss of the season with a 30-17 road win. Womack accounted for three touchdowns and an interception on defense to help Oak Ridge improve to 2-0 in Sierra Foothill League play.

“We just played physical,” Womack said. “We’ve been in the weight room a lot, and we just took it personal in those first three weeks, going 0-3.”

Oak Ridge starting quarterback Joaquin Graves-Mercado broke his collarbone in the second week of the season, dealing the Trojans some early adversity.

“We went into rescue mode right off the bat,” said Oak Ridge coach Casey Taylor.

Senior Cole Esten stepped in and delivered a win in last week’s SFL opener against Del Oro. And Phoenix Hester, a transfer from Folsom, was just deemed eligible after his sit-out period by the section in time to start this week’s game at Granite Bay.

Hester delivered a spark on his first touch of the game under center. Scrambling to his right, he launched a pass downfield for a 55-yard connection with Isaac Pierce to set up Womack’s first score of the game and set the tone for the Trojans.

“Phoenix Hester, in just his first game back, he did amazing. Love that guy,” Womack said.

Womack finished the game taking snaps out of the wildcat formation for much of the fourth quarter. And just as he began the game with a touchdown, he also provided the dagger with a short score at the 2:14 mark of the fourth, icing the 30-17 victory.

“The SFL is tough, but we still have a chance to be the best version of ourselves,” said Taylor. “We still have a chance to win a league title. Obviously, we’ve gotta go through Folsom to win it. But this win keeps us in the mix.”

After Womack’s first touchdown made it 6-0, Oak Ridge added to its lead when Pierce took a punt back 55 yards to make it 13-0 with 10:06 to play in the second quarter.

A big kick return and a long run from Granite Bay’s Isaiah Ene set up a 7-yard touchdown run from Gabe Smyth to get the Grizzlies on the board at 13-7.

The two teams traded field goals over the next two possessions as Kyle Boeker converted from 32 yards for the Trojans, and Jimmy Deslaurier answered with a 33-yard boot to make it 16-10 Trojans.

Oak Ridge extended its lead before halftime as Hester found Womack for a 22-yard strike to give the Trojans a 23-10 lead at the break.

Multiple turnovers haunted each team in the third quarter, including a Granite Bay fumble as the Grizzlies were on the brink of the end zone that resulted in a touchback.

But Granite Bay bounced back as Ene, who carries at least nine Division I collegiate offers, broke free for a 66-yard scoring run to shrink the gap to 23-17 before the fourth quarter. Ene is only the second player in Joe Cattolico’s long coaching tenure to have started on varsity as a freshman.

“Isaiah came in with an unusual level of knowledge and understanding of the game of football,” Cattolico said. “He has that combination of knowledge and leadership, and that came from him not starting at a place where normal freshmen start.”

A missed field goal from Boeker kept it a one-score game with six minutes to play. But the Trojans’ special teams came through with a blocked punt that was recovered at the Granite Bay 20-yard line. Womack then ran in the dagger from 2 yards out to close the game.

Oak Ridge hosts top-ranked Folsom next Friday, while Granite Bay heads to Del Oro to continue SFL play.

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.