His legacy will always be remembered

My random thoughts as we enjoy the first weekend of February.

n The Sac-Joaquin Section will hold its second public meeting on the 2024-28 league realignment cycle at The Reserve at Spanos Park in Stockton Tuesday at 9 a.m.

At the first meeting, which was also at The Reserve on Jan. 17, has Davis High proposed to join the Sierra Foothill League that is Division I. Davis has been a part of the Delta League, also D-I, since 2014.

The proposed look has Davis and current Delta schools Jesuit and St. Francis joining the SFL. The trio would join Del Oro, Folsom, Granite Bay, Oak Ridge, Rocklin and Whitney of Rocklin.

The current Delta League has Davis and Elk Grove schools Cosumnes Oaks, Elk Grove, Franklin, Pleasant Grove and Sheldon.

The proposed Delta would include all of the Elk Grove schools, plus its fellow city schools in Laguna Creek and Monterey Trail. The latter two schools are currently in the Metro Conference, which is D-II. n Pete Saco leaves behind a legacy.

There are two meetings scheduled this month, which is Tuesday and Tuesday, Feb. 28.

The former section commissioner died on Jan. 29 from stomach cancer. He was 70.

Saco became the section’s third commissioner in 1993, and stayed at that post until he retired in 2014. Mike Garrison has been the current commissioner since Saco’s retirement.

Saco is the reason why the California Interscholastic Federation started state football playoffs in 2006.

He also started the Dale Lackey Scholarship, the Women in Sports Leadership Conference and the Sac-Joaquin Section Hall of Fame.

The section office in Lodi bears Saco’s name.

Before being named commissioner, Saco was the Lodi High athletic director from 1982 until 1993. He was the school’s boys and girls basketball head coaches at two different times.

Anyone associated with Davis High who met Saco knew he was a man who was compassionate toward high school student-athletes. He was a tall man with a great personality.

Saco presided over the section’s media day meetings, which are held on

LocaL roundup Soccer

Thursdays before the start of the high school football season in mid-August. Those meetings also started in the early 2010s. I started attending the meetings since the start, during my first tenure at McNaughton Media when I was a staff writer at the Mountain Democrat in Placerville for half of the 2010s.

Saco was always easy to approach and have conversations regarding high school athletics in the section and state. He was always a pleasure to have conversations.

n The San Francisco 49ers are planning to move forward without quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

No question Brock Purdy is the future of the 49ers. But the question becomes is how long it is going to take him to recover from his torn UCL in his right elbow that could sideline him for six months. What if the recovery time is longer?

Based on the transcripts I received via See LEGACY, Page B6 fiLe pHoto UC Davis pitcher Kenedi Brown high-fives teammates during a 2022 home game.

UCD women’s hoops post win on the road

Enterprise staff

HONOLULU, Hawaii — The UC Davis women's basketball team got another big performance from the conference's leading scorer in guard Evanne Turner to take down Hawaii 57-47 and earn its fourth win in the last five games.

UC Davis (6-5 in the Big West Conference, 10-11) returned to the win column after another dominant defensive display that saw it hold the Rainbow Wahine to a season-low 25 percent from the field and 2-for-23 from 3-point range.

Turner dropped a game-high 23 points while grabbing a season-high seven rebounds. She took over in the final period and contributed 11 fourth-quarter points to carry her team to victory.

Aggie Tess Sussman came through with a solid showing, notching 13 points and nine boards, just one shy of a double-double. She knocked down three of her six 3-point attempts while making plays on the defensive end with her two steals and one block.

Tova Sabel returned to the Aggies' starting lineup after missing some time due to injury and buried two shots from long range in her seven-point display.

The Aggies return to Big West action at the University Credit Union Center on Thursday, Feb. 9 against UC Riverside. Game time is 5 p.m.

Aggie softball

IRVINE — UC Davis junior pitcher Kenedi Brown was named to the Big West Softball Preseason Coaches' Team, the conference office announced Friday.

Brown, a two-time All-Big West first-team selection, is coming off a 2022 season in which she posted a 13-18 record and sported a 1.73 ERA. The righthander held opposing batters to a .194 clip and struck out 224 in 190 innings pitched. The Elk Grove native added 19 complete games and three shutouts, including a no-hitter.

In conference play, Brown was 7-10 with a 1.78 ERA. She held the conference to a .189 batting average and struck out 129 in 114 1/3 innings.

Brown's 1.73 ERA, three saves, and 190 innings pitched paced the conference, while her 224 strikeouts were second.

The Aggies start their 2023 season at Causeway rival Sacramento State on Thursday, Feb. 9.

Youth football skills camp

The Davis High football program will host its annual Youth Super Bowl Sunday football skills clinic.

The clinic will be on Sunday, Feb. 12 at Ron and Mary Brown Stadium from 10 a.m. until noon.

The camp is open for youth in third to eighth grades. For more information, contact Paul Hasson at phasson@djusd.