Cole brothers lead Inderkum past Woodcreek in Capital Valley football thriller

When Rickey Cole graduated from Inderkum High School last spring, the rest of the Capital Valley Conference breathed a sigh of relief. After all, the Tigers quarterback owns every passing record at the North Natomas school and threw 80 touchdowns and ran for 18 more in his stellar career.

But along came his three little brothers — Brody, Jordan and Cruise. The Coles passed, caught and ran Friday night to power Bee-ranked No. 11 Inderkum past No. 9 Woodcreek, 38-35, to seize control of the Capital Valley Conference race in Placer County.

Inderkum (7-1) hadn’t lost since a 27-22 opening-night setback to Monterey Trail. Woodcreek lost its first game of the season Friday and dropped to 7-1.

Brody Cole, a junior, finished 18-for-31 passing for 295 yards and five touchdowns. Three of those TDs went to older brother Jordan Cole, including a tipped pass early in the fourth quarter that Jordan gathered and ran for 20 yards.

Cruise Cole, Brody’s twin, added a crucial 56-yard run late in the game to help stave off a late Woodcreek scoring barrage that saw the Timberwolves score three touchdowns in a combined 77 seconds, including a nifty hook-and-ladder play from Josiah Melendez to Ethan Keim to Trace Murchison for a 65-yard score to bring Woodcreek to within 38-35. A Marco Gutierrez 22-yard field goal on the prior possession proved to be the difference.

“It’s chemistry. That’s all it is,” Brody Cole said of his connection with his brother. “When I roll out, he just comes right to me, I just don’t bother. It’s just like that. I can’t even think of how many passes we’ve thrown all of our lives. It’s just over and over and over. It’s fun. It’s wild. It’s too good. It’s too good. (Jordan) just puts in the work. He does everything he can. At practice, he’s just working as hard as he can. It’s just the chemistry just adds up together.”

The Coles have long been part of the Inderkum community, said Tigers coach Justin Reber. They’ve grown up in the program, from Junior Tigers to Inderkum varsity, and that work is paying off.

“They’re Inderkum guys through and through; they’re just football dudes, man,” Reber said “They’re high academic guys. High character guys, great family.”

Inderkum ready for a Division I playoff march

The Coles each sport a 4.0 grade-point average, or close to it, Reber said. Cruise and Brody are taking dual-enrollment classes at the American River College satellite campus adjacent to their own school.

Reber said some of his other players were recently eligible after grade checks kept them out the past few games. His team is at full strength now, without lingering injury issues either – just in time for the stretch run through the rest of the CVC and into the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoffs, where Brody Cole said they want Monterey Trail again.

Reber lauded the players and the Inderkum teaching staff for the work they put in getting the grades in order. Without the teachers, the game may have been much different.

“On Mondays and Thursdays, we practice at 6 a.m., and then after school, we have an hour study hall, which is mandatory,” said Reber, who doubles as the Tigers’ athletic director. “We dedicate two hours of our practice time during the week to run study hall. We have three classrooms with multiple teachers who invest extra time for our kids and it’s shown that they’ve done a great job. Yeah, we got them all eligible. It’s a great school, great community. A lot of teachers are bought in, and spend their extra time for free, helping our kids. That’s special.”

Stowers returns to Woodcreek

Reber and Woodcreek coach Kyle Stowers are in their first seasons back leading their respective programs, although Stowers was the head coach at Woodcreek from 2015-2018 before stepping away for family considerations. He took over for Brad Hunkins, who resigned after a 5-7 season in last fall after guiding several section playoff teams.

“The opportunity to come back presented itself in December and January, and I jumped at it,” Stowers said.

One of the first things Stowers did when taking over early this year was to switch from the run-heavy veer offense that’s older than every coach on the field to the Spread Run-Pass-Option offense that keeps defenses guessing.

“Having time off, not being a head coach for six years, that allows you to step back and reflect on a lot of things, things you did well and things maybe you should have done better ,and it allowed me to really study the game and see what people are doing and how to create an offense that puts the most pressure on defense,” Stowers said. “Spreading it out and using motion, and trying to take advantage of space and use your athletes, is what I’ve started to adopt and (Josiah Melendez) just fits right in, and we’ve molded a lot of it around him and (wide receiver) Trace (Murchison).”

Melendez, the Woodcreek quarterback, pulled off a valiant effort to get his team back in the game. He finished 13-for-18 for 223 yards and three touchdowns. Stowers said he was impressed with how well Melendez adapted to the new offense leading into his final season as the Timberwolves’ signal caller.

“We started throwing in January, and the receivers would come out two to three mornings a week, and we started running routes,” Stowers said. “Because it’s a big transition from veer offense to now, the strop back, and we’re throwing the ball around the yard a little bit. And the kids were so eager to run routes. Joey has from Day One been a student of the game and asks great questions. He’s analytical. He gives great feedback. Sometimes it’s like talking to a grown man with just how he sees the game.

“It’s wild to me to think that he’s just 17 years old.”

Melendez was not sad for the veer to be chucked in favor of the quarterback read options were he’s truly in control on the field. The Spread RPO is every quarterback’s dream offense.

“I love it,” Melendez said. “I love throwing the ball down field. I love getting on the move, too. Yeah, I love getting above 10 passes a game now instead of just three or four from the veer. It’s amazing. I’ll average around 16 to 18 attempts a game. Okay. Yeah, but I’m going to run the ball too. Have I said I love it?”

But even the option sometimes defers to crushing runs up the middle where the offensive line lives and breathes.

Guard Jasper Liggins, Woodcreek’s version of William “The Refrigerator” Perry, capped a 13-play, 65-yard drive with a 1-yard run on Woodcreek’s first possession. That was his fifth touchdown of the season.

This story was originally published October 17, 2025 at 11:14 PM.