RIO LINDA, CA (MPG) – It hasn’t been very long since the Rio Linda High School varsity football team stood atop Division IV in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section (SJS) as champions.

However, entering the 2022 season, the 2018 championship year continues to fade further into the distance. Every student on campus at Rio Linda were in middle school or younger the last time the Knights hoisted a section title.

Therefore, there’s no better time than the present for the current Rio Linda football team to start building it’s legacy to be remembered for generations. The 2022 Knights have an opportunity to cement their legacies right alongside the 2018 championship team that beat Casa Roble 63-14 in the title game.

This season, Rio Linda is seeking to bounce back from two consecutive losing seasons. The Knights haven’t been the same since former coach Jack Garceau departed the program following the 2019 campaign. However, current head coach Jeff Freeman is returning for his second season following a 2-8 (0-5 Foothill Valley League) campaign last year.

The Knights recently hosted a six-team scrimmage on Friday, August 12. Other teams participating in the scrimmage included Cordova, Wheatland, San Juan (Citrus Heights), Western Sierra (Rocklin) and Vanden (Fairfield).

This gave all six teams a great opportunity to prepare for week zero and their first opponents of the regular season, getting to run their plays against opposing teams rather than in intersquad scrimmages during practice. The Knights scrimmaged in their practice jerseys, making it tougher for their opponents to key in on particular players who they may have been scouting for.

Rio Linda opens the season Friday on the road at Center in Antelope with kick off scheduled for 7 p.m. The other four games before beginning league play are as follows: August 26 at Kennedy, September 2 against Cordova, September 16 versus Foothill and September 23 at Placer (Auburn).

The Knights play in one of the toughest leagues in the SJS, the Golden Empire League (GEL). Rio Linda’s league is comprised of six teams, with half of them ranked in the Top 25 according to Joe Davidson of The Sacramento Bee.

Casa Roble (#21), Dixon (#22) and Pioneer (#25) each cracked The Bee’s preseason rankings with Woodland on the outside looking in as a bubble team. That leaves Mesa Verde and Rio Linda as the two outliers attempting to change the narrative about their teams around the Sacramento region.

The Knights’ GEL schedule is as follows: September 29 at Dixon, October 7 at Casa Roble, October 14 against Mesa Verde, October 21 versus Woodland and October 28 against Pioneer.

Rio Linda will begin their attempt to return to prominence Friday night at Center.