By admin 
Casey Taylor has his team right where he wants them: 2-0 in the muscle-bound Sierra Foothill League that stands as the toughest and deepest collection of high school football teams in Northern California.
Read more Sacramento-area HS football scores and next week’s schedule for Sac-Joaquin Section
In addition, the Oak Ridge Trojans coach has a battle tested, senior-heavy group that has played the part of The Sacramento Bee’s No. 2-ranked team, having squeezed out tight victories over a team in Texas, a state-ranked one in Southern California, and last week’s 6-point effort over Del Oro in a league opener.
On Friday night in Placer County, Taylor beamed after a hard-earned, 28-14 victory over the No. 4-ranked Rocklin Thunder that pushed Oak Ridge’s record to 4-1. In short, it’s all systems go for the Trojans of El Dorado Hills.
The loss was on Sept. 4, a 20-14 setback to a defending CIF State champion in Central East of Fresno, the top-ranked team in the CIF Central Section that is state-ranked and cruising along at 5-0.
“We played hard, man,” Taylor said of topping Rocklin. “We’ve been on a roll the last six weeks. Played a lot of great teams, and Rocklin is obviously one of them.”
A 200-plus game winner over his decorated career, Taylor added, “People don’t know how good we are or respect us. It’s one thing to beat teams 50-0, but it’s another thing beating really good football teams in the fourth quarter, and we take pride in that. We have a great group of seniors.”
The coach praised his veteran linemen and his senior quarterback, Nick Johnson, who hit Jack Granrud in stride for a 45-yard touchdown strike on Oak Ridge’s first possession to open the scoring. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Johnson also had an 18-yard touchdown to Nate Anzelc for a 14-7 Oak Ridge lead, and he scored on a -1-yard run for a 21-14 lead. Taylor said that as good as Anzelc is as a receiver, “he’s the best cornerback in the area.”
The coach also said he is puzzled that for all of Johnson’s skills, size and poise that it boggles him there have not been NCAA Division I scholarship offers. But there’s still time for that, too. Johnson is the son of 10-year Major League Baseball player Nick Johnson, a graduate of McClatchy High School in Sacramento.
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Granrud, on the topic of stellar seniors, set up Oak Ridge’s final score with long interception return, and sophomore running back Sean Gasten powered in for a 6-yard touchdown run to ice it.
Oak Ridge’s senior group also includes Isaac Pierce, who stars as a receiver and can make plays on defense. He missed most of last season with an injury and made his return last week against Del Oro.
Oak Ridge was strong against the run with its stout defensive line and linebacker leaders such as Brayden Molloy and Justen Womack as Rocklin was held to a season-low point total after opening the season with outings of 46, 33, 45 and 23 points.
The Trojans defensive coordinator is one of the region’s best in Marc Rubalcaba.
Oak Ridge schedule heats up
Oak Ridge will host a defending Massachusetts state champion on Oct. 9 in Tabor Academy before an off-week bye. And then it’s a showdown with top-ranked Folsom, Oct. 16 in El Dorado Hills.
“We’re happy with where we are as a team,” Taylor said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do. We know October’s a big month for us, and we’re just real proud of our guys and how hard we’re working.”
Rocklin is 3-2 overall and 0-2 in the SFL, including a 29-23 double-overtime loss at Folsom. The Thunder was led again by emerging junior quarterback Parker Lively, who had a 1-yard, over-the-top touchdown scoring effort on a 4th-and-1 play. That tied it at 14-14.
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Shane Moriarty 1-yard run on 4th and 1 for Rocklin tied the score at 7-7.
Rocklin hosts Granite Bay on Oct. 9.