Bulldogs run out of time again

Time turned its back on Vacaville High School Friday night in Stockton. A 38-point deficit in the third quarter took care of that, making the scoreboard operator’s job much easier because he no longer had to stop the clock with St. Mary’s on its way to a lopsided win.

The agony of such a defeat was nothing new for the Bulldogs and their supporters. Vacaville’s time in the 2022 Sac-Joaquin Section Division II playoffs was also cut short in a 42-0 loss to Manteca. The Bulldogs are 6-10 in the postseason with just one semifinal appearance in the past 12 seasons.

There is always next season, but is there any reason to believe the Bulldogs will fare much better after losing several key seniors? And to think the junior varsity team’s 10-0 finish this season will bode for a brighter future for the varsity squad is a bit of a reach.

On top of all that, Vacaville finished second in the Monticello Empire League for the first time since the MEL was realigned in 2017 after Napa and Vintage departed. The 2023 season ended abruptly with the Bulldogs having nothing to show for all their perseverance.

The varsity team ruled the roost in the MEL for six seasons even when the junior varsity did not follow suit. And replacing the likes of Cristian Diosdado, Massimo Menicou, Mills Sweany, Jemeir Buckner and Justin Albrecht could very well be a mission impossible.

Folks in Vacaville chuckled in 2021 when Vanden won the 3-AA state title because the Bulldogs pounded the Vikings 35-17. Vanden snapped Vacaville’s 28-game MEL winning streak on Oct. 6 with a 24-9 victory at Tom Zunino Stadium. The Vikings pulled off the upset with junior quarterback Kalani Mcleod throwing for 388 yards and two touchdowns.

Mcleod will return in 2024 with an opportunity to become a two-time MEL Player of the Year. Will C. Wood will also be set at quarterback with Kimani Dokes coming back as a junior. Dokes threw for 1,400 yards and rushed for 647 in his first season with the Wildcats.

Quarterback is just one of several positions the Bulldogs will have to fill. The MEL will change again when two schools (Armijo and Fairfield) leave in 2024 and three (Pioneer, River City and Sacramento) arrive. Sacramento and Pioneer made the playoffs this season in Divisions IV and V, respectively. Both teams were knocked out Friday night.

For the Bulldogs to dismiss those teams because they qualified in lower divisions would be a mistake. Vacaville fans should have learned the lesson after mocking Vanden in 2021.

Elk Grove throws out passing

Ryan Smith coaches Vacaville High’s defensive backs, so he might as well take this week off as the Bulldogs prepare to face Elk Grove on Friday in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II playoffs. Anyone who has followed the Bulldogs in recent seasons knows the Thundering Herd throw the ball as often as a fat guy sees his shoes.

Elk Grove’s David Hale has thrown 10 or more passes in three games this season and completed more than four just once. The junior went 9-of-12 for 67 yards and a touchdown in a 45-7 loss to San Ramon Valley on Sept. 8. That left the Thundering Herd at 1-3, but Elk Grove recovered with five consecutive wins to become eligible for the playoffs.

Ryan Smith

The section has straightened out its playoff format by using enrollment to determine which teams belong in one of the seven divisions. Teams had to win a minimum of four games to advance to the playoffs except in Division IV, which had 10 teams qualify and filled out the 12-team bracket by adding two teams based on CalPreps rankings.

Dixon and Ceres made it with 3-7 records. The ninth-seeded Rams, who started 0-5 this season, will play Rosemont in Sacramento on Friday. The winner will advance to the quarterfinals and face No. 1 Twelve Bridges in Lincoln on Nov. 10. Twelve Bridges opened in the fall of 2021.

Vacaville is the No. 9 seed in Division II and will travel to Elk Grove. This will be their fourth postseason meeting in six years. There were no playoffs three years ago when the spread of COVID-19 turned the 2020 fall season into five games in the spring of 2021.

The Bulldogs would rather not be reminded that they lost the first three playoff meetings with the Thundering Herd. The 2018 loss was respectable with Elk Grove scoring four touchdowns in the second quarter on its way to a 28-21 victory. A year later, Elk Grove ran for 392 yards and six touchdowns in a 52-29 rout. Elk Grove was 0-of-2 passing.

Elk Grove’s Ethan Archuleta did more damage with his legs than his arm in 2021. Archuleta rushed for 242 yards and three touchdowns as the Thundering Herd gained 559 yards on the ground in a 52-48 victory. Archuleta also completed one pass for 24 yards.

Quarterback Ryan Vaughan kept Vacaville in the game by going 28-of-42 for 336 yards and two touchdowns. The senior also ran for 47 yards and a score. Rare is the game in which the Bulldogs have nearly twice as many passing attempts as rushing (24).

Vacaville has had three consecutive seasons with 200 or more passing attempts. To put that in perspective, the Bulldogs had more than 150 in a season just once from 2010 to 2019. Elk Grove has not had more than 85 attempts in a season since 2016, when Jayden Machado completed 159 of 245 passes for 2,294 yards and 35 touchdowns.

Bulldogs offense has no bite

Please contact local law enforcement if you have seen Vacaville High School’s offense. It was missing Friday night as the Bulldogs edged Rodriguez 16-14 despite scoring their fewest points in a Monticello Empire League game since 2014.

The Mustangs lost by fewer than 30 points for just the third time in 15 meetings with the Bulldogs since 2008. Vacaville had 191 yards of total offense after averaging 410 in its first 14 games against Rodriguez.

Vacaville had 139 rushing yards, failing to reach 200 for the sixth time in as many games in 2023.  The Bulldogs have run for 200 just once in their past 18 games and only six times in their past 34 since 2020.

Vacaville quarterback Brody Fortunati has had better luck handing off the ball than throwing it in the past five games.

Put that in perspective. The Bulldogs rushed for 200 or more yards in 32 of their 46 games from 2016 to ’19. And running against Rodriguez has been as easy as mowing the synthetic turf in Tom Zunino Stadium. 

The Bulldogs have run for 300 or more yards against the Mustangs in 10 of 15 games and reached 400 six times. Friday’s game was the third in a row that Rodriguez held Vacaville to fewer than 200.

It is hard to believe the Mustangs have finally figured out how to stop the Bulldogs. No MEL team has had success containing Vacaville’s offense even when the Bulldogs were as predictable as the sun rising.

Quarterback Brody Fortunati has struggled since passing for 321 yards and four touchdowns in the opener against Davis. The senior has thrown for a total of 303 yards and three touchdowns in the past five games. He completed six of a season-low 13 attempts for 52 yards and a touchdown on Friday night.

Vacaville has invested considerable time to diversify its offense and the past two seasons suggest as much. The Bulldogs threw the ball 227 times in 2022 and 251 in ’21, the only seasons in the past 10 in which when they reached 200. 

From 2013 to ’19, the Bulldogs had at least 300 more rushing attempts than passing in six of seven seasons. The ground game became the team’s trademark when the Bulldogs won Sac-Joaquin Section championships in 2007 (572 rushing attempts to 111 passing) and 2011 (666 rushing to 128 passing).

A run heavy offense has one drawback in that a double-digit deficit will be difficult to overcome because running plays take more time. That explains why a team leading in a game will run to drain the clock.

This season is ticking away for the Bulldogs. They must find and define their offense before time runs out.

Brotherly love has limits

Rex Connors must love company. The UC Davis safety shares a three-bedroom apartment with his brother Porter, an Aggies linebacker, running back Matteo Perez and a student who is hopefully majoring in psychiatry so he can figure out why anyone who is not a football player would want to live with three of them.

Being an All-Big Sky Conference selection as a redshirt freshman in 2022 does not mean Connors has a room to himself. It makes sense for the brothers to share a room, so Connors is goes along to get along.

There is one benefit for Porter in living with his brother. Connors takes pride in making eggs for breakfast. Porter does his part by occasionally offering to prepare dinner.  Hamburger Helper is his speciality.

Redshirt sophomore Rex Connors led UC Davis in tackles and interceptions in 2022.

The brothers will soon go their separate ways at night when they move into a six-bedroom house. Connors looks forward to getting out of bed without worrying about slipping on clothes Porter left on the floor.

“He’s the worst (of the two) – 100 percent,” Connors said. “We’ve had to deal with sharing a room for one year. There are definitely those days when one of us can tell that you’re getting on the other one’s nerves.”

Connors earns his keep with the Aggies by getting on opposing running backs and wide receivers. He led the defense last year in tackles  (95) and interceptions (five). No other player had more than 57 tackles. Those statistics have led to Connors being selected to multiple preseason FCS All-America teams.

The 6-foot-1, 203-pound Connors appreciates the honors, but winning is always first  and foremost. UC Davis finished 5-3 in the Big Sky and 6-5 overall in 2022. The Aggies did not receive an at-large berth to the FCS playoffs, but Idaho did despite a 44-26 loss at home to UC Davis. The Vandals went 6-2 in the Big Sky.

“We thought beating Idaho would get us in,” said Connors, who came to UC Davis from Pleasant Grove High School in Utah.

Idaho also lost to Sacramento State. The Aggies fell to the Hornets and two teams Idaho did not play – Weber State and Montana State, which shared the Big Sky championship with Sacramento State at 8-0.

Montana State was ranked No. 1 in the Big Sky coaches and media preseason polls. The coaches picked UC Davis second and Sacramento State third. The Hornets were fourth and the Aggies fifth in the media poll.

Rex Connors

Folks in Davis should have thought of sending a parting gift to Troy Taylor when the coach resigned at Sacramento State to take the Stanford job. The Aggies were 0-3 against the Hornets with Taylor at the helm.

All-Big Sky quarterback Miles Hastings is likely the reason the Aggies ranked ahead of the Hornets in the coaches poll. The Hornets have yet to name a quarterback after losing the tag team of Jake Dunniway and Asher O’Hara.

Connors had 11 tackles and an interception in the Aggies’ 27-21 loss to the Hornets in 2022. He had 10 or more tackles in four games, including 17 in a 24-22 loss at eventual FCS national champion South Dakota State.

The Hornets’ three-game winning streak in the Causeway Classic is their longest since winning four in a row in 1988-91. UC Davis won 21 of 27 meetings, including eight in a row in 2000-07, before Taylor arrived.

Connors thinks it is high time for the Aggies to flip the script on the Hornets. “Last year we were so close,” he said. “We’ve got a little chip on our shoulders this year. I think we’ve got a great shot to do what we want to do.”

UC Davis opens at Texas A&M-Commerce on Thursday. The Aggies will travel to Oregon State on Sept. 9 and then return for their home opener Sept. 16 against Southern Utah.

Being an All-Big Sky Conference selection as a redshirt freshman in 2022 does not mean Connors has a room to himself. It makes sense for the brothers to share a room, so Connors is going along to get along.

There is one benefit for Porter in living with his brother. Connors takes pride in making eggs for breakfast. Porter tries to do his part by occasionally offering to prepare dinner.  Hamburger Helper is his speciality.

Redshirt sophomore Rex Connors led UC Davis in tackles and interceptions in 2022.

The brothers will soon go their separate ways at night when they move into a six-bedroom house. Connors looks forward to getting out of bed without worrying about slipping on clothes Porter left on the floor.

“He’s the worst (of the two) – 100 percent,” Connors said. “We’ve had to deal with sharing a room for one year. There are definitely those days when one of us can tell that you’re getting on the other one’s nerves.”

Connors earns his keep with the Aggies by getting on opposing running backs and wide receivers. He led the defense last year in tackles  (95) and interceptions (five). No other player had more than 57 tackles. Those statistics have led to Connors being selected to multiple preseason FCS All-America teams.

The 6-foot-1, 203-pound Connors appreciates the honors, but winning is always first  and foremost. UC Davis finished 5-3 in the Big Sky and 6-5 overall in 2022. The Aggies did not receive an at-large berth to the FCS playoffs, but Idaho did despite a 44-26 loss at home to UC Davis. The Vandals went 6-2 in the Big Sky.

“We thought beating Idaho would get us in,” said Connors, who came to UC Davis from Pleasant Grove High School in Utah.

Idaho also lost to Sacramento State. The Aggies fell to the Hornets and two teams Idaho did not play – Weber State and Montana State, which shared the Big Sky championship with Sacramento State at 8-0.

Montana State was ranked No. 1 in the Big Sky coaches and media preseason polls. The coaches picked UC Davis second and Sacramento State third. The Hornets were fourth and the Aggies fifth in the media poll.

Rex Connors

Folks in Davis should have thought of sending a parting gift to Troy Taylor when the coach resigned at Sacramento State to take the Stanford job. The Aggies were 0-3 against the Hornets with Taylor at the helm.

All-Big Sky quarterback Miles Hastings is likely the reason the Aggies ranked ahead of the Hornets in the coaches poll. The Hornets have yet to name a quarterback after losing the tag team of Jake Dunniway and Asher O’Hara.

Connors had 11 tackles and an interception in the Aggies’ 27-21 loss to the Hornets in 2022. He had 10 or more tackles in four games, including 17 in a 24-22 loss at eventual FCS national champion South Dakota State.

The Hornets’ three-game winning streak in the Causeway Classic is their longest since winning four in a row in 1988-91. UC Davis won 21 of 27 meetings, including eight in a row in 2000-07, before Taylor arrived.

Connors thinks it is high time for the Aggies to flip the script on the Hornets. “Last year we were so close,” he said. “We’ve got a little chip on our shoulders this year. I think we’ve got a great shot to do what we want to do.”

UC Davis opens at Texas A&M-Commerce on Thursday. The Aggies will travel to Oregon State on Sept. 9 and then return for their home opener Sept. 16 against Southern Utah.

Football forecast for Week 2

Clay Ford is straightforward when he speaks and carries the football. That was evident last Friday when the Will C. Wood High School senior had 22 carries for 92 yards in his first varsity start at running back as the Wildcats pulled out a 19-8 victory over Dixon.

His running style will never be described as flashy. Ford takes a handoff from quarterback Kimani Dokes and runs to the designated hole. If the hole is plugged, Ford lowers his shoulders and plows ahead for whatever he can get.

Colby Ford rushed for 92 yards on 22 carries in Wood’s 19-8 victory over Dixon last Friday.

Ford’s longest run against the Rams was 11 yards. Eight of his carries were for 3 or fewer yards. What matters to offensive coordinator Nick Voight was Ford did not lose a single yard on any carry. Ford also did not have one carry in which he was stopped for no gain.

His remarks after the game were just as straightforward when asked how Wood took control of the game. Dixon scored its only touchdown with 6:08 to go in the first quarter. Wood’s Josiah Chavez returned the ensuing kickoff 92 yards, but two penalties wiped out the touchdown. Wood did not flinch and drove 90 yards in 12 yards to score.

A fake PAT failed, leaving the Wildcats with an 8-6 deficit, but Ford was not concerned. “After that,” he said, “we knew we could handle them.”

Ford will get more opportunities to run tonight when Wood hosts Sacramento. The Dragons, who will join the Monticello Empire League in 2024, blew a 27-0 lead last Friday at Rodriguez in a 43-33 loss. Sacramento has a talented back in Lamar Radcliffe, who has committed to Utah, but he gained just 55 yards on 10 carries against the Mustangs.

The 6-foot-2, 225-pound Radcliffe ran for 2,109 yards and 23 touchdowns as a sophomore, but he missed last season after tearing two knee ligaments.

Vacaville, Vacaville Christian and Vanden also have home games tonight. Dixon will travel to Winters. Here is a look at each of those contests.

Vacaville vs. Sheldon: The Huskies belong to the Elk Grove Unified School District even though the school has a Sacramento address. That explains why the Huskies had two passing attempts last Friday in a 26-7 victory over Capital Christian.

There must be an ordinance in Elk Grove that prohibits throwing the ball more than five times a game. Elk Grove had a total of five passing attempts in playoff victories over Vacaville in 2019 and 2021. Then again, the Thundering Herd could afford to pass on passing by running for a total of 951 yards and 13 touchdowns in those two games.

Vacaville Christian vs. Delta: The Saints are hardly what they were in the 1970s. Delta dominated the old Superior California Athletic League in those days with three future NFL players: quarterback Tony Eason, safety Bo Eason and offensive lineman Dan McQuaid. Delta routed San Juan 50-0 last week, while Vacaville Christian lost 52-0 at Redding Christian.

Vanden vs. Campolindo: The Cougars, who did not play last week, are rebuilding after losing their quarterback, top four rushers and top receiver to graduation. Campolindo has two solid receivers in seniors Steve Lyon and Tim Daugherty. Lyon caught 46 passes for 457 yards and four touchdowns in 2022. Daughtery added 33 receptions for 567 yards and six scores.

Dixon at Winters: The Rams squandered a scoring opportunity in the second quarter last Friday after reaching Wood’s 15-yard line. A 2-yard run was followed by Dixon being penalized for illegal procedure. Quarterback Easton Valenzuela dropped back to pass on second-and-13 at the 18, was sacked by Kevin Butters and fumbled. Jamir Collins recovered for the Wildcats.

It comes to pass at long last

Vacaville High wide receiver Levi West leaps over a bag that is positioned to simulate a defensive player diving at him along the sideline.

Vacaville High School’s football team has 300 passing yards in a game about as often as it rains in August. A few drops fell Monday, three days after Brody Fortunati threw for 321 yards and four touchdowns in a 43-0 rout of Davis.

The Bulldogs must have thought they were facing Elk Grove in the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs. Fortunati’s 300-yard game was just the third for Vacaville since 2004. The other two came against the Thundering Herd in the playoffs.

Jeremy Villalobos threw for 365 yards and three touchdowns in a 52-29 playoff loss to Elk Grove in 2019. Elk Grove rushed for 559 yards in a 52-48 victory in 2021, when Ryan Vaughn passed for 336 yards and two touchdowns.

Vaughn was a two-year starter and had seven games with 200 or more passing yards, including five in 2021. Vacaville  had three 200-yard games from 2004 to 2018 – A.J. Hefner (2005), Ross Peacock (2008) and Chad  Hekking (2013).

Offensive coordinator Scott Wingert gets sage advice from Fred Jones at practice.

Villalobos was a senior when offensive coordinator Chris Santopadre left Vacaville’s coaching staff and Scott Wingert was promoted from quarterback coach to calling plays. That was the start of an offensive overhaul.

Wingert did not have a problem with the Wing T because only a handful of teams run an offense born in the 1950s. That became an advantage because opponents found it impossible to simulate the Wing T in practice to prepare.

A section championship in 2011 was made possible by sticking with an offense that fit the Bulldogs to a T. They beat Folsom 39-35 in the Division II title game by running the ball 66 times for 349 yards and five touchdowns.

In case anyone is wondering, quarterbacks Nic Ardave and the late Coleman Christensen combined to go 8-of-11 for 90 yards. Curtis Goins completed his only pass for 27 yards on a halfback option to make it 117 passing yards. 

Those 66 running plays epitomized the season for the Bulldogs, who finished with 666 rushing attempts and 128 passing. The disparity was greater in 2006 as Vacaville won the section title by running 714 times and passing 120.

The Bulldogs completed both of their passing attempts in its 37-36 win over Merced in the title game. Ricky Rodarte completed one for a 1-yard loss. Robert Bensing completed one to Dion Bland, who happened to play for Merced.

Fast forward to 2019 when Wingert got his first opportunity to tinker with the offense. COVID-19 wiped out the 2020 fall season, so he had time to to discuss updating the team’s offensive style with head coach Mike Papadopoulos.

Five games in the spring of 2021 allowed Wingert to take the new spread offense for a test drive. The results showed promise with 140 running plays, 98 passing and a 5-0 record. That convinced Papadopoulos to give the go-ahead.

Wingert can draw plays in the synthetic turf all he wants, but the spread offense needs a skilled quarterback to pull the trigger. He was fortunate enough to have Villalobos for a year, Vaughn for two and now Fortunati for his second.

“We’ve got it going right now,” Wingert said Monday. “Our offense has evolved to where it’s at right now.”

The folks in Davis might want to spread the word to Vacaville’s future opponents. The spread offense is not a passing fancy.

The statistics in this story were compiled from MaxPreps.com.

Remarkable return to baseball

Miles Meadows has no business starting in center field at Solano Community College. The 2022 Rodriguez High School graduate had not played baseball in seven years until he joined the Falcons. His teammates paid their dues for four years in high school for an opportunity to play at a junior college. Meadows has some nerve to think he belonged even though he had not swung a bat since he was 12 years old.

Meadows does belong, however. The freshman is batting .328 with three home runs, 22 RBI and a team-high 17 steals. There have been times when Meadows could not hide his inexperience. He has committed seven errors, four more than any other outfielder, and his baserunning needs a bit of work. Against Los Medanos on April 11, Meadows tagged at second base on a blooper that Mustangs second baseman Darrell Mays dropped just a few steps into the outfield. Even if Mays had caught the ball, there was no way Meadows could have made it to third.

At least Meadows made amends by stealing third and scoring on a single by Ryan Mitchell. That did not prevent third-base coach Brian Guinn from pulling Meadows aside to discuss the mistake and then jokingly call him a “freakin’ rookie.”

Miles Meadows

Head coach Scott Stover has been a bit more forgiving because he takes into consideration all that Meadows has done for the Falcons this season. The Falcons are 8-10 in the Bay Valley Conference and 14-21 overall with three games remaining. Stover would rather not think of how the Falcons would have fared without Meadows.

“We have guys who work hard and they can’t do what Miles does,” said Stover, who has to be counting his baseball blessings . “He’s a leader, he’s so positive and he’s our biggest cheerleader. It’s always been a team thing for him. He’s not selfish and he gets us going.”

There is much more to Meadows than his talent and spirit. Stover missed the April 11 game at Los Medanos when he was hospitalized with an illness. Only one player contacted Stover after the game to check on the coach’s condition. Do you want to guess who it was?

The call came from a young man who had his heart set on playing football as he did at Rodriguez until realizing he could not afford to commute to junior colleges in Sacramento and the Bay Area. And there were a number of junior colleges that were interested in Meadows’ services after he was the starting quarterback for two years at Rodriguez.

Stover is already looking forward to have Meadows return in 2024 and believes Meadows will have every opportunity to play baseball beyond Solano. “I’ve never talked to him about playing football,” Stover quipped, “because I don’t want to put it in his head.”

Meadows will not be going anywhere anytime soon. Playing at Solano has allowed his grandfather, Allan Brown, to attend games. Brown had a hand in raising his grandson, Meadows said, and continues to play a prominent role in Meadows’ life.

“I was not always the best kid. When I got in trouble, he always set me straight,” Meadows said. “I never want to disappoint him.” There is little chance of that ever happening because Meadows is driven to make the most of every opportunity to come his way.

His teammates would welcome Meadows even if he was not a starter and at the top of the Falcons’ batting order. They have come to count on the freshman to provide leadership and be the spark that ignites the team. “Some guys just have it,” said second baseman Victor Vega, who is the team captain. “The guys want to be around him.”

It took more than talent for Meadows to earn the respect of teammates who could have been envious of his emergence. They could have turn a deaf ear whenever Meadows stepped forward to address the team. They could have teased him after overhearing Meadows’ phone conversation with his girlfriend during which she called him “Pookie.”

To be honest, they do tease him. Meadows does not mind the ribbings because they are underlined with respect. “They see the work I put in. They respect the way I carry myself,” Meadows said. “When I say something, they know it’s coming from a good place.”

Meadows is in a good place. “I love these guys,” he said. “This is a perfect fit.”

UC Davis coordinates offense

Cody Hawkins did not leave the cupboard bare when he left UC Davis to become the head coach at Idaho State. Mike Cody not only inherited the title of offensive coordinator with the Aggies after two seasons as the offensive line coach, but he also got the best quarterback in the Big Sky Conference.

Miles Hastings was a first-team selection to the All-Big Sky team in 2022 after leading the conference in passing yards with 3,048 and completion percentage at 69.8 (256 of 367). Hastings threw just six interceptions, the lowest total for a Big Sky quarterback with 240 or more passing attempts. He was also picked off six times in 2021 with 152 fewer attempts.

“I am the coordinator and get an all-conference quarterback with a 70 percent completion percentage. How lucky am I?” Cody said Thursday. “(Hastings) is special. There’s no doubt about it. I’m extremely lucky.”

Jake Parks is returning after missing nearly all of last season with an injury.

Keeping Hastings healthy will be a priority when the Aggies kick off the 2023 season Aug. 31 at Texas A&M-Commerce. Hastings started the last five games in 2021 after Hunter Rodrigues sustained a concussion. Rodrigues and Hastings were expected to battle for the starting job last season, but Rodrigues left the program.

Hastings survived 11 games as the starter last season because he was protected by the offensive line, which allowed the fewest sacks in the Big Sky with 11. Hastings was sacked seven times. The Aggies will have to find replacements for two offensive linemen who earned All-Big Sky honors in 2022 – tackle Nick Amoah (first team) and center Connor Pettek (second team).

The return of Jake Parks will make rebuilding the offensive line easier. Parks was selected to the All-Big Sky first team in 2021, but the four-year starter at guard was injured in the 2022 opener at Cal and missed the rest of the season.

Mike Cody

Parks had the option of leaving UC Davis as a graduate transfer just as tackle Kooper Richardson did after the 2020 season. Richardson felt as if he was no longer wanted by the Aggies, so he entered the transfer portal and went to Sacramento State to be reunited with his father Kris, the assistant head coach for the Hornets who also coached his son at Folsom High.

Richardson returned to UC Davis on Nov. 20, 2021 for the Causeway Classic and celebrated at his old stomping grounds after the Hornets beat the Aggies 27-7 to finish 8-0 in the Big Sky. Richardson now plays for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Canadian Football League.

Cody was never worried about Parks leaving because “it wasn’t any question for Jake. Once he found out about the (severity of the) injury, he said he was coming back. In this day and age of college football, it’s tough to come back because guys want to leave for another school. Jake could play at 100 schools, but he’s very loyal. He wants to finish what he started here.”

Speaking of starting, Cody’s coaching career began in 2012 at UC Davis as a graduate assistant after playing two seasons as a receiver with the Aggies. Cody transferred from Sierra College to UC Davis because then-Aggies coach Bob Biggs promised there would be opportunities for Cody to become a coach once he was finished as a player.

Biggs believed Cody had what it takes to be a coach. And he was right.

Holy cow! He’s Purdy good

Having a steer named Mr. Irrelevant does not seem all that weird to Preston Jones. The former Perry High (Gilbert, Ariz.) football coach chose the name after learning it is the moniker bestowed upon the last player picked in the NFL draft. Brock Purdy … for example.

Little did the San Francisco 49ers know when they grabbed Purdy with the 262nd selection that the rookie would become their starting quarterback this season. No one could have expected the 49ers would lose Jimmy Garoppolo to a foot injury and go 6-0 with Purdy in relief.

How often does a team lose its top two quarterbacks to injuries, go with a rookie behind center instead of scrambling to sign a veteran, win 11 consecutive games and become the odds-on favorite to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LVII? Anyone who claims they could see this coming is full of bull.

That takes us back to Jones, who chose Mr. Irrelevant as his steer’s name because he was Perry’s coach when Purdy was making a name for himself as the Pumas quarterback. Jones’ daughter suggested Frisco as the steer’s name, but Jones warned her that the steer would likely be with the family longer than Purdy’s stay in the Bay Area.

The life expectancy of a steer is 15 to 20 years. The life expectancy for Mr. Irrelevant is 15 minutes if he is lucky. Seven quarterbacks have been selected with the last pick since 1936 and Purdy is just the second to appear in a regular-season game.

“These are unchartered waters for Mr. Irrelevant. It’s so cool to see a great person beat the odds,” said Jones, who retired from coaching in 2021 after leading Perry’s football program since the school opened in 2007. He still teaches at the school with nearly 3,500 students.

Brock Purdy

Jones was not glued to his television during the 2022 draft last April. He was doing yard work on April 30 when the draft reached the seventh round and took an occasional break to sneak a peek. He had been in contact with Purdy’s parents, who were going to throw a party whether or not their son was picked. The 49ers became the life of the party with a relevant pick for Jones and the Purdy family.

Purdy will always be Mr. Irrelevant for 2022. Jones named his steer before Purdy played in a preseason game with the 49ers. Once Jones saw how Purdy handled himself against “such freaks,” Jones changed his tune and began to believe Purdy could play in the NFL.

There is little doubt now. Some will credit Purdy’s composure to all the snaps he took as a four-year starter at Iowa State. And to think the 49ers selected Trey Lance with the No. 3 pick in 2021 even though he played in just 19 games over three years at North Dakota State.

Jones “noticed something different” when Purdy was a freshman at Perry in 2013. “It wasn’t so much his talent. It was more his demeanor. He was all business and expected everybody else to be all business. He was still a very likable kid. Everyone gravitated to him.”

Luck was on Jones’ side when he traveled to Levi’s Stadium on Oct. 23 to watch the 49ers play the Kansas City Chiefs. With the 49ers trailing by 21 points in the fourth quarter, Purdy made his NFL debut and completed his first pass for 20 yards to Ray-Ray McCloud. That made Purdy the first Mr. Irrelevant in NFL history to complete a pass.

Jones went out to dinner with Purdy after the game and was somewhat surprised that Purdy was not recognized in the restaurant. “I was very, very lucky I took the time to do that then,” Jones said. “I don’t know if we could do it now. His life has totally changed.”

Travels, trials and triumphs

Standing between Sacramento State and the FCS semifinals is Lindsey Scott Jr. The Incarnate Word quarterback has thrown for 4,185 yards and 55 touchdowns this season. Sacramento State’s tag team of Jake Dunniway and Asher O’Hara has combined for 2,904 yards and 27 touchdowns. Let’s just say Scott will have an advantage when the two teams clash in a quarterfinal game at Hornet Stadium.

Incarnate Word is the No. 7 seed and pulled out a 41-38 victory against Furman last week. Kole Wilson turned a pass from Scott into a 32-yard touchdown with 1:54 left to lift the Cardinals (11-1). Sacramento State (12-0) is the No. 2 seed and needed O’Hara’s 51-yard scoring pass to Pierre Williams with 6:28 left to beat Richmond 38-31. Dunniway threw for a season-high 317 yards and three scores.

Scott has also traveled much more than Dunniway or O’Hara. Dunniway is a Tracy High graduate who redshirted at UC Davis in 2017 and then played one season at San Diego Mesa Community College before coming to Sacramento. O’Hara played one season at College of DuPage, which is near his hometown of Rolling Meadows, Ill., and then transferred to Middle Tennessee State before coming to California.

Lindsey Scott Jr. has thrown 55 touchdown passes this season.

They have nothing on Scott, the Louisiana native who redshirted at LSU in 2016. He played one season at East Mississippi Community College and then transferred to Missouri, where he did not play. His next stop was Nicholls State, but he could not play in 2019 because of the NCAA transfer rules. Scott started for the Colonels in the spring of 2021 (which did not count against his eligibility) and last fall before coming to Incarnate Word as a graduate transfer.

Scott has also rushed for 466 yards and seven touchdowns, so he has accounted for 76 percent (62 of 81) of Incarnate Word’s touchdowns this season. Sacramento State can counter with O’Hara, who has run for 850 yards and 19 touchdowns. He was the Hornets’ leading rusher against Richmond with 53 yards on 15 carries. Sacramento State was held to a season-low 72 yards rushing last Saturday.

Sacramento State had to shuffle its offensive line because left tackle Troy Stiefel was sidelined with an injury. Left guard Jackson Slater moved to left tackle, right guard Brandon Weldon switched to left guard and Kenndel Riley started at right guard. Stiefel did not practice this week, so it is unlikely he will be available.

Cameron Skattebo had his worst game of the season with 21 yards on nine carries. The sophomore was named the Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Year after leading the conference in rushing yards with 1,251. The Hornets are averaging 235.8 yards per game on the ground and had a season-high 472 yards of total offense against Richmond. Incarnate Word averages 585 yards of total offense.

Incarnate Word had 613 yards against Furman with Scott accounting for 518 (394 passing and a season-high 124 rushing). He tossed five touchdown passes, his seventh game with five or more this season.