Stars align for North in 65th Sacramento-area charity football game, including coaches’ sons
They grew up around this, the sons of accomplished football coaches, and what a way to bow out.
JoJo Cattolico and Ethan Horner have one last high school hurrah to savor, as receivers for the North team in the 65th Optimist All-Star Classic for Sacramento-area senior players — a charity event that has capped regional prep seasons since the 1950s. The game is 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Granite Bay High School under sunny skies with a forecast of a wide-open assault on the end zone.
Cattolico is the son of Granite Bay coach Joe Cattolico, who is coaching the North All-Stars against the South All-Stars, and Horner is the son of Casa Roble coach Chris Horner. The elder Horner is an assistant coach on the North, with those All-Stars practicing on the Casa turf in Orangevale.
The sons didn’t start tackle football until they were freshmen, but they knew the game, and they were eager to show what they could do once they got into a groove. What added to the joy and, to a degree, the pressure of it all, was competing for their fathers. All told, it’s been quite a run for guys who run routes, and what a view for the proud pops.
“Oh, man, the best, the absolute best time, a great ride and a time we’ll never forget,” coach Horner said of coaching his son.
Said coach Cattolico: “It’s a neat deal, and this is a really neat game and cause to be a part of. My sons have been a part of it, running water bottles around the sideline in the past. We try to impress on the kids what an honor it is to be part of this game.”
The Optimist game has, since the start, helped fund Camp Ross Relles in Nevada City, which serves children in the Sacramento region with physical disabilities as well as those who are socially or economically deprived.
The sons of the North coaches were not handed an Optimist jersey just because they are family. JoJo and Ethan had to earn it, just as they had to earn their keep on their prep teams as varsity starters. Both delivered. Both were Bee All-Metro All-Purpose players in 2024, meaning they set an example in practice, performed in games, provided leadership and had a high academic standing.
And to be clear, the grade point average of young Horner and young Cattolico are better than their 40-yard-dash times, which pleases their parents to no end. JoJo sports a 4.3 GPA and Ethan a 4.28. The sons plan to catch more passes and study somewhere on a campus, weighing options at small colleges across the state, because there’s always room for players who do everything right.
Ethan wants to study public health, moved by the words and actions of those in the nursing field. JoJo will study economics and business, a numbers cruncher and a big-picture thinker.
“It’s been really special,” Ethan Horner said of playing for his father. “This is the last time we’ll be on the same field together. It definitely means something.”
Said JoJo: “There’s always some ups and downs but it’s been a great experience. I love football because all of the work you put in comes with success.”
JoJo was a paramount piece to Granite Bay playoff teams ranked by The Sacramento Bee in the Top 6 much of his two final seasons with the Grizzlies. He said a thrill was winning a 2024 season opener “with my teammates and dad,” even though he did not catch a touchdown. He understands that it’s about teamwork in this sport.
The Horner father-and-son duo already have a moment to cherish forever beyond this week. In the 2023 CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division V championship game at Hughes Stadium, kid Horner caught the winning 2-point conversion pass from Connor Campbell in the closing seconds to beat Twelve Bridges, and weeks later, coach Horner was named The Bee’s Coach of the Year.
The Horners can also speak of the sorrow of loss and how football can unite and heal.
Beloved Casa Roble lineman Julian Snyder was killed in a November automobile accident, days after the conclusion of the Rams season. He was a passenger in a car that was on its way to pick up Snyder’s kid brother. The candlelight vigil on the Casa Roble field was a moving scene. Coach Horner spoke eloquently, while Ethan helped keep his grieving teammates and the Snyder family together with words and hugs of encouragement.
Ethan Horner wears a gold necklace with Snyder’s jersey No. 52. He clutched it for a moment on Sunday before a North practice in reflecting on a lost friend.
“I got this for myself for Christmas,” he said. “One of my best friends. Everyone loved Julian. This is so he isn’t forgotten.”
In honor of pop
North All-Star defensive back Mikey Cunningham can relate to the pride of making his father proud. The Rocklin Thunder Bee All-Metro two-way player competed with purpose in 2024 in the spirit of his father, Mike Cunningham, a longtime Rocklin program coach who has courageously battled cancer.
The younger Cunningham was a vital cog in Rocklin’s 10-3 team that reached the section Division II finals.
“He’s definitely an inspiration, and it was a motivator all season for me,” Cunningham said. “I’ve given it everything I’ve had.”
A 3.8 student, Cunningham aspires to play in college, either as a preferred walk-on at a four-year program or at a local junior college. He wants to study construction management or civil engineering, and per his family nature, he isn’t afraid to roll up his sleeves to do the heavy lifting.
Passers and runners
The North roster boasts a collection of Bee All-Metro performers, including Ricky Cole and Beau Ogles, quarterback stars who in this game will be joined in the backfield by All-Metro runners such as Braylen Blevins of Casa Roble, Brice Dent of Del Campo, Derek Keeley of Rocklin, Kevin Taylor of Del Oro and Braeden Ward of Twelve Bridges, The Bee’s Small School Player of the Year who rushed for 2,749 yards and a state-leading 43 touchdowns for a 14-1 team that played for a CIF State championship.
Cole accounted for more than 100 career touchdowns during a prolific run at Inderkum, and Ogles was the driving force behind an Oakmont team that bounced back from a winless 2023 to compete for a league championship in 2024. Ogles is also a Bee All-Metro baseball star.
▪ The Grant Pacers have one player on the North representing their CIF State championship club, and he’s a big one in the 6-foot-1, 340-pound offensive lineman Ronald Camron.
▪ Two-time Bee All-Metro defensive lineman Briggs Bevans represents West Park of Roseville, as does fellow defensive stoppers Aiden Frisk, defensive back Hareal Greer and linebacker Calvon Johnson. Their head coach, Jason Tenner, is a North assistant coach.
▪ Placer All-Metro two-way star Baylor Kelley will play defensive back, though he can also carry the ball and catch it.
▪ Rocklin All-Metro linemen Chase Baker and Henry Hatada give the lines some thunder and bulk.
Coming soon: A preview of the South All-Stars.
The 65th Optimist All-Star Classic
When: Saturday, 1:30 p.m.
Location: Granite Bay High School
Tickets: $10
How to purchase: GoFan.com or from North players