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For the first time since 2021, Santa Rosa High’s football team beat crosstown rival Montgomery, securing the Ralph Fravel Trophy with a 28-6 victory at home Friday night.
The Panthers didn’t start off too hot. Montgomery’s Deysean Akins secured an interception in the first quarter that led to a 31-yard receiving touchdown, also by Akins, to put the Vikings up 6-0.
But that would be Montgomery’s only score on the night.
Santa Rosa coach Roy Keegan said the win, coming on senior night, meant a lot to his team.
“We’re going to miss these kids; they always leave you right when they finally get it,” Keegan said. “We told them, ‘You’re going to remember this game whether you win or lose for the rest of your life,’ and I’m glad that this group here had the opportunity to win a football game and get the trophy.”
Keegan also praised the Panthers’ defensive performance.
“They were flying around; they really wanted it,” he said of his defenders.
Although he was looking for a little more out of the offense, the coach noted that they still scored when it counted.
“We didn’t execute as well as we hoped, but we got the ball in the end zone four times,” Keegan said.
Santa Rosa finished with 239 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdown.
This was also the Panthers’ first league win since 2021. They end the season at 4-6 overall and 1-4 in the Redwood Empire Conference Bay division.
“Very happy for them — we doubled our win total from last year, which is great,” Keegan said.
As the Panthers turn the page to next season, their coach is optimistic about his team’s future.
“We’ve got 12 returning and a pretty good group of freshmen and sophomores,” Keegan said. “We’ll get back to work in January and see what we got — it’s going to be tough, we don’t even know where we’re going to be next year with realignment.”
Santa Rosa and Montgomery, as the two oldest high schools in the city, have faced off since the 1950s.
Santa Rosa running back Rashai Thompson, who scored a 44-yard rushing touchdown, said he wanted to win this game more than most — to take home the rivalry trophy and for his fellow seniors on the team.
“All of us came in; we weren’t that good, but we became better together,” Thompson said of the graduating class.
Santa Rosa senior Jonathon Stephenson, who had three sacks, was visibly emotional after playing his final game as a Panther.
“I was just overwhelmed with emotions — even when we were taking photos, I had to step away and just take in the moment,” Stephenson said. “I was so incredibly happy and proud of my team, myself and my coaches.”
Stephenson said he was “in the zone” throughout the game.
“Rivalries never really mattered to me; I just wanted to play the game,” Stephenson said. “It did help me get a little more drive because there’s a lot of talking going on in the game. I don’t like that stuff.”
Stephenson said his team’s aggressiveness on defense has helped them all season.
“We know we don’t always do the best, but teams feel us for sure. They felt us all year, every single team we’ve played,” Stephenson said.
Santa Rosa senior Gabe Huerta scored a 74-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter after missing the past few weeks due to injury.
“I knew I was getting the ball; I just had to mentally prepare myself,” Huerta said. “Thank you to my linemen — that hole was gigantic and from there it was touchdown alley.”
Huerta said he felt like his ankle was about to give out on him during the run.
“I’ve had too many injuries on this ankle, but at least I made it,” he said.
For Montgomery coach Anthony Bautista, going 0-10 in his first season was not what he had in mind.
“It sucks for the seniors, for the way that they went out,” Bautista said. “It’s tough when there’s not a lot of football experience in this class … we had eight seniors and really only three of them played.”
But Bautista knew when he took the job that the Vikings were young.
“If we look at our schedule, we played nine playoff teams that were ranked 40 and below” in the North Coast Section, Bautista said. “So we had a young team that had a bloodbath of a season.”
Bautista was hired in the spring and is looking forward to a full offseason with his team.
“Next season, if we treat it right and the kids buy into the weight room program and the football IQ school, then we should be a scary team — especially depending on what the new realignment looks like,” he said.