T.J. Ewing is a bear of a man, towering over a good many of the football players he coaches like a boss and cares for like a father.

The stout 6-foot-3 Monterey Trail High School football coach can still hold his own in the weight room, and blocking sleds may wince when he approaches, but he doesn’t have speed or burst – never has – like the bevy of backs he has unleashed this season.

Ewing beamed as he took a peek Friday night at Caleb Ramseur, all of 5-foot-9 and 165 pounds of grit and skill. And endurance.

Ramseur carried the ball 38 times for 132 yards and three short touchdowns, the No. 5-seeded Mustangs expertly controlled the clock and they registered a knockout blow of the region’s preeminent powerhouse, registering a 35-23 victory at top-seeded Folsom in a section Division I semifinal.

“Oh, Caleb’s a Monterey Trail lifer, like his family, royalty to this program,” Ewing said. “We needed him tonight, all of them. Every night. We fight. We compete. You have to bring in haymakers against a team as great as Folsom.”

Monterey Trail’s haymakers were subtle but effective. The Mustangs (12-1) owned the time of possession – 40 minutes to 8 – and the game. Ramseur capped 14- and 15-play drives with scoring runs of 1 and 2 yards. His third score, a 2-yard plunge, pushed the Mustangs ahead 28-17 to open the fourth quarter after his club ran off the final 10:19 of the third.

Monterey Trail then sealed one of the Sac-Joaquin Section’s signature upsets with a 16-play drive, capped by Viktor Timonin’s 15-yard scoring strike to Antonio Williams with 2:14 to go.

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