California's Top 50 high school football teams: No. 43 Vanden rides title wave

With 14 returning starters including highly dynamic quarterback Tre Dimes, the Vikings primed to repeat historic state-championship season.

SBLive is previewing the Top 50 high school football teams in California ahead of the 2022 season. Here’s an inside look at the Vanden Vikings of the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section, the No. 43 team in our countdown.

VANDEN TEAM PAGE | 2022 FALL FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

HEAD COACH

Sean Murphy

• Ninth season as head coach at Vanden, 25th overall

• Overall head-coaching record: 55-33

• Section titles: 1 (2021)

• State titles: 1 (2021)

2021 AT A GLANCE

• Overall record: 13-2

• League record: 4-1 (second in Monticello Empire)

• Points scored/allowed: 664/261

• Won SJS Division 4, NorCal 3-AA and State 3-AA titles, the latter with 14-13 win over Aquinas-San Bernardino

2022 SCHEDULE

(All games 7:30 p.m. unless noted)

• Aug. 19 at Yuba City

• Aug. 27 vs. Douglas-Minden, Nev.

• Sept. 2 at Burbank-Sacramento

• Sept. 9 vs. Foothill-Pleasanton

• Sept. 16 vs. Rancho Cotate

• Sept. 30 at Armijo, 7 p.m.

• Oct. 7 vs. Vacaville

• Oct. 14 at Wood

• Oct. 21 vs. Fairfield

• Oct. 28 at Rodriguez

RETURNING STARTERS

• 7 on offense

• 7 on defense

IMPACT PLAYERS DEPARTED

• RB/LB Cameron Fisherman, graduation

• WR/CB Michael Belk, graduation

• WR/DB Jamai East, graduation

• DB Amarion York, graduation

PLAYERS TO WATCH

QB Tre Dimes — Sr. — 5-11, 175

2021 stats: 164 completions, 291 attempts, 3,262 yards, 46 passing touchdowns, 11 interceptions, eight rushing touchdowns

Career stats: 4,460 passing yards, 62 touchdowns, 20 interceptions

Coach said: “He’s extremely competitive. Sometimes he’s too hard on himself. He’s matured into a good leader. He has a good grasp of (the spread) offense. He’s a true student of the game. Always watching game films. He’s put in the time.”

WR/DB Brayden Chavez — Jr. — 5-10, 160

2021 stats: 49 catches, 801 yards, 7 TDs, 3 kickoff returns, 177 yards, 1 TD.

Coach said: “He’s smart (4.4 grade point average), very fast and athletic. He made the state track meet in the 400 (best time of 49.85 seconds) and contributed a lot for us as a sophomore.”

LB/WR Kyren Jackson-Davis — Sr. — 6-0, 175

2021 stats: 71 tackles (second on team), 3 sacks.

Coach said: “He's a quick outside linebacker who will help us at the wideout receiver spot this season.”

LB/DE Orion Null — Sr. — 6-0, 210

2021 stats: Team-leading 116 tackles in 14 games with 16 sacks

Coach said: “Quick. Fast. Game plans. Makes plays.”

RB/LB Elijah Fisherman — Sr. — 5-8, 170

2021 stats: Combined for 276 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the team’s first two games last season before carrying the ball 20 more times the rest of the season.

Coach said: “(Fisherman), Raheem Holt (6-1, 190) and Jordan Jones (5-11, 180) all return and all will be our primary ball carriers this season.”

G David Camara — Sr. — 5-11, 230

Coach said: “Moving from center to guard. He’s tough and mean.”

OL Aiden Stragalinos — Sr. — 6-2, 250

Coach said: “Strong and smart.”

MLB Devin Martin — Sr. — 6-0, 205

2021 stats: 56 tackles in 10 games, sack, interception

Coach said: “Had a big punt block in the state-championship win to turn around the game. He’s steady but makes big plays.”

DE/TE Abraham Sanders — Sr. — 6-3, 200

2021 stats: 43 tackles in 11 games

Coach said: “With Sanders, Tyler Mendoza and Marquez Anderson, we’re deep on the defensive line.”

REGULAR SEASON GAME(S) OF THE YEAR

Avenging a fourth-straight loss to SJS power Vacaville would be nice on Oct. 7, and back-to-back nonleague games with North Coast Section powers Foothill and Rancho Cotate, starting Sept. 9, will be tough and interesting.

But frankly, the team’s opener at Yuba City should set the tone for everything. Just like last season.

The Vikings overcame a 20-0 deficit to win a wild 37-33 game, scoring 31 points in the second half to let Murphy and Vanden fans know they had something special. In that game, Elijah Fisherman rushed for 121 yards and a touchdown.

“Yuba City was big and physical and tough and we expect them to be the same this year,” Murphy said. “It’s going to be a good Week 1 test. Foothill and Rancho Cotate should be big (nonleague) tests as well.”

BEST-CASE SCENARIO

10-0

Cotate is ranked sixth in the CalPreps NCS preseason rankings and Foothill 10th, while Vacaville is No. 21 in SJS and Yuba City No. 22. Vanden, ranked fourth in SJS, should be favorite in every game. With an experienced, talented quarterback, 14 returning starters and the confidence of coming off section, regional and state titles, there’s legitimate reason to believe the Vikings will run the table.

MOST REALISTIC SCENARIO

9-1

With four quality opponents — only one on the road — there’s a good chance they could falter once. The secondary is inexperienced and despite standouts Marcellus Chandler and Simeon Wydermyer, Vanden could be vulnerable to potent passing attacks. As is the case with most championship teams, a wake-up call during the season wouldn’t be the worst thing.

COACH SAID

“No doubt it was a memorable season last year and we heard from many supporters. It was fantastic. But it was a very emotional championship. The kids wore four memorial stickers on their helmets for lost members of our program, including teammate Daniel Hughes (he died from gun fire in the spring of 2021 and would have been senior on last year’s team). The team definitely rallied around Daniel. He was a driving force.

“The message to the student athletes and coaches this season is to find the identity of this team. Last season is last season. Our first goal is to win the league. From there we’ll move on to the second goal and so on.”

-- Sean Murphy