Boeker beats Grant: Oak Ridge star kicker sends Trojans to rematch against Folsom
Kyle Boeker and Casey Taylor live for this.
A high-pressure moment, the game on the line, and a chance to win a monstrous contest with a booming leg? Game on, and bring it on.
That was the scenario and vibe on Friday night in El Dorado Hills when Boeker, the best kicker around, and Taylor, one of the Sacramento-region’s all-time great coaches, sized up the situation against the storied Grant Pacers with a win-or-go-home mandate.
Taylor and the Oak Ridge Trojans ran the clock down to 2 seconds to set up Boeker, and the poised senior drilled a 30-yard field goal as time expired for a heart-check 9-7 victory in a CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I semifinal that was every bit as fierce and fun as expected.
The Oak Ridge school cannon went off with a thunderous blast as it does after any touchdown, and though this wasn’t a TD, it was the biggest victory of the season for the No. 2-seeded Trojans — and the biggest kick of Boeker’s life. Boeker had a point-after touchdown go bad earlier in the game with a bobbled hold, but he got his moment of redemption and cashed in.
“Oh, yeah, I knew right away, and I gave the holder a high five,” Boeker said. “I knew Casey believed in me. He got me right where I wanted (on the field to attempt the kick). He asked me where I wanted to make the kick, right, left, middle? I had full confidence.”
Boeker said he appreciated the Trojans stout defense that kept the prolific Pacers, a three-time defending section champion in lower divisions and a two-time CIF State champion since 2022, largely in check. Both teams had to earn every yard.
“Being a kicker is not the same as any other position, and when you miss, you’ve got the entire stadium looking down at you: ‘Oh, you’re the guy who messed it up,’” Boeker said. “I kicked it and wanted to high five the holder (Tyler Andujar). This felt great.”
Taylor said he had no doubt that his kicker would come through, which is why he didn’t attempt any passes to the end zone despite a solid showing the last two weeks by quarterback Luke Taber and the relentless running of Andujar, whose 8-yard scoring run in the third quarter were the game’s first points.
The Trojans expertly ran the clock down from a 4th-and-1 play with 1:44 left that barely made it. Grant players initially thought they made the defensive stop on a night full of bad luck, including an 8-yard fumble return for a score by star linebacker Julian Bruno in the middle of the fourth quarter that would have put the Pacers up 14-6.
The play was negated for a facemask penalty on Grant, which Pacers players and coaches did not agree. A Sacramento Bee photograph showed that there was a grab of Taber’s jersey in the neck area but no grabbing of the facemask.
So instead of Grant earning another shot at top-ranked Folsom after the Bulldogs trounced the Pacers in a season opener, it is Oak Ridge that has another chance at their chief rival.
Folsom vs. Oak Ridge — again
Folsom and Oak Ridge play for the large-school section crown for the fourth consecutive season on Friday night at Hughes Stadium. Folsom has beaten Oak Ridge an unfathomable 24 consecutive times over 19 seasons, including in league play and in the section finals. Folsom beat Oak Ridge 28-9 earlier this season in Sierra Foothill League play after leading at the half, and wouldn’t the Trojans welcome a chance of a Boeker game-winner a Hughes Stadium?
“He’s the best in the state,” Taylor said of Boeker. “He’s the man. He’s great.”
A proud alum of Oak Ridge with a championship pedigree from Del Oro and Capital Christian, Taylor added, “I’m just so proud of this group. We’ve been through and up-and-down season with injuries. (Running back Tyler Andujar) came back tonight (after injury). We were hoping to get five or 10 good carries from him, and man, he had some real good carries, scored a touchdown for us. Our guys play hard, played with a lot of grit.”
Everyone in Oak Ridge blue wanted another shot at Folsom, which blasted Monterey Trail 54-14 in the other semifinal. The kicker said his team owes the Bulldog one. The coach agrees.
“We wouldn’t want it any other way,” Taylor said. “I mean, if we’re going to win (the section), we’ve got to beat them. We’ll be ready.”
Taylor praised Grant for its fine team and remarkable decades-long tradition, and he reminded that Oak Ridge has quietly lurked as the “other” team in the region. Oak Ridge was preseason ranked third by The Bee behind Folsom and Grant, then inched up to No. 2 before the Folsom clash last month, and here come the Trojans again, ranked second by The Bee again with another shot at the top-dog Bulldogs.
“We don’t get talked about often enough, but we’ve played some damn good football, been to the section finals four years in a row,” Taylor said. “If it wasn’t for Folsom, we’d probably be in a bunch of state championships. We have a great coaching staff, great kids, and we do it right. We don’t do transfers. Our kids aren’t 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 years old. We’re not online (for classes). We do it the right way.”
This story was originally published November 21, 2025 at 10:49 PM.