Dinwiddie wins Grey Cup; Shaw out at Stanford; Arroyo out at UNLV; ARC in NorCal final

Bouncing around the regional football scene in a forward lean, from Ryan Dinwiddie winning it all in the CFL and the trickle-down of David Shaw’s resignation to a local coach out in the FBS ranks and American River College’s run to a NorCal JC final.

We begin in the Canadian Football League, which starts first and finishes first, and this season, the 109th Grey Cup championship ended with Dinwiddie hoisting the trophy Nov. 20 at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Saskatchewan.

Dinwiddie is the Toronto Argonauts coach, who, in his second season, coached the franchise to a 24-23 victory over two-time defending champion Winnipeg to capture the cup.

That’s a big deal north of the border, and it’s a big deal in the Elk Grove home of his parents, Wayne and Sandy. They were Elk Grove High School sweethearts. Wayne once said he was drawn to Sandy, a member of the school’s color guard back in the day, for her “hotpants and boots.’‘

Dinwiddie is the son of a coach as Wayne worked for decades on the Elk Grove sideline. Dinwiddie quarterbacked Elk Grove to 13-1 and 14-0 seasons in 1997-98, and then wowed Boise State coaches, including head man Dan Hawkins (now the head man at UC Davis), with how he could pick apart defenses on the white board.

Dinwiddie set NCAA passing efficiency records at Boise State, played a bit in the CFL and then got into coaching. His roster this season included one-time Sacramento State quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson.

Lance Briggs is the most accomplished football player in Elk Grove High history, the driving force on those late 1990s Thundering Herd title teams who went on to become a seven-time Pro Bowl linebacker with the Chicago Bears. He’s always been a big fan of Dinwiddie, darn near a son to Wayne and Sandy and a brother to Ryan.

“Ryan is one of the area’s best talents,” Briggs told The Sacramento Bee. “He has always shown an ability to lead. No nonsense and straight to the point. He has poured his heart out to the sport he loves so much. I don’t know another man that loves the game as much as him.”

Briggs added, “All he’s ever needed was a real opportunity (including at Boise State). Never was given a real opportunity in (the NFL). Went on to play, then later coached in Canada. Ryan deserves his flowers. He sits atop an entire professional football league in only his second season. The road that he had to take to get to this moment, he carved out himself. Every obstacle, every hurdle, just kept chipping away until his opportunity presented itself and he was ready for it.”

Shaw out at Stanford

David Shaw stepped down as Stanford’s coach following consecutive 3-9 seasons. He is the program’s winningest coach with 96 victories over 12 seasons, and the trickle-down effect includes high school stars who committed to Stanford.

Elk Grove lineman star Simi Pale remains committed to Stanford, and that will become binding on national signing day. Folsom High tight end Walker Lyons, who missed all but a quarter of this season with a broken leg, has re-opened his college options. He had committed verbally to Stanford before the season started.

Who replaces Shaw has become a national story that includes Troy Taylor, who has his 11-0 Sacramento State team preparing for the FCS playoffs. Taylor told The Bee recently that he has “no intention of leaving” the Hornets any time soon.

Arroyo out at UNLV

Marcus Arroyo, the pride of Colfax High, was fired by UNLV as head coach after going 7-23 in his three seasons. He went 5-7 this season. The Rebels lost their first 14 games under Arroyo and then started this season 4-1. Arroyo set passing records at Colfax in the late 1990s and started at quarterback at San Jose State.

Beavers reach for NorCal final

American River will play at state power San Mateo on Saturday at noon for the CCCAA Northern California championship.

ARC defeated Laney of Oakland 43-21 in a semifinal as Kenny Lueth hit Grayson Barnes for a 36-yard touchdown pass and connected with Ian Simpson for strikes of 62 and 5 yards. Robert Freeman returned a kickoff 93 yards for a score as the Beavers improved to 8-3.

San Mateo (11-1) defeated Modesto 30-0 in the other semifinal as Richi Watts, a prep teammate of Lueth’s at Rocklin High, passed for 228 yards and two touchdowns.