Lindhurst becomes playoff eligible with win over Highlands in Sierra Delta League action

The Lindhurst Blazers crushed Highlands 41-15 on Friday night in northern Sacramento County in Sierra Delta League action.

The Blazers’ story is just beginning, and they proved their worth in a smashing performance. Nestled in the census-designated place of Olivehurst of Yuba County, the Division V small school is not known for its flashy football teams or big wins over first-place programs. That’s all changing now, and it’s changing fast due to the passion and drive of longtime football player, teacher, mentor and head coach of the team, Troy Spangler.

He knows the story. The Blazers are a school that is yet to etch their name in CIF Sac-Joaquin Section history with any championship teams. In fact, they haven’t proven or really won anything. The season usually passes by yielding one win, or two wins, or sometimes none. Friday offered a glimpse of how good Lindhurst can be. The team is 4-3 and became playoff eligible.

“Our offensive line, our defensive line was great tonight,” Spangler said. “We just played our hearts and got a massive win. That’s a good team over there. It was the grit of these guys that got an all-time win for this program.”

It was a close game with the Blazers leading by just 6 points at the half. Star senior running back Henri Reed ran for four touchdowns.

“I know what I had to do for my team today and that was to just execute,” said Reed, a player of note over his varsity career. “If it weren’t for my linemen I would’ve had no chance. It was those guys making the blocks, opening up the holes that gave me all those touchdowns.”

Reed pointed out that senior center Christian Sipp is in his first year of playing the sport and that he already looks like a “veteran,” opening running lanes that gave this team six rushing touchdowns.

“That’s the kind of situation you get with a small school,” Spangler said of having players join the team who’ve never played the sport.

“Christian is just a super athletic guy,” the coach added. “On top of that, he’s just a really smart kid and is able to learn these things so quickly. We were able to get a big roster this year thanks to players on this team recruiting their friends and different kids who looked like they could play. Christian is a great example of how that can work out really well.”

Spangler, in his third season as the program’s head coach, described how some seasons the Blazers would have as few as 14 players on the roster.

“It’s hard,” Spangler said. “We don’t have that issue anymore though. Now, our big problem was getting enough jerseys for all these guys. That’s the kind of problem I don’t mind having.”

Spangler says the support given to the team by local businesses has been essential in building a successful program. In his 13th year on staff, Spangler teaches a multimedia class for aspiring broadcasters at Lindhurst. He’s a football guy to the core. He played and coached at Nevada Union and spent roughly 20 years as a coach at other programs. He said the next step in the process is getting buy-in from parents.

“We just haven’t proven ourselves yet,” Spangler said. “I know a lot of these parents have nightmares from when we were just lucky to have a game played. Now, going and winning games like tonight, I think the parents are proud of their kids and are realizing that this is a place where students can thrive in athletics.”

Last year’s eight-win season playing outside of a league was the most for the school in 15 years. Now, the Blazers compete in the ever-tough Sierra Delta they face opposition like 2023 CIF Division 5 State Champion Woodland Christian.

Spangler said that even their three losses against Woodland Christian, Bear River and Dixon were hard-fought battles that set them up for the game they played Friday night.

Reed, the star runner, thought the same thing.

“After we beat San Juan last week, we just felt it,” Reed said. “We knew right after that game that we had something cooking. Something just clicked.”

Spangler hopes to run this program for the foreseeable future.

“This is definitely a long-term project for me,” Spangler said. “You can already see the tremendous progress that we’ve made. Lindhurst is not going to be some small, one-win school anymore. We’re changing for the better.”

Highlands scored its touchdowns behind senior running back Jarrell Tyes and a pass from junior Walter Lewis to sophomore Michael Compton. Highlands is also looking to build back to the glory days of high enrollment and top football teams. The school, in Sacramento County’s North Highlands neighborhood, has a brand-new football facility that sits in a bowl, making for a unique home environment.

Despite the loss, the Scots are not in bad shape, dropping to 5-2. They, too, are playoff eligible as teams have to win at least four games to qualify, and they face winless San Juan next week.

Lindhurst will try to make it three in a row next week at Vacaville Christian.

“I don’t remember when we’ve had a big run as a program,” Spangler said. “This feels like the beginning of a great Lindhurst run.”