Five Sacramento-area football teams that finally won a game and 16 seeking first victory
Victory at last.
For five Sacramento-area high school football teams, weeks of relentless hot work in practice and the weight room paid off Friday beyond the theme of team growth. As long as there is a scoreboard at games, winning will remain the objective.
The five teams who broke through and 16 more area clubs seeking that first triumph have faced a rash of injuries, low roster numbers, inexperience, bad luck and good competition.
El Dorado was a playoff team last season, graduated a host of stars and replaced them with youngsters. The Cougars of Placerville start just four seniors.
“The guys are working hard every day,” said El Dorado coach Kevin Placek, who speaks for all teams that have struggled early. “We are having to modify some things we do in practice because we’re practicing with 20 or 21 guys. We see the improvement each week. We talk every week about getting on the field and fighting for four quarters. I tell the guys each week that growing pains hurt, but we are working and building something more than just this year.”
A closer look at the Breakthrough 5:
El Dorado (1-4)
The Cougars beat Woodland 39-13 at home, pleasing Placek and the staff to the point that they hustled to downtown Placerville to the Bell Tower for the customary ringing of that old chime for every point scored, a grand way to cap homecoming night. The reverberating bell ringing didn’t start until just before midnight because of an 8 p.m. kickoff and homecoming festivities, but no one filed any complaints.
Sage Pittman passed for 198 yards with touchdown strikes to Jesse Morales-Beas, Jayden Ferreira and Jeremy Kimber. Tyler Villa rushed 18 times for 148 yards and two scores. Ferreira also had six quarterback hurries on defense, and Kimber and Morales-Beas each had interceptions.
El Dorado opened the season with a 35-21 loss to Ponderosa and agonized over a last-play 25-22 loss at East Nicolaus before topping Woodland. The Cougars have a bye Friday before opening Sierra Valley Conference play at Liberty Ranch in Galt on Sept. 29.
Franklin (1-4)
The Wildcats of the Elk Grove Unified School District see only one number these days: The 1-0 mark in the Delta League after opening league play with a 6-0 win over Davis. The losses were to Woodcreek (which is 4-0), Laguna Creek (3-2 with two last-play or last-second losses), Tokay of Lodi (3-2) and Lodi (2-2), meaning tough losses to good teams.
Franklin head coach Joseph McCray knew it would take time to get the Wildcats going again, as did assistant coach Cary Trzcinski, who was delighted in watching his senior son do a little bit of everything against Davis. Jojo Trzcinski rushed for a game-high 55 yards, had four catches from Colin Schroeder for 30 yards, made seven tackles, including two sacks, and returned a blocked field goal 85 yards for the game’s only score. He earned his ice bath.
Franklin visits 1-4 Sheldon on Friday.
McClatchy (1-3)
Under first-year coach and McClatchy alum Tracy Mitchell, the Lions were motivated to beat Kennedy, their chief rival since 1968, and they did so with a 34-18 win in a Metro League opener.
Zayvion Brown had a touchdown pass, rushed 52 yards and had a score. Samuel Hernandez-Hartman rushed 18 times for 146 yards and a score. Cesar Romero rushed for two scores and Zion Breedlove had seven tackles.
The Lions didn’t just win a game. They scored their first points after suffering losses of 43-0 to Rio Americano (5-0), 44-0 to Rosemont (4-1) and 55-0 to Nevada Union (3-2).
McClatchy earned a week off with a Friday bye before hosting River City at Hughes Stadium on Sept. 29.
Monterey Trail (1-3)
The Mustangs have been ranked all season by The Bee, and have been ranked pretty much every week for years as one of the region’s powerhouse programs.
Coach T.J. Ewing schedules tough to prepare for the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs, which explains the 0-3 start with losses to Bee No. 1 Folsom (35-0) and Bay Area powers Saint Francis of Mountain View (28-21) and Pittsburg (10-7).
Unbeaten at 22-0 in the Metro League since entering the league before the 2018 season, Monterey Trail beat fellow Elk Grove Unified School District member Laguna Creek 41-35 in double overtime as Vontrelle Waffer rushed for 159 yards and three touchdowns. D’Adrien Sanders went for 90 yards and two rushing scores. Arik Phillips had 103 all-purpose yards, Donte Jacobs had 17 tackles and Davon Chism returned a fumble 76 yards for a score.
The Mustangs have a bye this week. They will visit Burbank on Sept. 29.
Valley (1-4)
On the eve of the season, first-year coach Donald James said this was a work in progress, but his 24-man roster would compete as they continued to learn the game and what it takes to achieve.
The Vikings opened with losses of 35-22 to Golden Sierra, 28-6 to Riverbank, 40-0 to Mira Loma and 44-0 to Valley Christian of Roseville, teams Valley would never schedule in decades past when it was a regional power.
But struggling teams schedule those in a similar predicament of trying to find their footing. In beating Western Sierra Academy of Rocklin 28-0, Timothy Dorsey had two rushing touchdowns and two two-point conversions. Also, Carmine Bermudez had a 9-yard touchdown to Joshua Brown and a 2-yard scoring run, and the defense celebrated a shutout.
Valley has a bye this week. The Vikings will open Greater Sacramento League play at home at Cosumnes River College against Johnson on Sept. 29.
Who’s next?
Those looking for their first victory as we rank them in order of strength:
Placer (0-4)
The Hillmen have started slow before and bounced back to win league championships.
Antelope (0-5)
A misleading 0-5 with losses to Bee-ranked teams Whitney, Elk Grove, Granite Bay and Roseville.
Capital Christian (0-4)
A powerhouse for years, the Cougars are a young team finding their way amid injuries.
Sacramento (0-5)
With 17 starters back, the Dragons have competed in most games and are due.
River Valley (0-5)
The right coach is in place in Alex Gomes-Coelho, and the Falcons of Yuba City have improved a ton.
Lincoln (0-5)
Veteran coach Allen Berg isn’t about to quit, and neither are the Zebras.
Dixon (0-4)
Rams coach Wes Besseghini has led 11 playoff teams. Down cycles happen.
Woodland (0-5)
The Wolves were a nine-win team in 2021, and coach Javier Marin knows their time will come again.
Oakmont (0-5)
First-year coach Jake Messina has turned programs around before; the effort is there.
Cordova (0-4)
First-year coach JP Dolliver has coached playoff teams before; the offense is improving.
Kennedy (0-5)
First-year coach Dante Bush knew this was an uphill climb, and he does have some players.
Florin (0-5)
Veteran coach Dan Davis is all class, an example of how to handle defeat with learning lessons.
Esparto (0-4)
Coach Chris Carr led a nine-win playoff team in 2022 and has been hammered by team injuries.
Vacaville Christian (0-4)
Coach Manny Tarango has led playoff teams before, and cycles happen.
Western Sierra (0-4)
Coach Otis Washington hasn’t lost his love for his players. It takes time.
San Juan (0-4)
Coach David Castillo hangs in there because his team hangs in there. San Juan will host Western Sierra on Friday, so barring a tie, one of these teams will pick up its first win.
