Family feud: Nothing personal, son, it’s Causeway Classic week
It’s Causeway Classic week, meaning it’s time to ramp up the rivalry vibe.
Right on down to family.
UC Davis starting tackle Kooper Richardson has always been a fan of his dad, pulling for his teams to win in large part because he once played on them at Folsom High School. But some of that “We are Family” sentiment will take a few-hour break Saturday in the 66th meeting of the Aggies and Sacramento State at Hornet Stadium.
You see, young Richardson will be going against his father, Kris Richardson. Not in the trenches, per se, but close. Kris is the assistant head coach for Sac State, in charge of the Hornets offensive line. When his guards, tackles and center are on the sideline for a breather, coach Richardson may take a peek at the game action where his son is tasked with helping keep UCD’s all-time prolific passer, Jake Maier, upright.
Kooper played for his father and Troy Taylor, Sac State’s first-year head coach, at Folsom, resulting in multiple championships and lasting memories. There is a ton at stake here beyond bragging rights. Sac State (8-3) can clinch at least a share of the Big Sky Conference championship with a victory, which would ensure the program its first playoff berth since 1988. UCD (5-6) can jam up those plans with a victory a year after a rout of Sac State gave the Aggies a piece of the Big Sky title.
But this might be the week that Kris changed the locks at the family’s Folsom home, at least until Sunday. And dad has already reminded big Koop not to haul laundry their way.
“It’s part of the greatness of sport,” Kooper said. “Dad and I talked on Monday. Never know how the game will go Saturday, but I’m thinking of Thanksgiving at the house next week and if I’m invited.”
And this: Kooper’s younger brother, Kaden, also blocks for extra curricular fun and sleeps in Aggies colors. He’s a redshirt freshman center for UCD. On Wednesday night at UCD, Kaden and Kooper coached against each other in a girls powder puff football league, a brutal tutorial task to be sure.
“I always told you those Richardson boys were pretty smart!” Kris joked this week.
Kaden’s team won 8-0. “Yeah, he gloated, of course!” Kooper said.
Coach Richardson said that if UCD wins the Causeway, heaven forbid, “I’ll pay the food bill. Oh, wait. I already do!”
He added that teenage daughter Katie and family team mom for all seasons – wife Kelly – are torn amid loyalty and love this week. Katie is “hopefully” rooting for her father and Sac State, her dad said, especially if she wants to go to Disneyland again.
“I geared her up with Hornet gear, trying to sway her vote,” coach Richardson said. “Kelly, it’s hard for her to root against her baby boys.”
Translation: Guess who’s sleeping on the family coach in Camp Richardson these days? Full disclosure: Kelly will sit on the UCD side with Kooper’s girlfriend, Kylie.
Added Kooper, “The relationship Kaden and I have with dad is amazing,” Kooper said. “We couldn’t be more proud of what he’s done and Sac State is doing.”
CAUSEWAY QUICK HITS
▪ UC Davis leads the series 46-20
▪ This is the 66th Causeway but the 67th meeting, as Sac State defeated UCD in a 1988 playoff game.
▪ The Aggies lead the series 8-4 since the programs moved up to Division I in 2003.
▪ UCD has the two longest Causeway winning streaks, 18 and eight.
▪ The longest series streak for Sac State is five, through 1991.
▪ This is the 11th successive season the Causeway caps the regular season.
▪ This is the first Causeway to see Sac State ranked in an FCS poll, coming in at a program-best No. 4.
▪ With Sac State 8-3 and UCD 5-6, this is the most combined wins for a Causeway since 1986, when UCD was 8-1 and Sac State 5-3-1.
▪ In 1985, Sac State was 8-2 and UCD 8-1 when the teams met.
▪ The first game was in 1954, won by the Aggies 14-0.
▪ Sac State in 1957 clinched its first winning season with a 26-0 victory over UCD.
▪ Famed UCD coach Jim Sochor’s “favorite Causeway” was in 1970, when the Aggies prevailed 28-0 to snap a five-year skid to Sac State, leading the way to 18 successive conference titles for UCD. “That really set the tone for us,” Sochor said years later.
▪ When Sac State went 1-10 in 1996, the victory was 27-24 over UCD.
▪ In 2001, UCD beat Sac State 43-0, clinching the Aggies’ NCAA Division II record 32nd consecutive winning season.
▪ Sensing a catchy moniker was needed to boost the rivalry appeal, then-Sac State sports information director Mike Duncan in 1983 came up with “Causeway Classic” to recognize the elevated highway over low-lying farmland that links Davis and Sacramento.
