Sierra, Liberty Ranch overcome odds to reach first section championship

Sacramento State football coach Jody Sears leaned over the lectern, drawing the crowd of high school football players and coaches close.

Sears was the keynote speaker for a banquet Sunday evening honoring the Sac-Joaquin Section small-school finalists, divisions IV through VII.

“You are here because of your ability to overcome adversity,” Sears said. “When adversity strikes, you lock your arms and attack.”

His words frame the matchup in Division IV, where No. 3 Sierra (7-5) and No. 4 Liberty Ranch (8-4) will play for their schools’ first section championship on Saturday at Elk Grove High School. Kickoff is 6 p.m..

Getting to this point hasn’t been a testimony of talent for the final two combatants in the D-IV bracket as much as a test of character and will.

Liberty Ranch lost its first four games of the season and then saw its sports take a backseat to a human concern – cancer. Coach Warren Schroeder’s 9-year-old son Timothy was diagnosed with Stage 4 lymphoma, forcing Schroeder to step away from the program for a few weeks.

The Hawks rallied around Timothy and their coach – players wear a commemorative sticker on their helmets – and have won eight consecutive games, including last week’s thrilling 44-42 victory over Los Banos in front of home fans.

Unable to attend games, Timothy has cheered on the Hawks from hospital and home.

“Adversity has been the name of the game,” Schroeder said, “and I know on Saturday, they’ll finish it right.”

Sierra has faced its own challenges. While Liberty Ranch’s place in the postseason was earned with a Sierra Valley Conference championship, the Timberwolves’ fate was decided by the selection committee.

Sierra was forced to slug its way through the Valley Oak League, one of the section’s power conferences. Thus, it spent the final two months of the season on the proverbial playoff bubble.

How dire was it? In a playoff field of 72 teams spread across seven divisions, Sierra, one of four 5-5 teams to earn an at-large berth, was No. 72. Being last in line left the Timberwolves vulnerable to prying questions, even from their own.

“What are we doing here? Our team has had to answer that question a lot over the last few weeks,” Sierra coach Jeff Harbison said. “Well, we’re playing football – and playing pretty darn good football, too. It looks like the section got it right.”

Sierra has won three consecutive games, defeating Union Mine and Calaveras in back-to-back weeks to reach a milestone many thought would have been accomplished last season. The Timberwolves earned a split of the Valley Oak championship in 2014 with victories over two section champions: Oakdale, the D-III titleholder, and eventual small-school state champion Central Catholic, the D-IV boss.

However, Sierra’s season came to an abrupt end at home against Rio Linda in the second round, signaling the end of an era for a talented crop of seniors and four members of the coaching staff.

“To be in this position is a glorious feeling. We’ve come a long way since the beginning of the season,” senior running back Mark Paule Jr. said. “In school history, we don’t make it past the second round of the playoffs. To come here and play for a section championship is a great feeling.”

The watershed moment came at halftime of Sierra’s regular-season finale against Weston Ranch, another Valley Oak program vying for a postseason berth. Trailing by 13 points, the Timberwolves were forced to examine their own mortality and answer a difficult question: Is this it?

Harbison asked his team to simplify its approach. Worry not about the next two quarters or the playoff implications, but focus their energy on the next play.

Sierra won 34-27.

“Halftime of the Weston Ranch game was the turning point for this team,” Harbison said. “I think we’re really peaking now, and it came down to we were down by 13 points in Week 10. We had to get the win to have the possibility of playoffs.

“Our message to the kids was simple: one play at a time. ‘Let’s make it about giving 100 percent on the next play.’ The kids bought into it and they’re still buying into it, and we’re seeing success because of it.”

The Timberwolves’ playoff run has been the work of many.

Junior quarterback Mark Vicente has endured his growing pains in his first season under center, but he had his hand in three touchdowns in a 34-20 victory at Calaveras.

Senior wide receiver Daniel Wyatt has postponed his section title defense in basketball for a chance to make history all over again. Wyatt, center/linebacker Scott Teicheira and linebacker Enrique Jasso led Sierra to the D-III basketball title in March.

On Saturday, the resilient Timberwolves will look to add the unlikeliest of blue banners to their collection.

“To be counted out, it got to us,” Paule said. “Finally, we came around. Like coach said, we came around during that Weston Ranch game at halftime. Down at half, we found it deep within ourselves to pick each other up and work as a team.

“We’ve been riding that wave ever since and here we are in the section championship.”

This story was originally published November 27, 2015 at 5:07 PM with the headline "Sierra, Liberty Ranch overcome odds to reach first section championship."