‘This has been a dream.’ Le Grand brings home blue section banner after strong performance
Le Grand High seniors Isacc Davison, Jeremiah Lopez and Aaron Martinez all embraced shortly after the clock ran out, tears running down their faces. Three teenagers overcome with emotion.
In front of what seemed like the entire population of Le Grand and Planada, the Le Grand High football brought home the blue section banner.
The No. 3 seeded Bulldogs (8-5) knocked off undefeated No. 1 seed Woodland Christian 35-12 on Friday afternoon in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VII championship at Sacramento City College’s Hughes Stadium.
“The whole thing with this group and our community — and you see them come out in big numbers — to see their face right now, to see their excitement, all those things, to bring that excitement to our community, it’s a little overwhelming,” said Le Grand coach Aaron Martinez.
The Bulldogs brought home their first section title since winning the last of four consecutive titles in 2013 under Rick Martinez. This was the first banner for the elder Aaron Martinez, who took over the program in 2018. It’s the fifth section title in the program’s history.
The coach walked over to the Le Grand rooting section and held up the blue banner to a standing ovation after the game.
“The community is really strong in Le Grand,” said Bulldogs quarterback Julian Bucio. “They wanted it, we wanted it. We showed them what’s up in the playoffs and I think they seen that and they came up here and watched us ball out.”
Bucio sparked the offense with two touchdown passes in the first half.
The junior was thrust into the starting position when the younger Martinez injured his knee and required surgery this spring.
Bucio connected with Lopez on a 17-yard touchdown pass on the Bulldogs’ first drive to give Le Grand a 6-0 lead with 2:58 left in the first quarter.
Bucio added a 45-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Reyes Diaz late in the first half to extend Le Grand’s lead to 21-0.
“Getting coach’s first section title as a head coach, we were all doubted,” said Bucio, who completed 9 of 17 passes for 159 yards and the two scores. “I’m pretty sure I was doubted big time.”
Running back Luis Aguallo added a pair of rushing touchdowns, as he and backfield partner Davison helped the Bulldogs maintain control with their ground game.
The Le Grand defense set the tone from the start, forcing the Cardinals (11-1) to turn the ball over on downs on their first possession after driving inside the Bulldogs 10-yard line.
Le Grand then drove the length of the field for its first score.
“Coach Aaron always preaches momentum, keeping it going and keeping the energy up,” Lopez said. “To have that first stop, it meant a lot to us.”
His coach agreed.
“The kids are like a volcano ready to erupt,” Martinez said. “We run on emotion, so we’re up right away and running.”
The defense added the Bulldogs’ exclamation on the title run when Ronnie Ramirez intercepted a pass in the end zone and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown that gave Le Grand a 35-6 lead with 6:05 left in the game.
As the Bulldogs huddled on the field after the game, Martinez, the coach, held the blue section banner up and explained to the kids that they earned it with their hard work and resilience.
“There’s so many emotions going through my body about the win,” Lopez said. “Coming up here, the two-hour drive, the anticipation, just wanting to play. With their record they should have been going crazy on us, but we came up here and did what we had to do.”
“It feels amazing,” Lopez added. “This has been a dream since I was growing up.”
This story was originally published November 26, 2021 at 10:19 PM with the headline "‘This has been a dream.’ Le Grand brings home blue section banner after strong performance."
