College football: Familiar Redwood Empire names propelling SRJC's success

A contingent of former Analy and Casa Grande High School football players are propelling the Santa Rosa Junior College Bear Cubs to the school’s third postseason appearance in as many years.

The team will have its final tuneup Saturday at home against Diablo Valley before finding out Sunday which bowl game they will play in.

The Bear Cubs, 3-1 in the Bay 6 Conference and 6-3 overall, have capitalized on a rich crop of first-year players harvested from strong high school football programs, including a dozen from Analy and Casa Grande.

“This was maybe the best freshman class we’ve had,” said coach Lenny Wagner. “We started 17 freshmen this year, which is unheard of.”

One of those is the locally famous Ja’Narrick James, The Press Democrat’s All-Empire Offensive Player of the Year in his senior season last year at Analy.

James, a running back, has accounted for 60 percent of the Bear Cubs’ rushing yards in their nine games, averaging about 67 yards a game.

His former Tiger teammate Kerr Johnson is SRJC’s leading receiver, averaging 22 yards per catch and leading the team with six touchdowns.

James and Johnson have become team leaders for the Bear Cubs mostly by example, said Wagner, although James will also give an inspirational speech if necessary.

“He has an image that’s larger than life. People listen to him,” Wagner said. “He’s the most humble, wonderful guy. He’s a tremendous leader.”

Wagner said several times this year, he’s felt like he needed to address the team about something.

“But right before I did, he stepped in and said something and I felt like I didn’t need to,” Wagner said. “The players really listen to what he has to say.”

James, Johnson and identical twins Keith and Keilan Benjamin - and maybe a few others - are likely to be named to the all-conference squad on Sunday, Wagner said.

The Bear Cubs have knocked off two No. 1-ranked teams this year en route to their postseason show.

On Oct. 17, a 20-yard field goal by Andros Pedroza with 33 seconds remaining gave SRJC a win against San Mateo at Bailey Field. The Bulldogs came to town the top-rated team in the CCCAA Nor Cal National Division. Santa Rosa was No. 5 in the same poll.

Two weeks earlier, SRJC traveled to College of the Sequoias in Visalia and trounced that team 44-0.

Pedroza, who transferred to the JC this year after playing high school soccer in the North Bay and at UC Santa Barbara, has brought a sense of maturity to the Bear Cubs.

In his first year playing football, Pedroza has made some crucial field goals this season.

“He came out in the offseason. I watched him kick and saw he had some talent,” Wagner said. “He worked hard, worked on kicking a football, which is a lot different than kicking a soccer ball. He’s been great for us.”

Being a junior college, sometimes the roster can look a little odd, the coach admits.

The Bear Cubs have a 5-foot-3 player, one who’s 6-9, a lineman pushing 40 years old, the soccer kicker and players from Sweden, Germany and China.

“It is kinda crazy,” Wagner acknowledges. “We do not discriminate. It makes for some good stories.”

Should the Bear Cubs win Saturday, they may reach the final-four playoff, but Wagner said they “need help from a couple other teams” to make that happen.

“It’s been a very competitive season,” he said. “A lot comes down to this weekend.”

You can reach Lori A. Carter at 521-5470 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @loriacarter.