‘For coach Mike’: River City rolls over Del Campo following death of JV football coach

All the exciting footage from the upcoming River City football film session is going to belong to senior running back Amari Swilley.

Listed at 5-foot-7 and 155 pounds, Swilley darted for three touchdown runs Friday at Del Campo High School in Fair Oaks — scores of 58, 58 and 65 yards — in addition to a number of other big runs.

However, Swilley and coach Marcus Tribble insisted it was the Raiders’ offensive line that was most responsible for River City’s 3-0 start to the 2023 season following a 48-20 win over the Cougars.

“They were making the biggest holes ever. I love it,” Swilley said of his offensive line. “I’m actually buying them a box of doughnuts on Monday.”

Then Swilley paused and thought again about the amount of glazed treats his trench men might need.

“Maybe like three boxes,” he said, laughing.

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Up front for the Raiders are the “grave diggers,” as Tribble likes to call them, consisting of senior Donavyn Allen, juniors Dean Stone, Bennie Moses and Gurtej Singh and sophomore center Cody Darosa. And they’ve been tipping the scales in River City’s favor.

“We call them 1,200 pounds of fun,” Tribble said. “They really decide what we do and what we’ll be successful at.”

Despite falling behind 7-0 midway through the first quarter, the Raiders of West Sacramento didn’t flinch. A 55-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown from Justice Spencer and a 2-yard rushing TD from Bryce Sabatke sandwiched around Swilley’s first-half 58-yard score to give River City a 21-14 lead at halftime.

River City Raiders running back Amari Swilley (22) celebrates with center Cody Darosa (74) after scoring a touchdown during the second half of the game at Del Campo High School on Friday, Sept. 1, 2023, in Fair Oaks.
River City Raiders running back Amari Swilley (22) celebrates with center Cody Darosa (74) after scoring a touchdown during the second half of the game at Del Campo High School on Friday, Sept. 1, 2023, in Fair Oaks.

But the second half was all Raiders. After Del Campo scored on its opening drive of the second half, Swilley slithered through his linemen’s blocking for another 58-yard score on the first play of the Raiders’ ensuing possession to make it 28-20. River City’s defense held Del Campo scoreless from that point while Swilley capped the scoring with a 65-yard burst to the end zone, icing the Raiders’ first 3-0 start to a season since 2017.

“There’s a shift in West Sacramento. Football is back,” said Tribble, a San Jose native who played collegiately at Florida A&M and has 20 years of coaching experience. He first was a linebackers coach at Pat Tillman’s alma mater, Leland High School in San Jose, and had a stint at Overfelt High School before taking his first Sacramento-area job at River City.

As a defensive-minded coach, Tribble aims to get River City some long-awaited due on the football field.

“We need to get rid of that old River City stigma,” Tribble said. “People used to say River City is soft and not focused. You take that as an insult as a coach. Attitude reflects leadership. My goal is to get them the respect they deserve.”

River City also paid respects to a beloved coach in Mike Dominick, the program’s JV head coach, who died on Sunday.

“We honored him today,” said Tribble, who pulled double duty as River City’s JV coach in place of his late coach and friend. “JV won and varsity took care of business. We’re one program and we did it for Coach Mike and his family.”

Swilley added that Dominick’s memory was a big motivating factor in this week’s preparation.

“That just gave us another thing to strive for,” Swilley said. “He was always telling us jokes, making sure we’re good. One of our favorite coaches. He coached some of us when we were in Pop Warner. He interacted with everybody.”

Del Campo’s first score was a 30-yard connection from QB Angel Reyna to sophomore Brody Bieneman to give the Cougars a 7-0 lead midway through the first. Richard Johnson’s 15-yard sweep gave Del Campo a 14-7 lead midway through the second quarter before River City reclaimed a 21-14 lead.

Sophomore Kamariawn Law had a huge night returning kicks for the Cougars. He set up Del Campo’s only score of the second half, a 6-yard run from Jordan Wiley, who doubles as a fly half for the national powerhouse Granite Bay rugby team.

“He’s getting some scholarship offers for rugby,” Del Campo head coach Matt Costa said of Wiley. “Hopefully, we can get him some for football. I’d say rugby is his life and football is his girlfriend.”

Del Campo Cougars’ running back Jordan Wiley’s (6) power keeps him from getting tackled during the first half of the high school football game at Del Campo High School on Friday in Fair Oaks.
Del Campo Cougars’ running back Jordan Wiley’s (6) power keeps him from getting tackled during the first half of the high school football game at Del Campo High School on Friday in Fair Oaks.

Del Campo moves to 2-1 with the loss and looks toward a road matchup at Woodland next Friday.

River City took down Lincoln 21-7 in the season opener and prevailed in an overtime thriller last week against River Valley. River City’s defense held the Falcons scoreless on their first overtime drive before sophomore quarterback Ki-Wan Stallworth launched a 30-yard game-winning touchdown pass to Sabatke for a 26-20 victory.

“We shocked the world at Lincoln and we showed grit in the comeback last Friday,” said Tribble. “It’s just a change in attitude and culture. The boys have bought into what we’re about and what we’ve been working on since the spring, and it’s showing every game.”

River City will host Rosemont next Friday. The Raiders plan to honor Dominick during pregame ceremonies.

River City Raiders running back Vincent Alvarez (11) jumps over his teammate during the first half of the high school football game at Del Campo High School on Friday in Fair Oaks.
River City Raiders running back Vincent Alvarez (11) jumps over his teammate during the first half of the high school football game at Del Campo High School on Friday in Fair Oaks.