Top-ranked Monterey Trail boys basketball finally beats storied Sheldon. ‘Snatch the torch’
Robert Fields left these numbers on the whiteboard inside the Monterey Trail High School locker room on Wednesday night: 2-17.
The Mustangs basketball coach let those figures resonate for a moment for his gritty and skilled team, the top-ranked outfit by The Sacramento Bee as they bounded into a Delta League opener against No. 7 Sheldon.
“The guys didn’t know what that was, if it was someone’s free-throw shooting or something,” Fields said. “They needed to know what it means before we played the game.”
The 2-17 represented the win-loss total Monterey Trail had posted against Sheldon in the all-time basketball series between the Elk Grove Unified School District programs, located 2.8 miles apart on Calvine Road. The Huskies have devoured the Mustangs for years, so much so that it wasn’t considered as rivalry as it was cannon fodder for Sheldon.
Following a spirited 65-62 home effort in front of a packed house that included 25 points from senior guard Rashawn Inglemon, the white board received a prompt update.
“I erased the two and put down a three,” Inglemon said. “Coach hyped us up on the 2-17, and we’re working hard to change that.”
Sheldon under head coach Joey Rollings and his staff have won so many league and CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I championships that the school’s gym walls have run out of room to hang banners, and the trophy case has overflowed. For the record, the Huskies have won 10 league banners since 2011 and five section crowns in the same stretch in producing some of the greatest teams in regional history.
Monterey Trail is in the midst of elevating its program under Fields, the 10th-year Mustangs coach who leads with cool and calm. He wanted to establish a program that was appealing to incoming freshmen so their parents didn’t send their kids to other schools, such as Sheldon. Fields was 0-7 against Sheldon entering Wednesday.
“When I got the job, the main thing I wanted to do right away was to keep our kids that should be going to school here,” Fields said. “Sheldon had that draw, and they were great in basketball, and kids went there. Sheldon’s owned the Delta. We just want to rent it out for a few years. We have a long way to go, but we want to snatch the torch.”
Fields recalled his first season heading the Mustangs. He beamed in recalling the birth of his son, Logan, and then some 15 hours later, mustering the energy to coach against Sheldon for the first time. His club endured the wrath of the Huskies, who rolled, 93-33.
After winning the program’s first two league championships in each of the past two seasons, in the Metro League, Monterey Trail was realigned back into the Delta at the start of the academic year, a place it wanted to be all along. It can now be considered a rivalry against Sheldon.
Monterey Trail last season fielded its best team in the 20-year history of the school, powered by Bee Player of the Year Brandon Gibson, and this season’s group may be even better.
Inglemon runs the show
Inglemon is better this season than last. He is a tireless point guard who runs the show, his shock of bouncy hair a trademark. He zips passes and can score inside and out. He’s also a pest on defense.
The 3.8-GPA student is a big-picture thinker. He dreams of playing ball in college, and he’s already preparing for a career in real estate by studying the field. He has embraced the role as Mustangs floor and team leader, stressing that it is his job to energize the guys, to make plays and to mentor young players, including impressive 6-foot-7 freshman forward Devaughn Dorrough, who had 14 points and seven rebounds against Sheldon. Derron White, another quick Mustangs guard, had 13 and six against Sheldon.
What added to the joy for Inglemon on Wednesday was that he knows a lot of the Sheldon players and coaches. He played for the Huskies his freshman season.
“He’s become a vocal leader,” Fields said. “He leads by his actions and makes plays. He’s been great.”
Inglemon helped power the Mustangs to a championship in the highly regarded Desert Holiday Classic in Southern California, and he dropped in 30 points to beat No. 3 Folsom in a nonleague game last Saturday as the debate heated up as to which is the region’s top-ranked team. He is averaging 16.5 points, second to Dorrough’s 18.6, for the 12-2 Mustangs, who are unbeaten in section play.
Sheldon was led by Sebastian James, a 6-6 senior with skills. He had 19 points, and sophomore guard Baron Sabir had 12.
Monterey Trail this Saturday hosts an all-day showcase called Battle at the Trail. The Mustangs take on four-time defending section Division I champion Modesto Christian in the last game, at 7 p.m.
“We’ve played some extremely good teams, and we’re 6-0 in those recent games,” Fields said. “We’re passing the test with a lot more to come. You have to play the best to be the best, and we’re working hard to get better. We can’t get to the playoffs in February and suddenly start playing tough teams.”