Vacaville High football fans who have enjoyed all the comforts of Tom Zunino Stadium are in for a rude shock Saturday afternoon. Sacramento High’s idea of rolling out a welcome mat for visitors in its inaugural year as a member of the Monticello Empire League is more infuriating than inviting.
At least Vanden knew what to expect last Saturday because the Vikings had previously played at the school, which opened in 1856 and is the oldest in Sacramento. Fans knew to bring canopies and lawn chairs because the seating is limited – as in three-row bleachers with obstructed views.
They also knew to bring snacks and water because there is no concession stand. And they knew to arrive early in order to find a parking spot on the surrounding streets. It would have been nice if someone had thought of bringing a mower because the grass was as thick as U.S. Open rough.
At least there were five portable toilets at the east end of the field. Did you get that? Football fields do not have an east end because they go north to south so players will not be blinded by the sun. At Sacramento High’s field, visiting fans sitting or standing on the north side will need sunglasses.
Will DeBoard is well aware of the issues at Sacramento High. As an assistant commissioner of the Sac-Joaquin Section, he offered his two cents in the original proposal for league realignment. The proposal then went to the realignment committee, which made any changes it deemed necessary.
“We start the bus and then sit in the back,” DeBoard said of the proposal process during a phone interview Monday. “The section makes the original proposal and we try to show all the work that went into it to the committee.”
Each of the 206 schools in the section had an opportunity at the committee’s meetings to make a case for changing leagues or staying put. Sacramento High sent its principal, assistant principal, athletic director and board president to one of the meetings for the sole intent of joining the MEL.
Such a move was not included in the original proposal, DeBoard said, because Sacramento High competes in just 12 sports. In order for the Dragons to join the MEL, the committee had to move two schools competing in all sports to the league and make Sacramento High an “extra” member.
Pioneer and River City replaced Armijo and Fairfield, which made it clear they would gladly leave the MEL “(after) battling each other in most every sport for fifth or sixth place,” DeBoard said, even though they would no longer be in the same league as Fairfield-Suisun neighbor Rodriguez.
“It was a good call (by the district),” DeBoard said. “There are schools that sacrifice their athletes and teams on the altar of being close by. We supported what (Armijo and Fairfield) wanted to do because it was the right thing to do. We gave them some relief and they were willing to accept it.”
Most districts prefer their schools to be in the same league, DeBoard said. That was the impetus of Napa Valley pulling Napa and Vintage from the MEL and American Canyon from the Superior California Athletic Conference in 2018 and moving them to the same North Coast Section league.
The three schools are in the Vine Valley League except for Vintage playing football in the Adobe division of the Redwood Empire Conference. The Crushers are 5-1 this season with wins against former MEL rivals Fairfield, Napa and Wood. American Canyon is 5-1 and has also beaten Wood.
Napa has had a tough go of it in recent years. The Grizzlies are 0-6 this season and have won just one league game since 2021. They are 22-45 overall in seven years since leaving the MEL after going 50-28 with three MEL championships in the previous seven seasons.
