'This is special' - Scripps Ranch joins elite company by winning California boys basketball and football state titles in same school year

The Falcons beat Wilcox 31-28 in football and Justin-Siena 46-37 in boys basketball to win two state championships in the 2021-22 school year.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Junior big man Jax Leatherwood didn't think Scripps Ranch would be eligible to play for a basketball state championship this season.

"I actually didn't know that if you lost in the Section title that you would make it to the state playoffs," he admitted on Saturday. "After the game [a 57-46 loss to San Dieguito Academy in the San Diego Section Division 3 championship] I heard and I was like okay, we still got a shot."

Just months after a Leatherwood led Scripps Ranch football team beat Wilcox 31-28 to win a state championship, the Scripps Ranch boys basketball team won four state playoff games to make it to a state championship game of their own against Justin-Siena at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. 

In addition to Leatherwood, who plays quarterback at Scripps Ranch, senior guard Lamont Wilkerson, a starting defensive back on the football team, and junior forward Dean Paley, a wide receiver, both won rings on the gridiron in December and were trying to go 2-for-2 in state titles this school year. 

But early in the season it didn't look like the Scripps Ranch boys basketball team would ever get this far. When the football season ended in December and the football trio began playing basketball again, the Falcons initially struggled with chemistry, according to head coach Brock Flint.

"Bringing the three football players back changed a lot," Flint said. "We took a step back before we took a step forward. It wasn't their fault ... We just had to adjust."

Once everything clicked, Scripps Ranch went 14-6 after the New Year with Leatherwood and Wilkerson playing starring roles. In Saturday's state championship, Leatherwood blocked eight shots and Wilkerson scored 19 points to lead the Falcons to a 46-37 win. 

"For Scripps Ranch to have never won a state championship in either sport before, that's a pretty big deal," Leatherwood said. "The fact that we won them both in the same year, me, Lamont and Dean, we all won it together as a family and all the guys on the football team and all the guys on the basketball team, means so much to me. The fact that we were able to win both with great groups of guys is really special."

Scripps Ranch High becomes the first school from San Diego to win football and boys basketball state championships in the same year. Only three other California high schools have accomplished that feat and they're all in the Los Angeles area: Serra (Gardena) in 2009-10, St. John Bosco in 2013-14 and Chaminade in 2013-2014. 

"This is special," Wilkerson said. 

PHOTO GALLERY

(All photos by Dennis Lee)