Between the end of the 2018 high school football season and Friday night’s 2019 opener, an opinion was formed by some who believed Monterey Trail wouldn’t be as good as the 12-1 squad that lost only to Sacramento-area juggernaut Folsom.
But those people didn’t know about Chris Chambers, and they didn’t see what coach T.J. Ewing saw over the summer.
The Mustangs rolled out another low-on-numbers, small-in-stature roster Friday night at Sheldon and rolled to a 42-14 victory over the Huskies in a season opener matching the defending champions in the Metro and Delta leagues.
“I saw it in the summer during seven-ons,” Ewing said of the seven-on-seven circuit. “It’s called competitive spirit.”
And it spread around the roster like the common cold in a grammar-school class.
Senior Caleb Ramseur ran for 77 of his 97 yards in the first half. He scored the Mustangs’ first touchdown on a 39-yard run and threw a 30-yard scoring pass to Brandon Blanton – on fourth and seven – on a halfback pass to cap a 15-play, 82-yard drive that burned 7 minutes, 26 seconds bridging the first and second quarters. Junior Otha Williams rushed for 78 of his 98 yards in the second half, including touchdowns of 3, 17 and 37 yards.
Monterey Trail ran 30 plays to Sheldon’s 13 in the first half.
“People don’t think we’ll be as good as last year, but I think we can be better,” said Umi Wilson, a 5-foot-8, 175-pound senior who helped hold the Huskies to 261 total yards and had one carry on offense, a 50-yard touchdown with 1:48 left.
And then there was Chambers, a 5-foot-10, 225-pound sophomore who punished Sheldon with 87 yards on 15 carries.
“We didn’t really expect him to do this,” Ewing said, “until we saw him in the scrimmage (last weekend).”
Monterey Trail outgained Sheldon 404-261.
Junior Ladon Johnson rushed for 101 of his 139 yards in the second half and scored both Sheldon touchdowns on runs of 1 and 10 yards.
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