Sheldon races past Capital Christian despite suspension of starting QB; latest on Loveall

It was run, run, run for the Sheldon Huskies on Friday night as they went through their season opener with only two pass attempts and zero completions.

Coach Chris Nixon was ready to throw even without his starting quarterback, who was ejected from a scrimmage last week, but his trio of senior running backs took charge, leading the Bee No. 18-ranked Huskies to a 26-7 victory over No. 17 Capital Christian.

James Kamara entered the night without the starting job, but he showed up by scoring two touchdowns and rushing for 122 yards. Kamara, in fact, wasn’t even sure he would play this season. Nixon calls him a “rags to riches story” in his improvement, punctuated by Friday’s effort. Disappointed with a lack of playing time last year, Kamara sat out the final few weeks of the season.

Now a year wiser and appreciating the benefits of hard work, Kamara praised his offensive line immediately after the game.

“It was pretty good,” Kamara said of the game. “The O-line just did their job and let us run consistently throughout this game and they just never let up. We were able to do so well because of them.”

Those lineman: Doma Afoa, Fernando Lopez, Ian Daricek, Jason Ma and Anthony Ramos.

This game clearly inspired Kamara as he was talking about potentially continuing his football career into college. If he doesn’t play college football, though, he already has a backup plan in his desire to become a radiologist. Even this week, Kamara said he struggled with confidence. He kept in contact with his coaches, texting them Thursday night to get prepared for this matchup.

“He was a little disappointed last year,” Nixon said of Kamara. “He didn’t get to play too much and wasn’t sure what to expect coming into this year. He struggled in that scrimmage (last week) so he didn’t get the start tonight, but when he came out, he showed up and did one heck of a job.”

Malakai Savage rushed for 74 yards and a touchdown for Sheldon and had two tackles for a loss on defense. Damarea Harden ran for 104 yards and a score.

Nixon said he’ll be much more prepared to call more passing plays next week against Vacaville. It’s a young team with only four starters returning from last season’s 8-4 Sac-Joaquin Section playoff team. Quarterback Mario Orozco is expected to start at least the next two games if regular starter Zayden Learson is not cleared. Ejected players are required by CIF rules to miss a game or more, depending on what the section office deems fair.

Looking ahead to that matchup, Nixon heaped praise on longtime Vacaville coach Mike Papadopoulos, saying his team needed to be ready for anything.

Playing for Trevor

Capital Christian put up a spirited fight as the Cougars were playing for teammate Trevor Loveall, a 6-foot-3, 305-pound two-way lineman who collapsed in the team’s scrimmage last Saturday. It was a heart-wrenching time for the Cougars trying to prepare for their season opener while their teammate was in the ICU at a Roseville hospital.

Capital Christian principal Chris Orr described how the team rallied for Loveall, saying the entire team went to the hospital to pray for their teammate in the parking lot. When they came to practice Monday, they were met with good news.

“Trevor was breathing on his own on Monday when we got all the guys back together,” Orr said. “It was such a relief to cross that bridge where he was stable and to be able to deliver that news and get them going again.”

Orr said Loveall’s immediate reaction when he woke up was focused on his team.

“The first thing he wanted to know was what was going on with the team,” Orr said. “He couldn’t remember much of what had happened and he was planning on being out here, so he just wanted to get right into how it was going to go against Sheldon.”

Coach Aaron Garcia said Loveall was in contact with teammates before Friday’s game, sending them videos and words of inspiration. The defensive linemen Loveall plays with are a tight-knit group, Garcia said, nicknaming themselves the “D-block”.

Loveall was able to watch the game from his hospital bed as it was live streamed with multiple cameras set up around the field. The support for Loveall was evident inside the stadium. A packed crowd gave a long standing ovation when Pastor Scott Hagan announced a status update on Loveall over the speakers before Capital Christian’s traditional prayer.

Loveall underwent a medical procedure Friday, but he is recovering and expected to be released sometime Saturday. Orr said it’s still unclear what caused the episode, but Loveall’s coaches and teammates are just glad he’s recovering.

Strike up the band

The Capital Christian band has had little time to practice since school started, but Garcia told legendary band teacher Jim “Papa” Reber this was a special event and their presence at the home opener would mean the world to the team given the circumstances. Reber is also the father of new Inderkum coach Justin Reber.

Capital Christian will face Inderkum on Thursday in Natomas.