Written by Noel Rathmel
Tuolumne, CA—On a cool summer night in Tuolumne, California, the Summerville Bears’ 2026 football campaign began. The Bears, led by new Head Coach Cole Elkins, looked to cut their teeth against the Ripon Christian Knights. This evening was explicitly exciting because not only was it the first game of the season, but the Bears were playing on a beautiful new turf field.
The first quarter started strong for the Bears, led by sophomore quarterback Cort Leslie. Leslie scored the first touchdown of 2026 for Summerville. Unfortunately, it was the only touchdown of the game for the Bears. The final score was 41 to 6 in favor of the Knights.
The Bears defense played tough for most of the night and was led by a strong performance from cornerback Will Hardman and defensive end Evan Roberson. Throughout the game, Summerville’s run game had some success, led by cornerback Malakai Lopez, who would be named the Black Oak Casino Resort Player of the Game.
Join us for the Bears’ next game on September 11, at home against Stone Ridge Christian. The game will be aired live on 93.5 KKBN, streaming on the myMotherLode app and video streaming on myMotherlode.tv. The broadcast is scheduled to start at 6:45 pm.
In other gridiron action, Calaveras beat Bradshaw Christian 34-14, Sonora lost its home opener to the Oakdale Mustangs 21-9, and Bret Harte defeated Delhi 21-7.
