Prep football 2023: Players, teams to watch as practice gets underway in Sacramento region

The last high school football season ended in the chill of December, everyone outside of shoulder pads bundled to their ear lobes.

The new campaign for Sacramento-area programs starts Monday in the sizzling heat of the here and now with the first day of team practices.

If this seems like an earlier start date than usual, it’s not. It just feels that way because vacation time has been squeezed for coaches, players, staffers and families. For those who remember when football practices started in August with the first games kicking off after the September Labor Day weekend, you’ve been around awhile.

So, too, has the third-week-of-July practice starts. The earlier practices have been in place for several years, an effort to squeeze 16 weeks of a season into a summer/fall schedule. This includes 11 weeks to play 10 regular-season games (with a bye) and four weeks of postseason play.

But it goes beyond that, of course. Monday is when helmets will be handed out, sort of a Christmas theme as the sun bakes the valley. Teams will not have fully padded sessions until next week. Programs will engage in intrasquad scrimmages on the weekend of Aug. 4-5 (at Del Oro, this rates as a big-time community gathering with food and music to go with blocking and tackling). Teams on Aug. 11-12 will compete in scrimmages with season openers scheduled for Aug. 18-19.

By any measure and temperature, it’s go time. Here’s a peek at storylines to ponder:

Beat the heat!: The days of no water to toughen guys up are well in the past when, remarkably, people discovered that a hydrated athlete is a much better performing one. Coaches for years have embraced and mandated water breaks when those a generation before frowned and fumed about the very idea of even a trickle of water touching the lips of parched players.

Also, team captains now regularly keep an eye out for a teammate who might appear a bit wobbly or thirsty.

Transfer update: The Grant Pacers were already projected to field another powerhouse this season after storming to a CIF State Division 3-A championship last season under Bee Coaches of the Year Carl Reed and Syd Thompson, and now they received a trio boost with big-name transfers arriving in Del Paso Heights.

Mind you, Grant over the decades has lost a lot more players to other schools than it has gained, and transferring comes with a price, mainly having to sit out 30 days, per CIF policy. Devin Green, a star running back for Sheldon in 2022, has given a verbal pledge to play at UNLV on scholarship. Wayshawn Parker, an All-Metro running back/linebacker for Elk Grove, will surely add pop to a ferocious defense. Same with former Inderkum star lineman Jeremiah Tuiileila, who had 11 sacks last season. The star already in place for Grant is national recruit Kingston Lopa, all 6-foot-5 of secondary roaming coverage.

Bell ringer: Phillip Bell, a two-time All-Metro receiver at Christian Brothers, left the Falcons to play in Southern California, where he prepares for his junior campaign as a national recruit. Christian Brothers aims to return to a section final under coach Larry Morla anyway with returning quarterbacks Deakon Holden and William Littlejohn, running back Ezekiel Castex, defensive back Isaiah Jordan and lineman leader Mason Vicari, who fills a door frame at 6-5 and 260 pounds.

Action Jackson: Carter Jackson started his prep career at Folsom, starting in the secondary for the Bulldogs’ CIF Northern California championship team, and then sprinted and rushed for 1,568 yards and 22 touchdowns last season as a sophomore for Granite Bay, which reached the section D-II finals under coach Joe Cattolico. Carter gave serious thought to a return to Folsom but the national recruit elected to stay put, where he will team with brutish fullback Isaiah Ene again as well as tight end/linebacker All-Metro star Frank Cusano, a Washington State commit.

Radcliffe in motion: The start of the season also marks the return of one of the region’s top players and recruits in Sacramento High’s Lamar Radcliffe, a bruising 6-foot-2, 225-pound senior with scholarship offers from all over the Pac-12. He missed all but a couple of plays last season with a knee injury. He is back on track.

Is Folsom still the top dog?: Until otherwise noted, yes. Folsom has been The Bee’s preseason No. 1 team every season but once since 2011. Fresh off its ninth section championship since 2010 and seventh Sierra Foothill League crown since entering the section’s top conference in 2014, Folsom looms as the region’s most talented squad.

Folsom coach Paul Doherty has a new quarterback star in the making in Ryder Lyons and a host of returners, including emerging star receiver Brian Ray III and All-Metro lineman bruiser Theo Gruele.

And in El Dorado Hills?: Oak Ridge is alive and well under spirited coach Casey Taylor, who in his first season at his alma mater last fall got the Trojans into the D-I section finals. Oak Ridge will especially be strong with its big guys, including national recruit tight end Kaleb Edwards (6-6, 230), linebacker/tight end Gavin Molloy (6-3, 225) and linemen Markus Hoffmann (6-3, 245) and Ethan Dasmann (6-6, 280). Oak Ridge hosts Grant on Aug. 25.

Ram power: Casa Roble returns a wealth of talent as it pursues a section championship under coach Chris Horner, who polished every one of his sparkling new helmets for a Monday giveaway. As an early 1990s All-Metro lineman from San Juan, the old coach appreciates his returning trenchmen in Ethan Elder and Evan Combs on a team led by All-Metro star receiver Cole Owens.

Hillmen highs: Placer never tries to reinvent the wheel in this sport. Coach Joey Montoya just refines the wing-T run game, and the storied program features a bevy of backs in runners Kosta Alexsic and Baylor Kelley and quarterback Josh Craycraft.

Big Red at night?: Jesuit, a Saturday home team since it opened in Carmichael in 1963, will play its first two home games under the lights on campus, against Mangoue of Reno and St. Ignatius of San Francisco. This will help enhance a night vibe while shining the light on emerging quarterback star CJ Lee as coach Marlon Blanton and the Marauders close out their Delta League run before their requested move to the SFL starting in the fall of 2024.

VDL in cruise control: Vista del Lago will be a title contender again because it returns star quarterback Johnny Koett, star receiver Matt Long and star lineman Brandon Nazworth. That’s as formidable of a 1-2-3 punch as you’ll find.

Crossing new bridges: What can Twelve Bridges do for an encore? The splashy new school in Lincoln that will graduate its first class next spring reached the playoffs in its first varsity showing last fall under coach Chris Bean and now aim to win a section crown under returning quarterback Whit Kruse and running back Nathan Crawford.

Pale prayer: It’s not a true high school football season in these parts when James Pale isn’t on the sideline, offering guidance and an ear from his years at Burbank and Elk Grove. The beloved coach and activities director at Elk Grove has been recovering from a spring blood clot scare that resulted in a loss of kidney function. His best friend is Elk Grove head coach John Heffernan, who said his Thundering Herd will compete the way Pale always expects: with ferocity to the finish.

Mustang might: Monterey Trail will battle Grant and Laguna Creek again in the Metro League before it returns to the Delta League next fall, and the Mustangs will do it with a power run game and a speedy defense under coach TJ Ewing and line play led by All-Metro tight end Davon Chism. Monterey Trail opens the season against Folsom.

Sutter, again? Yes and yes. Sutter went 11-1 in its debut season in this section and could be even better this season with the return of 6-6 quarterback Jagger Beck, linebacker Jeevan Chatha and Fresno State-bound lineman Auckland Asiata for coach Ryan Reynolds.

Other small-school programs that continue to play big include Bear River, Bradshaw Christian, Colfax, Delta, East Nicolaus, El Dorado, Union Mine and Woodland Christian.

High hopes: The start of practice also means all manner of positivity for programs eager to reach the playoffs. That includes Mesa Verde with its splashy new home field; Pleasant Grove with a wealth of returners, including quarterback Cole Davis; Davis High with lineman star AJ Hasson; Laguna Creek with do-all leader Halim Tholley; Rio Americano with emerging star Robert Hamel; and Cosumnes Oaks with two-way player Myles McFarland, among many.

The gift of giving: In football, coaches form their own unique fraternity as they understand each other’s vision of leadership and dealing with challenges. El Dorado coach Kevin Placek recently hosted a youth football camp on his Placerville campus but was short on footballs. He reached out to Justin Peterson of Folsom youth football, who touched base with Paul Doherty, the Folsom High head coach, who in quick order had 30 balls shipped up the hill.

Placek also found that he needed a helmet larger than your typical extra large lid for an El Dorado junior varsity player. Placek worked his sources online, networked with coaches, and he was delighted when Grant assistant coach Damian Leach reached out. Leach ordered a helmet on Amazon and shipped it to El Dorado. El Dorado doesn’t play Folsom or Grant, but the teams are on the same page when it comes to helping out.

“As a small-school coach trying to keep this program afloat, I am beside myself with appreciation for these two programs to help us,” Placek said.

The season is weeks away from an official start, and it’s already off to a rousing good start.

▪ This is just a sample of the sort of high school football coverage The Bee will provide this season with top player lists, team rankings, previews and profiles coming soon. Subscribe to be part of the action and read what you can’t see.