Foresthill strong: Wildfires take the field for first time since Mosquito Fire

Foresthill and Valley Christian gathered at midfield following Friday night's football game. Coaches Doug Williams of VCA and Mark Tumminelli of Foresthill shared a similar message for both teams: "All of you should be proud of how you represented your community." Sports can bring a community together, and that is no exception in Foresthill. With a population of just more than 1,400, Friday nights have the same buzz as Super Bowl Sunday. The town captured that buzz once again as its beloved Wildfires took the field for the first time since the Mosquito Fire began Sept. 6. For the players, it was a return to normalcy. After weeks of uncertainty, they were able to return to the gridiron under the lights and play the game they love. "We needed this," Tumminelli said. "The kids probably don't even realize how much, but I'm so proud of them. We always talk about adversity and bouncing back, and I think they did a great job tonight." "The past couple weeks have been really adverse and eventful, and it breaks my heart for these guys," said Williams, a resident of Foresthill himself. "The fire was right across the street from their school. They could have lost their school. It breaks my heart. I mean, kids should just be able to go play high school sports and live their best high school life." As unifying as football can be, it can be equally as heartbreaking. The Wildfires learned the hard way Friday, as a last-second touchdown elevated the Lions to a 22-14 victory to begin Sacramento Metro Athletic League play. "Sometimes, you just aren't gonna win the game. That's football," Tumminelli said. "The score does not reflect the effort that they put out. I am so proud of these kids. Three weeks of not playing football yet they were able to put together a pretty gosh-darn good football game tonight. So my hat's off to Valley, they beat us. That's just life." The decisive score came on a fourth-down conversion when quarterback Thomas Rominger scrambled to his right and delivered a 38-yard strike to wide-open Chase Clary in the end zone with 18 seconds to play. A few plays later, Rominger batted down a pass with no time left to secure the win for the Lions. "It feels good. This win was a team effort," Rominger said. "We got after their quarterback and got pressure on him late and we just made plays when it counted." Clary's winning reception wasn't his only big snag of the fourth quarter. The junior had a 48-yard touchdown catch with 5:58 remaining to tie the score 14-14. The catch provided the Lions with a needed spark after struggling to move the ball for most of the second half. "Chase is a stud," Rominger said. "He can burn people like that and he finds ways to get open. He's something else and I wouldn't be here without him." Foresthill's defensive line had a strong performance. The pass rushing duo of Jordan Overstreet and Jack Saxelby had two sacks each and caused problems in the backfield all night. Plugging up the running lanes in the middle was Connor Medigovich, who stuffed the Lions at the line of scrimmage several times. "We had a defensive game plan that we worked on all week long," Tumminelli said. "We tried to exploit the vulnerabilities that we saw so they stuck to the game plan. I was very pleased with the defense tonight." Valley Christian (5-1, 1-0 SMAL) is off to its best start in school history and will look for its fourth consecutive victory next week when it hosts Encina. While Foresthill (0-4, 0-1 SMAL) is still in search of its first win, Tumminelli feels Friday's game gave his team the confidence it needs to make a push for the playoffs. "Obviously, the kids are hurting inside and they should be but that's OK, it hurts to lose," he said. "I know my guys, they'll come back on Monday and we'll just focus on the next opponent." The Wildfires visit Western Sierra next Friday. VALLEY CHRISTIAN 22, FORESTHILL 14 Valley Christian 8 0 0 14 - 22 Foresthill 0 8 6 0 - 14 VCA - Sean Fleming 5 run (2-pt. successful) Foresthill - Damian Napoles 22 pass from Ben Mercado (2-pt. successful) Foresthill - Michael Patterson 28 pass from Mercado (PAT missed) VCA - Chase Clary 48 pass from Thomas Rominger (2-pt. failed) VCA - Clary 38 pass from Rominger (2-pt. successful)