2010-11 season: Prep moments, milestones and memories

July 18 2011 by Taylah Cosgrove in Education Sport Tips |No Comments

A Bulldog uprising

Folsom expected to have a good football team in 2010, but would good merge into greatness? It did. A season-opening loss to state No. 1 Grant inspired coach Kris Richardson’s team. With Dano Graves expertly running the spread offense and benefiting from superb line play and with defensive coordinator Max Miller unleashing his troops the Bulldogs didn’t look back. They stormed to playoff routs in inclement weather, bombing 11-0 Vacaville 75-6 in driving rain to set a national playoff record for points in a half. Folsom scored all 75 of its points before halftime. The capper was taking down unbeaten national power Serra of Gardena 48-20 in the Division II state bowl game in the mud and muck in Carson. Serra coaches tried to have their players use illegal cleats for better footing before game directors threatened a forfeit. Folsom rolled behind Graves. In the final two games Grant and Serra he was responsible for 12 touchdowns (seven passing, five rushing) to cap what Miller deemed “the greatest year for a player we’ve ever seen around here.”

Golden achievers

When Del Oro football uncharacteristically started 2-4, a small but vocal group of parents urged the removal of Casey Taylor as coach. They had short memories, apparently, as Taylor had long been a revered championship coach in Loomis. Taylor and his staff cut several starters who also had complained, inserted new faces and rolled to a Division III championship.

Dragons’ two-step

Sacramento High has fast become a state power in basketball. The Oak Park charter school has produced top teams and top talents. Even through adversity, the Dragons soared. National recruit Josiah Turner was removed from the team at midseason after a drama-filled early season with family complaints about playing time. Coach Derek Swafford, not one to yield to star power, held firm and demanded accountability. Turner bolted for an Eastern prep school, Quality Education Academy, and the Dragons retooled and went on to win the Sac-Joaquin Section title. The girls, under coach Michele Massari, overcame the loss of four graduated starters to win the section title. Massari, like her friend Swafford, ruled with equal parts fire and charm. She was named The Bee’s Coach of the Year.

Baxter’s brilliance

Bill Baxter didn’t want this job, coaching girls basketball at El Camino, but in 1987, he was practically begged/ordered to give it a shot, to save the program. He has been a winner ever since, including claiming win No. 600 with one of his best teams. Frenetic and demanding, Baxter said age has made him appear more friendly to his players, who “probably think I’m a madman, and they’re right.”

Exits, stage right

The area celebrated the careers of two of the region’s all-time classy winners in retiring basketball coaches Bob Jones of Cordova and Harvey Tahara of McClatchy, fixtures on the bench for decades. Jones and Tahara got to coach their children, coach at Arco Arena and hoist section banners a time or two. That scores of alumni and parents from years past continued to keep in touch signified their impact.

Fast risers

It generally takes a new school years to become competitive, to toughen up after some beatdowns. Didn’t happen in football, as Antelope coach Matt Ray led his team to a league title, or in basketball, as boys coach Rob Richards directed a team that made regional history. The Titans became the only team with a first-time senior class to win a Northern California basketball playoff game, and they did it spurred on by rowdy fans and faculty, headed by principal John Becker.

State champs

From long shot to the one standing on the highest platform, Jake Elliott of Oakmont capped a 39-1 season by winning the state 145-pound wrestling title. He admitted to being as surprised as anyone, from unknown to a fixture forever in the record books. In track, Ian Rock of Davis won the state pole vault title in a steady rain, clearing 16 feet, 2 inches, then triumphantly held his fist high.

School of champs

Granite Bay has been an athletic power across the board seemingly since it opened in the mid-1990s. Though the Grizzlies did not win any section titles in the high-profile sports of football or basketball this year, their dominance elsewhere is a testament to a complete program. Their eight championships came in girls and boys tennis, girls cross country, girls and boys soccer, wrestling, boys swimming and boys golf.

A point machine

Kendal Nielsen was Bear River’s only representative in the section D-III track and field championships at Bella Vista. By winning the long and triple jumps, and placing in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, the junior amassed all 28 team points for the Bruins, good enough to win the team title. And she wasn’t even tired.

Year-round achievers

The Bee’s Athletes of the Year were leaders and winners as seniors. Belle Obert of Del Oro was an impact player at the net as a middle blocker in volleyball and a courageous stopper in basketball, overcoming injuries and double teams. She also sported a 4.2 grade-point average and is off to Butler in Indianapolis on a volleyball scholarship. James Sample of Grant was an All-American at safety who also starred in basketball and track. A 3.2 GPA student headed to Washington to play football, Sample made his greatest impact by befriending 8-year-old Camilo Graniel, a multiple open-heart surgery patient whose dream was to meet the Grant Pacers. He did, and then, upon leaving the hospital, was adopted by the team as the Pacers’ honorary captain for the second half of the season. Said Sample, “This is what real life is about.”

Learning Centre

Navigate Through Locations to Find Source of Education