Junior varsity wins are often looked at as an afterthought but when an athletic program is in its infancy, such victories are celebrated as if they occurred on the varsity level.
In late September 2010, the American Canyon High (American Canyon, CA) JV football team ventured into the Central Valley to face a tradition rich Oakdale Mustang program. Oakdale is in California as far as physical geography but the landscape and community vibe is akin to Mid-America. On this night, American Canyon scored a 28-22 win over Oakdale.
Setting the stage: Despite skyrocketing population through the 1990s and especially the 2000s that eventually reached 19,000, American Canyon did not open its own high school until the 2010-2011 school year thanks to Measure G, which was passed in 2006 thanks to Napa County voters.
American Canyon had two elementary schools and a middle school but youngsters had to go to high school somewhere else. They would scatter to places like St. Patrick’s (Vallejo) or Justin-Siena (Napa) if they went the private school route. If they stuck with public schools, they would go to Napa or Vintage but mostly the latter.
Without getting too editorial, American Canyon kids were often looked at as outsiders on these various campuses. Though the community markets itself as “Gateway to the Napa Valley,” it is not looked upon favorably in some circles. In fact, American Canyon is looked at as a halfway house between Napa and Vallejo in that you either live there because you can’t afford the former or want to escape the latter.
The vibe of the American Canyon community began to change when the school opened its doors in August 2010 because it gave the kids of that town their own identity. There is a big emotional difference for a local kid wearing a shirt that says, “American Canyon” draped across the front as opposed to the name of another school.
On this night, Oakdale’s football program had four SJS titles to its name but the JV team was 0-2. The Wolves entered the contest with a 2-1 record with wins over Pacheco (Los Banos) 34-20 and Gregori (Modesto) 44-26 with a 20-6 loss to Deer Valley (Antioch) sandwiched in between.
Thumbnail of the game: Though the two programs were miles apart with established tradition, the giddiness with which American Canyon celebrated might as well have been a playoff game.
The Wolves clung to a 28-22 lead but Oakdale threatened when facing third and 9 at the AmCan 19. Robert Wilkes intercepted a pass to clinch the win for the Wolves. Earlier in the same drive, AmCan appeared to have the Mustangs stopped when Chris Seisay broke up a Eddie Machado pass on fourth and 7 from the Wolves 47. American Canyon, however, was flagged with its second sideline warning of the game which amounted to a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct infraction to keep the Oakdale drive afloat.
In the earlygoing, the Wolves looked poised for a trip down Easy Street as American Canyon took a 22-0 lead in the first half as quarterback Justin Corpus opened the scoring with a 13-yard run. Justin Miller added the two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead.
Wilkes extended the Wolves' edge to 14-0 on a 5-yard TD run, and American Canyon made it 22-0 on Corpus' 77-yard pass to Chris Seisay, who recorded three grabs for 104 yards. The pair connected on the ensuing conversion with 2:39 left in the first half.
Oakdale, however, clipped the lead to 22-14 at the break - and did so in short order — as Joshua Watts posted scoring runs of 37 and 3 yards. One of those scores came after an American Canyon fumble gave the Mustangs the ball at the American Canyon 31.
Oakdale later tied the game at 22-22 with four minutes left in the third as Jordan Miller scored on an 11-yard run and added the two-point conversion.
The Wolves responded with 58 seconds to go in the quarter as Jomon Dotson reeled off a 42-yard scoring run. The conversion failed. Dotson was the Wolves leading ground-gainer with 89 yards on five carries while Miller did some heavy lifting with 50 on 16 attempts.
Defensively for the Wolves, Bailey Gardner and Derrick Hughes had fumble recoveries while Miller and Riley Williams teamed up on a tackle for lost yardage. Dotson added a solo stuff.
What it meant: From a head-to-head standpoint, very little. The two programs met in the SJS Div. III semifinals two years later with Oakdale returning the favor, beating the Wolves 42-19 on the way to beating Vista Del Lago (Folsom) 22-9 for the title.
This win, however, for American Canyon is as remembered as a JV win could ever be. Entering Friday, SJS Div. III playoff home game against Yuba City, American Canyon is 48-21 against varsity foes since 2011.
In the 2016 version of the SJS Div. III playoffs, the Wolves are the No. 2 seed while Oakdale is the No. 1 seed. Could a future meeting be on tap? Stay tuned.
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