Cherished moments for 5 state champions
It must have felt like the final scene from the holiday classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” for Lincoln football coach Phil Ferrigno.
One by one, players — former and current — and coaches and family members greeted him with bear hugs and kisses following the Mustangs’ 24-13 CIF State 6-A bowl-game championship win over Orange GlenEscondido at City College of San Francisco, a field where Ferrigno played for both Riordan and CCSF.
There were his CCSF coaches, offensive coordinator Danny Hayes and head coach George Rush, for whom the field on which Ferrigno was standing was named. Then approached three players — Michael Clayton, Ronnie Marania and Steve Gallardo — who were part of Lincoln’s unprecedented run of four Turkey Day victories starting in 2005.
At the end of the long line of well-wishers was his wife, Lisa, who was dabbing her teary eyes, watching the aftermath of San Francisco’s first home state championship football game, culminating with Lincoln’s first 13-0 season.
“She rarely gets emotional, but it was all so cool,” Ferrigno said. “There were all these people who helped shaped my life, celebrating something very joyous and precious to all of us. It was a very good day.”
It wasn’t confined to San Francisco.
Four other Bay Area football teams captured CIF bowl-game titles Saturday, giving the region a 5-0 record on the state’s biggest stage. The Metro’s top team, De La Salle-Concord, ranked ninth nationally, lost the state’s premier Open Division game to No. 1 Mater Dei-Santa Ana 35-21 on Dec. 8. The other state-bowl championships were delayed a week because of poor air quality from the Camp Fire in Butte County.
Five state champions is a record for the region — the mark had been four — and each elicited loads of emotions and memories. The most memorable?
Liberty-Brentwood coach Ryan Patridge couldn’t pick just one following his team’s 19-17 1-A comeback win over Sierra Canyon-Chatsworth at Cerritos College in Norwalk. It was the last high school football game of the season in the state and was delayed 15 minutes because of a power shortage.
Partridge, in his second season at Liberty, was caught by regional TV cameras flailing his fists and raising his arms triumphantly in the waning seconds after a fourth-down run by Tyerell Sturges-Cofer (21 carries, 188 yards, three touchdowns) clinched it. The Lions finished No. 2 in The Chronicle’s 2018 rankings.
“There were so many moments,” he said. “The kneel to win it. Tyerell’s runs. The bus ride back to the hotel. The hotel with all the fans. And certainly the arrival back to Brentwood with all our fans awaiting (in the rain) for us.”
There will be more memories, Partridge said. There is a parade being planned.
Wilcox-Santa Clara coach Paul Rosa said the looks on his players’ faces are what he’ll remember most following a 41-27 3-A title home win over Kaiser-Fontana. Just three weeks earlier, Rosa’s players were in a flood of tears following a 33-28 Central Coast Section Division 1 title loss after squandering a 21-0 lead.
Perhaps that defeat made Saturday all the sweeter, Rosa said. With 14 wins, his Chargers finished with more victories than any team in the Bay Area.
“They were so happy, and you could see all the work they put in turn to pure joy,” he said. “It’s a great thing to see that. It doesn’t happen often.”
Just north of Wilcox at Sequoia-Redwood City, MenloAtherton won the 3-AA crown with a 21-7 victory over LincolnSan Diego. M-A coach Adhir Ravipati said the entire process was a highlight for him.
The Bears’ fourth-year coach had lost in the state final two seasons ago. At halftime Saturday, even though his team was struggling and tied at 7-7, he relished every moment.
“This senior group had been with me since they were freshmen,” he said. “On the field before the second half, I just told them this is our last half together. Let’s leave no doubts. Let’s finish this thing together. And they did. They accomplished more than anyone thought possible on and off the field.”