Ripon Christian football falls one win short of NorCal berth in loss to Woodland Christian
Ripon Christian’s 13 seniors lined up near the 35-yard line with tears in their eyes as they hugged their teammates and coaches.
Their high school football careers had just ended at the hands of Woodland Christian in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division VII NorCal Qualifier and emotions were running high.
Their fourth-year coach, Phil Grams, also was overcome with emotions when talking about the group he watched grow up. At an impromptu captains meetings in the team locker room during lunch, they talked about topics on the field and off. Grams entered the Ripon Christian program with the class of 2024. They have been through COVID and CIF sanctions and prevailed with back-to-back section championships.
Last season, they beat Woodland Christian 28-16 for the Division VII title and last week came out on top against Orestimba, 35-14. Oftentimes, the journey is the reward, but in this case, the four-year journey is what made Saturday’s 36-14 loss to the Cardinals that much harder.
“Best group of young men I’ve ever coached,” Grams said of the Knights senior class as he fought back tears. “That’s all I can say. Never had one like this and it’s going to be hard to match these guys.”
Just one week removed from the section championship performance, the Knights were not guaranteed a berth in the CIF Northern California Regional Playoffs.
They sputtered out of the gate, giving up a safety, a quick touchdown and two-point conversion, falling behind 10-0 early in the game. The Knights cut it to a two-point game when quarterback Mason Tameling connected with tight end Jace Beidleman for a 20-yard touchdown and a two-point conversion.
A senior, Beidleman has seen his role change over his football career. He originally was a quarterback, but at 6-foot-9, provides a great target at tight end. As the years have progressed, he also improved his blocking. He became the perfect red zone target. He finished the year with a team-high eight touchdown receptions.
These were all the points either team would score for two quarters. The Cardinals found life in the fourth quarter, scoring 19 unanswered points on a pair of rushing touchdowns and a 25-yard passing touchdown. They came away with a pair of interceptions and, despite a long kick return by Brady Grondz, it wasn’t long before Woodland Christian was ahead 36-14. The Cardinals’ second interception of the period sealed the win.
Sophomore Noah Hinkle was all over the field for Woodland Christian. He scored all three of the Cardinals’ fourth-quarter touchdowns — a six-yard run, a 21-yard run and a 25-yard pass — and came away with the game-sealing interception.
He entered the game as Woodland Christian’s leading receiver with 660 yards and nine touchdowns while leading the team in rushing touchdowns (7) and interceptions (4) and producing 334 yards, second on the team.
“We thought we could hang onto the ball and limit their touches on offense, and it didn’t go that way,” Grams said. “Our defense was on the field a long time and we held them pretty good for a while and then we just got tired because our defense was on the field a long time.”
Hinkle’s star performance helped Woodland Christian remain undefeated and secure the program’s first section championship despite losing its starting quarterback early in the game.
The Knights’ fly offense thrives on the ground game. “We make a living running the ball and we couldn’t run the ball today,” Grams said. “That’s the difference of the ball game right there.”
Senior Brady Grondz is one of the main contributors in the Knights’ offense and could not find an open hole for most of the afternoon. He was able to find a lane on a fourth-quarter kickoff, bursting through the right side of the Cardinals’ kickoff coverage team and up the right sideline for an 88-yard touchdown.
“I like running track and I like playing football, so both of them came into play right there,” Grondz said. “I had been waiting to get open space like that all game … and when I saw that hole opened up and I got the ball, I wanted to run track again.”
To score a touchdown on his final touch was fitting for Grondz’s senior season. He entered the contest with 1,227 total yards of offense and 22 touchdowns, 20 of them rushing scores. He also returned two punts for touchdowns earlier this season. He will look to continue his football career in college and has NAIA, NCAA Division III and D-II offers.
“I feel like it starts a new beginning,” Grondz said of scoring on his final kick return. “Moving on, I probably won’t play much as a freshman or sophomore in college, so special teams might be a big role for me and ending off like that, in a big game like this, can lead to new opportunities.”
Grondz was a key member of both championship teams. Last year as a junior, he was just a contributor on the field, but this season, he became more of a leader. So did all of the seniors, which is just one of the many reasons Grams will miss the class of 2024 so much.
“It’s hard going back-to-back but it was enjoyable doing it,” Grondz said. “We knew it was going to come to an end eventually, either by winning state or losing. We prepared to win like any team would, but as an outcome like this happens, we’ve got to deal with it.
“In general in high school, there’s a lot of division between the classes but our senior class has done a really good job of incorporating everyone, seniors through freshmen. We just love each other. I wouldn’t rather play with any other team than this.”
