Vanden returns to section finals for 3rd time in 4 years with rain-soaked win at West Park

The Vanden Vikings of Fairfield were in almost this exact scenario one year ago.

A No. 3 seed playing at second-seeded Woodcreek of Roseville in a section semifinal in a downpour. Vanden ended up losing that game and watching Woodcreek dance in the rain.

Two major details differentiated last year’s game from this year’s. First, the home Roseville team was now the West Park Panthers, which earned the second seed and marched into the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III semis at 10-1, looking for their first ever section championship appearance in the brief four-year history of the school.

Second, and more importantly, it was Vanden this time who was dancing in the rain after the final buzzer sounded Friday in Roseville to the tune of a 14-7 victory, advancing to section championship weekend for the third time in the past four years.

“Last year, coming to Roseville, we lost in these conditions,” said Vanden quarterback Kalani McLeod. “So, it feels great coming back here this year and winning the game.”

Vanden heads back to the section finals for the first time under a new head coach. Mike Clark stepped in this year, succeeding longtime Vikings coach and school alum Sean Murphy, who helped guide the program to back-to-back section titles in 2021 and ’22 and a CIF State championship in 2021. Clark looks to lead the 2024 Vikings to the program’s sixth overall blue banner next weekend.

“We’re gonna be cold and wet riding home,” Clark said with a smile. “Might as well be cold and wet riding home with a win.”

West Park (10-2) will have to wait at least one more year for its chance at a section crown. The Panthers matched their program-best 10 wins this season with its lone loss in the regular season came against Metro League rival Grant, which finds itself in the D-II championship game against Rocklin on Friday at Hughes Stadium.

With rain all over the forecast, the skies stayed clear and dry for the entire first quarter on Friday. West Park failed on a fourth-and-7 in Vanden territory on its opening drive, paving the way for a scoring drive for the Vikings. A long run from Zack Tayeh set up a 1-yard keeper from McLeod to make it 7-0 Vanden.

The rain began to fall hard in the second quarter. Neither team could find an offensive rhythm, and both teams traded several punts before an interception from Vanden’s Jayden Marquez-Cook gave the Vikings the ball with 58 seconds left in the half. That was plenty of time for McLeod, one of the section’s leading passers, to hit Chris Clark for a 26-yard score to extend Vanden’s lead to 14-0 at the half.

West Park came out of the locker room inspired, starting the second half with takeaway. Guy Razzano intercepted a Vanden pass to set the Panthers up for their first score of the night. Ben Osby hammered home a 2-yard touchdown to breathe some life into West Park and make it 14-7 early in the third.

It remained a one-score game throughout a penalty-plagued second half until the final possessions of the game. A big tackle by HaReal Greer on a Vanden fourth down gave West Park the defensive stop it needed and opened a door to tie or win the game in the final two minutes.

But on fourth-and-8 from the Vanden 26-yard line, the Vikings’ pass coverage denied a first down for West Park with 35 seconds left, turning the ball back over to Vanden, which took victory formation.

“We were stagnant offensively, but the defense continued to keep us in the game,” Clark said. “We didn’t give up the big play. (West Park quarterback Jaden Jackson) is a dynamic player, but (our defense) kept us in the game. They did what they needed to do, and offensively, we were able to grind enough clock.”

Vanden (10-2) will play top-seeded Oakdale, which defeated Destiny Christian 49-35 on Friday, in the D-III championship game Saturday afternoon at Hughes Stadium on the Sacramento City College campus.

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.

This story was originally published November 22, 2024 at 11:27 PM.