17 members of Woodland Christian football team receive recognition from Sacramento Metropolitan Athletic League

Shaun Holkko

Dec 31

2023 will be remembered as the year that the Woodland Christian High School varsity football team won the first state championship in Woodland's history and brought it home to the City of Trees.

The Cardinals (15-0) completed an undefeated storybook season on Dec. 9 by beating Banning 23-13 in the CIF State Football Division 5-A Championship at Murdock Stadium in Torrance.

Following the conclusion of this historic campaign, the Sacramento Metropolitan Athletic League recognized 17 individuals from Woodland Christian for their contributions during the 10-0 regular season. The Cardinals were 4-0 in SMAL play and won their seventh consecutive outright league title before departing for the Sierra Delta League next year.

Woodland Christian nearly swept every individual award, winning 3-of-4. Sophomore running back Noah Hinkle received Offensive Player of the Year. Junior defensive end Zander Gimenez was awarded Defensive Player of the Year. Head coach Michael Paschke earned Coach of the Year.

"In coaching, the most important thing you need is talent," Paschke said. "Then coaching helps out the talent. Without the talent, you can take the best coach in the world and it would be tough. As a coach, you're just really happy when you can get everyone working together for one goal. We have a lot of different personalities as a coaching staff. I know I get the award for the end result but really it's a collective. I've been very fortunate with who's wanted to come coach with me."

Paschke's assistant coaches included Curtis Barnes, Ryan Ginyard, Franky Herrera, Juan Ibarra, Doug Naschke, Oscar Sanchez, Johnnie Tucker II and Scott Wedding.

Like eight of his teammates, Hinkle started on both sides of the ball this season, lining up at RB and cornerback. By displaying his versatility, the superb sophomore made a strong case for the league's Most Valuable Player award and the numbers back him up.

Among SMAL peers, Hinkle ranked first in touchdowns (21) & points scored (138), second in yards rushing (578) & interceptions (5) and third in yards receiving (737). He tallied 10 rushing and receiving TDs, respectively, one punt return tuddy and six successful 2-point conversions.

"Man, he came in this year and was a different player than he was last year. Offensively, he was just dynamite in a lot of our games. He was arguably our best player throughout the year," Paschke recalled. "Noah was a lockdown corner and you could line him up against anybody."

Woodland Christian sophomore Noah Hinkle, coach Michael Paschke and junior Zander Gimenez each received individual awards from the Sacramento Metropolitan Athletic League following the 2023 season. (Shaun Holkko/Daily Democrat)

Nine Woodland Christian football players were selected to the Sacramento Metropolitan Athletic League first team. (Shaun Holkko/Daily Democrat)

The Woodland Christian High School varsity football team departs from their hotel in Irvine to go play for a CIF State Football Division 5-A Championship against Banning on Dec. 9 at El Camino College in Torrance. (Shaun Holkko/Daily Democrat)

Woodland Christian sophomore running back Noah Hinkle anticipates stiff-arming Banning senior linebacker Andrew Joya during a 23-13 win against the Pilots in the CIF State Football Division 5-A Championship on Dec. 9 at Murdock Stadium in Torrance. (Shaun Holkko/Daily Democrat)

The Woodland Christian High School varsity football team celebrates winning the CIF State Football Division 5-A Championship following a 23-13 victory against Banning on Saturday, Dec. 9 at Murdock Stadium in Torrance. (Shaun Holkko/Daily Democrat)

Gimenez also played two ways as a guard and DE. Offensively, the 6-foot-3 junior was a member of Paschke's "Big 3" linemen up front. Defensively, Gimenez finished fourth in sacks (6.0) and ninth in tackles (59).

Context matters though and the Cardinals outscored their opponents 458-65 during the regular season. Otherwise, the statistics from Woodland Christian starters would be much more inflated with further playing time.

"Zander dominated on the defensive line, his pass rushing improved a lot. His run support was right there," Paschke proclaimed. "Offensively, he was probably our best linemen overall, we used him in the pull a lot. He dominated both sides of the ball and you notice him more on defense."

Including the respective players of the year, seven other Cardinals were named to the All-SMAL first team. The selections are seniors, Gabriel Sanchez, Shane Osborne, Noah Rico, & Robert Naschke, juniors, Devin Herrera & Carter Lang, and sophomore Isaiah Hunt.

"Bob was our overall leader on defense, he's our hype guy. We could always count on Bob to be in the weight room," Paschke explained. "He's not a very tall dude but he put on a lot of weight. He really stepped up this year to become our best tackler and our vocal leader which is huge on the defensive side of the ball.

"Shane was a huge part of the weight room too. As he'll tell you, not the most athletic guy in the world but we couldn't have won (state) without him. It took so many pieces to make it work but he is the catalyst. He comes up with the line calls, had some great play design ideas, he always had something good and is really sharp."

Despite missing three games this season, Sanchez ranked third in yards passing (1,577) & rushing (492), respectively.

"Gabe was our captain and I'm gonna miss him. Honestly last year, I didn't think he could be a captain, he was so quiet! I didn't know if he'd ever be how vocal and important he was," Paschke recalled. "A lot of the times when the players are your coaches, they hold the players more accountable on the field. That's what Gabe did very well, if we had issues with a player, he would kick them off and get their sub in. It meant more coming from Gabe and I loved coaching him, he's amazing!"

Standing at 6-foot-7 and 360 pounds, Rico will be hard for Paschke to replace.

"That boy just has God-given talent right there," Paschke said. "He became a lot harder worker as the season progressed. He has the highest ceiling of all of our players by far. He could turn into something really special, some college would be lucky to have him. His work ethic has continued to get better. The last four games, he didn't even ask to come out. He just wanted to be in there and kept telling me how everyone is so little. He's hilarious on and off the field but has really come into his own and it's been awesome to watch him grow up."

Hunt replaced an injured Sanchez at quarterback twice this season. The sensational sophomore started three regular season games under center, including in a 24-15 win at crosstown rival Pioneer. He also stepped up in the Division VII CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Championship game after Sanchez got hurt on the third play of the contest.

"Isaiah easily could've been a starting quarterback at any team in Woodland or Yolo County," Paschke proclaimed. "We were fortunate enough to have him as our backup quarterback, which we needed. Next year he's going to come into his own where he is the leader. He's going to show everything he can do. He can throw really well, we already know he can run really well. I think it's just a matter of him getting more comfortable in the offense.

"This year I put him in so many different positions so he never really had time to learn one. Next year, he's really going to flourish when he's in one position."

Herrera, who started at WR and CB, saved his best performance of the year for when it mattered most, outscoring the Pilots (14-13) in the state title game.

"Devin Herrera came on strong late. He had an injury bug in the middle of the year. The sky is the limit for him! Nobody works harder than Devin," Paschke said. "He's training every day and is putting in that work. He's just a great kid, he listens, wants to be good and is super coachable. I think he's going to have a special senior season, no doubt, next year."

Lang was arguably the MVP of the Northern California title game at Orland, contributing on both sides of the ball with a touchdown at WR and two interceptions at CB. He also threw a 62-yard pass to Herrera on a trick play.

"He just keeps getting bigger and really came into his own this year. I expect him to be even better next year," Paschke explained. "We might have to get him some quarterback reps too because that boy has a cannon! He's a heck of an athlete and it was great to see him grow. We probably don't win without him. We're lucky to have him and I can't wait to see what he brings next year because he can get up and go get balls."

Five Woodland Christian players were chosen for the second team. The All-SMAL honorees include senior Daniel Corona, junior Ethan Johns and sophomores, Malachi Durham, Cesar Abraham Villegas & Cole Haines.

Two young Cardinals received an honorable mention from the SMAL: sophomore Lincoln Paschke and freshman Oliver Holleman. Both underclassmen have notable fathers. Lincoln's dad, Michael, is Woodland Christian's coach. Oliver's dad, Sean, competed in football and track & field at UC Davis.

Eight seniors will graduate in the Class of 2024: Corona, Naschke, Osborne, Rico, Sanchez, Cristian Morales, Khai Brown & Jacob Huerta. Therefore, 11 SMAL honorees will be returning for the Cardinals next year to defend their section and state championships, led by Gimenez and Triple H: Hinkle, Herrera & Hunt.

"I feel pretty good, we have a lot of guys coming back," Paschke foreshadowed. "Line is where we've gotta pick it up and make sure the linemen that are replacing Shane and Rico can handle that, then everything else will take care of itself. We have a lot of athletes coming back. Honestly, we were one year early. This (next) team is the one in previous years that I thought when they were seniors, we're going to be at our best.

"We had a couple players change that and we got there a year early. We want to aim high and we're lucky to have this many players coming back to contribute and possibly win sections again, then moving on."

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