These senior showcase games are not always for players who capped their seasons with a state championship. The 61st Optimist All-Star Football Classic on Saturday at Sacramento State – 1 p.m. kickoff – is also a haven for the unsung, overlooked and still developing. The South roster includes anchor players for Folsom High School’s back-to-back…
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The pure talent of players across Monterey Trail High School’s roster, combined with the proven guidance of the Mustangs’ coaching staff, spelled victory for Monterey Trail’s football program this year. They had a season full of jaw-dropping scores, broken records, and win after win. The Mustangs were undefeated for most of the year, and…
Jehiel Budgett started playing tackle football when he was in the fourth grade, and before then he played flag football. In eighth grade, he met Zach Larrier, who moved to town that year, and would eventually make an impression on his future high school teammate. “It’s great because when I moved here in eighth grade,…
When you operate in a state with 40 million people — accompanied by good weather and a bazillion football-playing high schools — you don’t have to look far to find accomplished, next-level talent. Such was the case for UC Davis and coach Dan Hawkins as the Aggies announced Wednesday that 11 of California’s next-level players…
Student athletes used to blocking, tackling, running, catching, defending and competing went with one simple move Wednesday. Thirteen area high school football stars signed national letters of intent to scholarship programs, making for a bumper crop for the early signing period. The next signing period is in February. Folsom seniors Kaiden Bennett and Joe Ngata…
Monterey Trail senior and standout student athlete Zach Larrier had a big decision to make. After being recruited by several Division I college football programs, including multiple west coast schools such as Cal, Oregon State, Washington State, Stanford and USC, the 6-foot, 188-pound multi-sport athlete had to decide which school was right for him. Some…
The Monterey Trail Mustangs’ skill and talent throughout their 12-1 season was displayed all year long, and on Dec. 10, the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame Sacramento Valley Chapter announced that it selected three Mustangs to the All Sac-Joaquin Section Football Team. Marcus Jones, Jehiel Budgett and Zach Larrier were named…
All season long it had been Monterey Trail that dominated their opposition. The Mustangs rolled into this Sac-Joaquin Section Division I championship game with a blowout victory over Pitman and a 28-point victory over Oak Ridge last week but the Mustangs knew they would have anything but their hands full with top ranked Folsom. …
One by one, the Monterey Trail Mustangs have knocked opponents off of their to-do list during the best season in program history, and this weekend, they are ready to take care of another one. The proud owners of a 12-0 record, the Mustangs have outscored opponents 607-117, won a Metro League Championship and have outscored…