Ponderosa aims to stand tall again and keep players from transferring out
A majestic Ponderosa pine once stood just outside of the north endzone at Ponderosa High School in Shingle Springs. It stood as a sentinel, watching over the Bruins football glory years in the late 1970s and 1980s.
The 150-foot tall tree suffered through a beetle infestation and had to be removed a decade ago. The removal of the iconic fixture mirrored the fall of a once mighty program on the western slope of El Dorado County. A replacement tree was planted a few years ago. Maybe in 100 years it will stand as tall.
Bruins coach Davy Johnson doesn’t have that much time to wait for a resurgence. He thinks his team is ready to soar this season, eager to show his program’s growth.
Perhaps the magic has returned to Shingle Springs as The Sacramento Bee-ranked No. 20 Bruins are off to a 3-0 start after handling the visiting Foothill Mustangs of Sacramento 50-6 in a nonleague contest in front of a capacity crowd Friday night. The Bruins are ranked in The Bee’s Top 20 for the first time since 2007.
Ponderosa will face a huge test next week in No. 5 Granite Bay to cap nonleague play. Johnson told his players after the game it’s first time the Bruins will play a Sierra Foothill League team since he arrived in Shingle Springs to take over as head coach in 2016.
“If you want to challenge your kids and be where I think we want to be, you have to play the better teams in the area, and Granite Bay is obviously that,” Johnson said after the game. “Last year we had a light preseason schedule and I don’t feel like it prepared us for what we’ll see in our league. Hopefully, we will rise to the occasion.”
The Bruins started 4-0 last season, then lost six of their last seven games. The team did qualify for the playoffs, but were drubbed 57-7 by Destiny Christian Academy.
Old-vs-new school in El Dorado County
It’s been a struggle for the Bruins since Oak Ridge High opened in El Dorado Hills in 1982. Ponderosa’s athletic talent pool was cut in half. The success of the Trojans football program was established early, and, soon, the best players on the Western Slope started drifting down the hill.
Oak Ridge has had just one full season with a losing record in the last 20 years. The Bruins have had just four winning seasons in those same two decades. Both Ponderosa and Oak Ridge are under the El Dorado Union High School District, so transfers are easier to take in and are rarely denied.
Johnson has been trying to get the Bruins to playoff relevance, understanding that success leaves an impression on kids.
“The biggest thing for us is losing kids down the hill,” Johnson said. “Keeping kids here is a major focus. Our youth program is super organized and if we can keep them here in Shingle Springs then I think we have a shot to make that next step.”
Johnson said he had seven kids transfer out of the program after the 2022 and 2023 seasons. The 2025 roster of 44 players is the largest since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have a great group of seniors and juniors,” Johnson said. “And it’s the first time we’ve had back-to-back classes in a long time.”
“Our schemes are the same as always,” Johnson said. “The biggest difference is that we’re more balanced, we can throw and run. We’re two-deep in most spots without a big drop-off and when you combine talent and depth, because kids will get banged up, then you have a chance.”
Bruins are balanced
Quarterback Colton Ridgley played on the varsity last season as a sophomore and threw a pretty 25-yard pass to fellow junior Zealand Jenks in the first quarter on Friday. Marshall Alvernaz had scoring runs of 4 and 10 yards to power the ground game.
Ben Bailey, a junior, has been all over the field for the Bruins this season. He starts at middle linebacker, runs from both the fullback and running back positions, and he punts. Bailey had a nifty 28-yard scoring run just before the end of the first half.
Two returning starters on the offensive line are seniors Brayson Tapp and Max Skubal. Skubal is a cousin of Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal, who won the American League Cy Young Award last year and is a strong contender to repeat that honor this season.
“Max tried to leave practice early to watch (Tarik) pitch against the A’s last week,” Johnson said. “I reminded him of his commitment here. He was still able to get to the game in time.”
Tarik Skubal and the Tigers lost the game to the A’s, in dramatic fashion.
“It’s all coming together and unifying,” Max Skubal added of the program’s rise. “We haven’t had any one transfer out in a while. I don’t think we have any one leave Pondo, but instead they’ve come to Ponderosa.”