God’s Plan: Woodland Christian football team completes storybook season with unbeaten record
Shaun Holkko posted: "TORRANCE, Calif. — Not many people would've predicted that the Woodland Christian High School varsity football team would go on to win a state championship this season, but one player's faith remained unwavered. "We're going to go all the way and win s" Daily Democrat
TORRANCE, Calif. — Not many people would've predicted that the Woodland Christian High School varsity football team would go on to win a state championship this season, but one player's faith remained unwavered.
"We're going to go all the way and win state!" Proclaimed senior lineman Noah Rico on July 26.
The skyscraping senior's bold proclamation was considered unrealistic by some skeptics in town. Yet less than five months later, Rico and his teammates can officially call themselves state champions.
"Man, it was a long road. It started off with Bradshaw and we upset them, they're a good team. That really made all of our players believe," recalled coach Michael Paschke. "It was a rough road but we were relatively healthy and I think that was one of the most important things. We have a great group of kids and coaches, we get along really well. That's what pays off, we're closer with our kids than most teams. That paid dividends in the end."
The Cardinals (15-0) completed a storybook season on Saturday in Southern California by winning the CIF State Football Division 5-A Championship with an undefeated record. Woodland Christian defeated Banning of Wilmington 23-13 at El Camino College in Torrance.
"I told you so! It was in my heart to say it and I'm glad to be a part of the first state champs in Woodland. It's good to be a part of history and especially with this team because we're a family out here," Rico said. "We knew it was going to be a battle in the trenches, we won that battle, stuffed them and they couldn't run it. So they started doing their pass game and we were prepared for that."
Woodland Christian wore their white uniforms Saturday as the designated road team. The Pilots were playing a home game for all intents and purposes, only 10 miles away from their campus, compared to the Cardinals who traveled over 400 miles for the championship contest. Banning's home field "advantage" ultimately became a disadvantage at Murdock Stadium, which is comparable to Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
The home of the Dolphins is notorious for being significantly warmer on the opposing sideline, which was flipped in SoCal. Woodland Christian was located in the shade the entire game, while the Pilots had the sun beaming down on them until midway through the third quarter. Some would call it a lucky coincidence while others believe that it was just all a part of God's plan.
"The game was physical. They were stopping some of our stuff but we held through. They scored first but we still kept our heads up and kept driving," explained junior wide receiver Devin Herrera. "After the game I was just thanking God. All glory to God!"
Banning won the coin toss and elected to receive. On the second play from scrimmage, senior WR Ryan Deangelis took a handoff, cut to the outside and ran 42 yards down the right sideline into Cardinals territory. The Pilots reached the red zone on a 26-yard pass with a post out route from senior quarterback Robert Guerrero to freshman tight end Kody Galloway.
Junior WR Steven Perez finished the drive with a 2-yard rushing touchdown up the gut only 105 seconds into the game. The point after try was no good as Woodland Christian nearly blocked the kick. Both teams alternated punts and turnover on downs over the next four possessions and Banning led 6-0 after one quarter of action.
Fictional boxer Rocky Balboa once said, "Every champion was once a contender who refused to give up," and the Cardinals certainly didn't concede to the Pilots after facing early adversity.
An 18-yard run by sophomore running back Noah Hinkle set up Woodland Christian's first score in what would become 23 unanswered points. Herrera received a direct snap and rushed up the middle for a 1-yard touchdown. Hinkle took a toss to the right and dove into the end zone for the 2-point conversion. The Cardinals took the lead at 8-6 with 11:45 left in the second period.
On its next drive, Banning turned the ball over on downs. Senior QB Gabriel Sanchez completed a 12-play possession by tossing an 8-yard TD to junior WR Ethan Johns with 5 minutes remaining in the second quarter. Senior kicker Cristian Morales nailed the PAT to give Woodland Christian a 15-6 advantage at halftime.
The Cardinals opened the second half with three consecutive 7-yard gains on the ground. Herrera ran for a 21-yard gain to reach the red zone. He capped off the drive with a 3-yard rush to the left into the end zone, breaking tackles with ease on his way in.
Herrera recorded an octopus by successfully converting the 2-point try with the exact same play. This time around, he ran further to the outside after receiving the direct snap and Woodland Christian led 23-6 with 5:54 left in the third period.
"All the extra work that we've put in this whole time, the coaches have been preaching to us, 'If you work hard, it'll be worth it in the end!' It showed and it's crazy to be 15-0 in my senior year," Sanchez recalled. "I just kept believing that I would come back. All these coaches had faith in me. I'm back and I played for a state championship!"
Pilots sophomore RB Kamari Westley scored a 3-yard rushing TD with 3:58 remaining in the game, followed by a PAT kick from junior Jordan Villanueva. The Cardinals recovered the ensuing onside kick attempt and the celebration was on. Woodland Christian prevailed 23-13 to bring home the City of Trees' first state title in any sport.
"I can't even describe how it feels, it's so amazing thinking that we even went undefeated the entire season," Hinkle said. "I believed that we were capable of winning a section title, which we did pull off, but I did not think state. State was way out of reach but we reached it."
The Cardinals and Colusa (14-0) are the only two teams in California to finish the 2023 season unbeaten.
"First, it was unbelievable to see the clock go to zeroes. It was emotional," Rico recalled. "This was my last game ever in high school so I left everything on the field. I played my heart out so I have no regrets later on in life."
With the victory, Woodland Christian joins powerhouse Folsom (2014 & 2017) as the only teams from the Sacramento region to complete a season undefeated since 2006.
"It's crazy," Herrera said. "I feel like crying right now to be honest."
For Sanchez, Saturday's win was extra special. Aside from overcoming two respective injuries this year, he left everything he had on the field at Murdock Stadium. The best part about it? He got to do it alongside his older brother, Oscar, who is an assistant coach for the Cardinals.
"It's just amazing having my brother by my side all the time," Sanchez explained. "He's always helping me push through everything. He makes me feel like a better player and a leader."
Sanchez is 1-of-8 seniors departing in the Class of 2024.
"The senior class means everything to me," Hinkle said. "Most of them I've known for almost half my life and they're all like family. Some of them just came in last year and I've gotten close with them. They are all my brothers."
Two-thirds of Paschke's "Big 3" linemen, Rico and Shane Osborne, will also be graduating in the spring.
"We got big Noah, 6-(foot)-7, I'll probably never coach another kid like that. He's so witty. It took the kids over a full year to realize that he's one of the funniest kids on the team but all the jokes go over all the kids' heads," Paschke said. "Shane was just in the weight room, he was a special player. Khai Brown, he turned it on late. Gabe, big Noah, Shane and Bob (Naschke), it's going to be hard to replace them next year. We didn't have a ton of seniors but what we did have was quality."
Key players returning for next season include Triple H: Herrera, Hinkle and sophomore QB Isaiah Hunt. Also back for 2024 is the remaining third of Paschke's big boys up front, junior Zander Gimenez.
"Honestly, I think it's really difficult to get here. Some of the boys said, 'Let's run it back!' I said, 'Guys, a lot of things have to go right to get here. You guys have to stay out of trouble and keep your grades up.' It's so hard to get here! If it was easy, there would be a lot more here," Paschke explained. "Of course we have a lot of talent coming back but we don't have the big linemen. Without them, that's what separates the big boys from the little boys. Hopefully everyone puts on 20-25 pounds like they did last year. That's the main thing is to keep getting bigger, stronger and faster."
No comments:
Post a Comment