Casa Roble’s Big 3 of Blevins, Campbell and Lopez lead gritty win over upstart Foothill

In the first round of the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division V playoffs on Friday night in Orangevale, the No. 5-seeded and defending champion Rams faced serious opposition from the No. 12 Foothill Mustangs, a team bent on pulling an upset.

The game came down to the wire with Casa Roble using a late defensive stand to win 27-26, earning a shot at well-rested No. 4 Union Mine in El Dorado for a second-round game. Union Mine had an opening-night bye.

Without Rams stars Braylen Blevins, Aidan Lopez and Connor Campbell, who knows where this game would’ve ended up. The Rams have 59 players listed on their roster while the upstart Mustangs of North Sacramento had just 20 in uniform, but they gave the favorites a fight to the finish.

Rams coach Chris Horner felt the stress all the way until the last minute.

“That’s not what we expected,” Horner said. “That’s why you never, ever underestimate your opponent. You never know what they could come up with, and Foothill definitely had a night. We were not on our best performance, but just pulled through.”

Horner went through the various miscues from the victory and stressed the need to iron out those errors come next week, or season over.

The set up on offense is led by Lopez, the promising junior quarterback who transferred from Folsom High School. Senior receiver Campbell supports him at wide receiver. Campbell was the starting quarterback for Casa Roble last season and was a Bee All-Metro all-purpose player whose two-point conversion pass to Ethan Horner proved to be the game winner in last season’s section final over unbeaten Twelve Bridges.

Campbell had not played receiver position until this season but he looks like a natural. He caught a Lopez touchdown against Foothill. Though he was initially jolted a bit by the position switch as a competitor who loves to play quarterback, he has grown to appreciate it, recognizing the skill of Lopez.

“Connor’s been amazing,” Horner said. “It says a lot about the kid that he just accepted the situation and moved seamlessly over to wide receiver. I know it was hard at first, but what’s great about it is that the two of them are buddies. Connor had no issue with Aidan, and they were able to form a bond because they both just want to win.”

Campbell was so used to playing quarterback that it took a minute to adjust.

“I played quarterback since I was 6,” Campbell said. “It was weird having to switch positions, but the decision was made and I just had to accept it. Aidan’s a great guy and a great player. I didn’t know how playing wide receiver would go, but Coach Horner had faith in me and I had over 100-yards receiving in my first game, so I think it’s worked out pretty good.”

Campbell and Lopez have known each other for years after attending passing camps. Lopez went from sitting on the bench at The Bee’s No. 1 ranked team, led by 5-star junior quarterback recruit Ryder Lyons to leading a traditional playoff program this year at a school that also appreciates football.

“It was a transition,” Lopez said. “I’ve learned a lot of things from Coach Horner. I’ve learned to be a teammate, how to lead a team, how to grow with a team. I’ve had to become the guy who other players look up to and ask for support. It definitely took some getting used to but also having Connor here and clicking with him so quickly made it a lot easier.”

It was not an easy game for Lopez and the Rams. They went down early, giving up two turnovers and two touchdowns in the first quarter to the fired-up Mustangs. Blevins, Casa Roble’s reliable senior running back, scored three touchdowns to put the Rams over the top.

“Blevins is a big reason why we won,” Horner said. “We struggled a lot through this game. It was not easy. But you know what, going through a tough game like this only gives us a leg up on Union Mine. They had their bye week but we were here in the trenches and are now ready to go.”

Foothill impresses its own coach

Foothill senior Izaiah Tua-Iaird led his team with three big passing touchdowns, each of them pinpoint shots. The Mustangs were marching late, reaching the Casa Roble 15-yard line, but turned over on downs with two minutes remaining.

Foothill coach Davonte Robinson, in his fourth year leading the program, was excited by his team’s effort.

“What I can say is that we gave it our all,” Robinson said. “I’m proud of these guys no matter what. It’s a bittersweet moment because I started with a lot of them when they were freshmen and now they are graduating. I’ll miss this group because they were special.”

Robinson said that his team was missing a big number of players due to a variety of issues, which made him all the more proud of them coming within a point of the Rams.

After the game, Foothill did its customary slide into the end zone, Coach Robinson included, in a way to celebrate the sport. They walked as a group the 100-yard length of the field before a postgame huddle. The Mustangs may have lost the game, but they left the field with their heads held high as a 20-man group that nearly pulled a stunner. .

“This one was a close one,” said Lopez, the Casa Roble quarterback. “I’m just glad we got through it and can fight again next week, because I think as a group, we are ready for an upset.”