Championship Saturday: Hughson flag football, Ripon volleyball bring home titles
When asked to describe themselves, members of the Hughson flag football team will explain they’re not just a team, they’re a family.
That bond started off the field.
Team bonding activities like making head coach Charly Garza jump into a freezing cold pool, trips to Texas Roadhouse that included Garza riding the saddle — prompted by the team because it was his birthday — and ice cream treats to celebrate big plays all have brought a team full of basketball, softball, soccer players and wrestlers closer than they would have thought.
“He’s like a dad to us, we’re super close with him,” said junior Presley Wells.
And it’s translated onto the field.
In just their first season, the Huskies finished in a three-way tie for the Trans-Valley League title, won 17 overall games and on Saturday claimed the program’s first Sac-Joaquin Section championship.
Hughson qualified for the Division VI postseason as the No. 7 seed and beat No. 10 Mariposa County, No. 15 Hilmar and No. 3 Orestimba to reach its first section title game.
As was the case all season, the Huskies’ offense moved the ball seamlessly and the defense was stingy. Hughson’s defense allowed its lowest scoring output all postseason, giving up just 13 points to the No. 1 seed Colfax, in a 26-13 win.
The Huskies saw the potential from the beginning. They knew they had the athletes, they just had to learn the game.
“We knew that if we worked hard, we could see our talent going far,” quarterback Leah Hobby said. “We just knew if we stuck together and played our hardest and played how we knew how to play, we would make it far.”
Sure, there was a learning curve. After Hobby learned how to run an offense and throw to an open receiver, after Wells learned about running routes and getting herself open for her quarterback, the Huskies were off to the races.
The Texas Roadhouse trips, ice cream rewards and off-the-field fun also helped.
“With a lot of the girls on our team, we grew up with each other and stuff like that, but we didn’t really have a chance to play a sport together because we were all good at different sports,” Wells said. “But then we saw each other on the field, and we do a lot of team bondings, and try to make the team come together with our coach. So we’re more like a family when we come out to games.”
They came out hot against the top seed Colfax, which entered the contest unbeaten at 15-0, jumping to a 19-6 halftime lead. Hobby connected with Wells, who juggled a pass over the middle into the end zone for the Huskies’ first score of the day. Minutes later, the two connected again to make it a 12-0 game, 14 minutes into the first half.
Hobby tossed her third touchdown pass of the game to Peyton Avila on a fourth-down conversion. After a successful one-point conversion, Hughson saw its lead grow to 19-0. Colfax added one score at halftime. In the second half, Hughson and Colfax added a touchdown and one-point conversion.
Hughson finishes the season with a 17-6 overall record. Hobby had an impressive season with over 4,300 passing yards and over 70 touchdowns. Wells had over 1,200 receiving yards and nearly 30 receiving touchdowns. The Huskies had seven receivers who finished with over 100 receiving yards, including seniors Avila, Raegan Barstow, Grace Leedom, Morgan Bleakley and Tessah Burroughs.
Ripon avenges 2023 title match loss
The three-set loss in last season’s Division IV section championship match was all the players and coaches in the Ripon High volleyball program could think of.
That’s why when they drew the No. 1 seed in this year’s bracket, swept their way through the playoffs and beat No. 2 Liberty Ranch in straight sets, 25-13, 25-13, 25-21, they couldn’t hold back the tears.
That feeling after they fell in the title game to rival Ripon Christian drove everyone to be better. And they responded. The Indians entered the section title match 29-2, riding a nine-match win streak, motivated to make sure a blue banner accompanied them on their bus ride home.
“This year was a really important win to us,” said setter Katelyn Bogetti. “Last year, it really hurt to lose to a really big rival. We just took that coming into the season and stayed determined in practices and games. … We stayed focused on what we wanted to achieve.”
Ripon jumped out to early leads in the first two sets. They took an early 14-8 advantage and used a 6-1 run to go ahead 20-9 before coasting to victory. In the second set, the Indians jumped out 8-1 and maintained a comfortable advantage, forcing a Hawks timeout with a 19-9 lead.
“Greg [head coach Greg Soliz] has really pushed us,” outside hitter Adriana Dorn said, “along with Shayna and Devon to work as a team. To work for ourselves, but also together. We’ve played together all season and to see that translate to the playoffs was really big.”
The Hawks did not lie down in the final set. They jumped out to an early 14-11 lead, forcing a Ripon timeout. The top seed quickly rebounded, taking a 21-19 lead late to force a Liberty Ranch timeout. The Indians scored four points and allowed just two to seal the match victory.
“The girls played well, especially in that last game coming from behind,” Soliz said. “They worked hard. Last year was a disappointment, I think they knew that. I think their goal this year was to get back for that.”
The Indians cruised through the playoffs without dropping a set, but a season as successful as theirs doesn’t come without hard work, dedication and focus. They practiced for hours and competed in some of the top tournaments in the area to prepare themselves for this moment. If there was a slip up, they got right back on track.
“In the beginning of the season,” Bogetti explained, “we didn’t lose focus in games, but some practices we weren’t taking as seriously. … We realized we needed to step it up and stay locked in if we wanted to achieve what we just achieved.”
Dorn led the team with 14 kills and Bogetti finished with 29 assists, also a team high.
The Indians set three goals at the start of the season: win league, section and state titles. After going 12-0 in Trans-Valley League play and winning Saturday’s match, they’ve checked two things off the list.
“We want a ring really bad,” Dorn said. “After we won, we were like, ‘OK, now it’s time for state.’ We’re going to celebrate this, but we’re still super motivated and want to work hard to get that state ring.”
Big Valley falls short of D-V title after five-set thriller
Big Valley Christian, the top seed in Division V, has some history with its opponent in Saturday’s section championship match. No. 2 Bradshaw Christian put the Lions out in the semifinals of the section playoffs last season in straight sets. After their semifinals win over Bret Harte on Tuesday, the Lions were eager to face the Pride again, hoping this year for a different outcome.
“We’ve been prepping the girls and getting it in their heads that this is what we’re working towards,” Lions head coach Sarah Beers said after the section semifinals, anticipating a matchup with the Pride. “Hitting hard and fast, mixing the ball up, making sure we’re moving the ball around.”
Big Valley Christian (28-9) and Bradshaw Christian (22-11) battled to provide the most entertaining match of the six-match slate at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento on Saturday. Each time Bradshaw Christian went ahead, the Lions stormed back. They split the first four sets, forcing a decisive fifth set to just 15 points to determine who would take the blue banner.
Bradshaw Christian took the first set 26-24 but the Lions answered with a 25-19 set-two victory. They traded the next two as well, with the Pride winning set three 25-15 and Big Valley taking the fourth 25-18. The Lions fell behind 11-5 in the fifth set, but clawed back, cutting it to a four-point Pride lead. The two sides traded points for the rest of the set, but the Pride’s lead was too much to overcome.
The season for Big Valley is not over. By making the semifinals, the Lions qualified for the Northern California regional playoffs which start next week. They find out their division and seed Sunday when the CIF releases the brackets.
This story was originally published November 9, 2024 at 9:14 PM.
