We’re down to the final three teams in the NorCal Rankings, and since we started the count upward to No. 1 on November 18 with Nos. 16-25, a lot has changed with players graduating early and going off to college in January. Nowhere will the change be felt more than with our No. 3 team, provided we have some kind of season.
3. Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills (11-3 in 2019)
The top team from the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section and defending Division I champion was No. 3 in Northern California in the Cal-Hi Sports final rankings and that’s exactly where we see them in these pre-season rankings, making the Trojans the top-ranked public school in Northern California.
Of course this spot in the pecking order, and the preceding paragraph describing the reasoning behind it, was written based on a decision over a month ago when the order was set and the count upward to No. 1 began.
Therefore, it obviously didn’t factor in the big news that came out of El Dorado Hills on December 22 when Justin Lamson, who from a recruiting standpoint and statistically would have been the top returning quarterback in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section, announced he was forgoing his senior year to enroll early at Syracuse.
The bottom line is just like that, Oak Ridge will need a replacement for a player who accounted for 3,114 yards and 24 touchdowns passing and 462 yards and five rushing touchdowns.
Head coach Eric Cavaliere had two other juniors on the roster last season that attempted passes, but they were a combined 1-of-3 for 38 yards and an interception.
One of those two other juniors that threw two of those three passes will be running back Gui Lozada, who becomes the team's top returning rusher. Last season, he ran for 270 yards and eight touchdowns. The 5-9, 190-pound Lozada is also the second-leading returning receiver after snagging 30 pass receptions for 272 yards and four more scores.
The Trojan faithful will be looking for big things from senior wide receiver Brandon Barthel. The leading returning wide receiver, who incidentally threw the other pass last year as a junior, was second on the team in receptions with 48 for 714 yards and five touchdowns.
On defense, senior middle linebacker Ryan Enney returns after leading the team in tackles with 142, including three sacks, plus five fumble recoveries and an interception. Another senior linebacker that returns after posting five sacks and 18 of his 53 tackles for loss.
Last year’s team lost two close games early in Sierra Foothill League action, 36-33 to Folsom and 29-22 to Rocklin. In the end, that tied the Trojans with Rocklin at 4-2 in league, but after the Rocklin loss, they ran off eight straight wins including a 35-27 victory in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I title game over the Monterey Trail team that upset Folsom in the semifinals.
Most analysts didn’t give the Trojans much of a chance in the CIF Northern Regional Division 1-AA Bowl game match-up with Central-Fresno, and while they lost, the boys from the foothills more than held their own before falling 38-32 in a game that was close all the way.
Oak Ridge is No. 1 in the Sacramento Bee rankings for the first time in around 15 years but to stay there this season will be anything but easy.
We’ll let veteran Sacramento Bee prep sports scribe Joe Davidson have the last word on the Oak Ridge quarterback situation.
“Stunning loss for Oak Ridge but understood. He didn’t think there was a chance for a high school season and Syracuse coaches appealed,” Davidson texted about Lamson’s decision.
As for finding a replacement for Lamson, Davidson’s conclusion is “a program that strong will have QB depth.”
With Lamson out of the picture, the big question is who will be that quarterback who can help generate the offense to compete in a league many consider the toughest in Northern California.
