Sonora’s Sam Page leaves his mark on football field and foothill community

When Bryan Craig was named coach of the Sonora football team, he wanted to build a program of which the community could be proud.

Not just for their play on Friday evenings in the fall, but for their year-round commitment to the town that helped raise them.

So he and his staff created a leadership council, a group of eight players who would police the locker room and coordinate various outreach projects.

“Our mission was to make these individuals good students first and good athletes second,” said Craig, who is 45-27 in six-plus seasons and led the Wildcats to the brink of a Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV championship last year. Sonora, ranked No. 1 in The Bee’s small-school poll, will begin its Mother Lode League title defense Friday at Argonaut.

“We talk about what being a leader really is,” Craig said. “We come up with community service projects – interacting with senior citizens and providing them with wood, landscaping and cleaning up yards, our boot camp project. Every year we try to come up with something new. We felt like that added to the well-roundedness of these young men.”

Some are born leaders, like quarterback Sam Page, a second-year captain and central figure on the Wildcats’ leadership council.

Page spearheads a project that will provide duffel bags, luggage and other items to the children of the Tuolumne County Emergency Foster Shelter. He and the council are also selling T-shirts to raise awareness and money for the fight against breast cancer.

He believes his role on the football team has allowed him to have a greater impact in the community. His teammates follow him, he says, wherever he goes.

“My job is simple: One, work my butt off to execute with the utmost perfection. Two, be not only a good teammate but a good friend,” Page said. “Our leadership/captain group is a pretty close, tight-knit group of friends, so if there is ever something that needs to get done, there really isn’t much hesitation to get volunteers.”

The leadership council consists of Wyatt Faughnan, Bradley Canepa, Blake Graham, Josh Harris, Shane Petrey, Killian Rosko, Max Walker and Page. Each member had to submit an application and résumé to Craig, explaining his desire to be on the council and vision for the athlete-driven group.

Craig needed little convincing when it came to appointing Page, whom he considers one of Sonora’s best captains in years.

The 5-foot-9, 177-pound senior not only operates the Wildcats’ spread-option offense, but he runs the scout team offense, as well. His ability to mimic the opposing team’s tendencies and pace was an asset to a defense that yielded just 27 points in six Mother Lode League games in 2014, including a 49-0 shutout of Argonaut.

“He makes them work hard and do the right things off the field,” Craig said. “He’s more than a quarterback. He’s in complete control of every aspect of this team. He’s always been like that.”

Page says the outreach projects and fundraisers have allowed the players to build bonds away from the field. Those bonds play out in the battle for inches and yards each Friday.

“It translates onto the field,” he said. “Each of us is aware of our responsibility to not only give our all every day at practice but to motivate and bring as much energy as possible. Our core group of guys have a lot of experience from last year, and it really comes in handy in tough situations.”

Will it culminate in another MLL crown and a return trip to the Division IV final?

Page is optimistic but understands the Wildcats are also measured by their work beyond the painted lines.

“These projects not only help us to be a positive part of the community, but they also teach us to be strong role models to the younger generations of Wildcats,” Page said. “This team has put in the work to do some great things on and off the field this year.”

This story was originally published September 24, 2015 at 4:17 PM with the headline "Sonora’s Sam Page leaves his mark on football field and foothill community."