Students grateful for football, playoffs
San Francisco Section football title game berths are up for grabs Thursday when fourth-seeded Mission (3-6) travels to No. 1 Lincoln (7-3) and second-seeded Balboa (6-4) hosts No. 3 Lowell (6-4).
Though fighting for a spot in the final on Thanksgiving at Kezar Stadium can be nerveracking, players and coaches from all four teams say one thing is certain when the games kick off at 1:30 p.m.
It will be better than last year.
The pandemic shut down high school sports for all California Interscholastic Federation teams in the fall of 2020. But making matters worse for San Francisco public school student-athletes was the SFS being the only section in the state (there are 10) to not play football (or basketball) last spring because of San Francisco Unified School District regulations.
“That was rough,” said Lincoln senior quarterback Dan O’Connell. “It sort of makes me angry knowing everyone else eventually got to play. But at the same time, maybe we appreciate it more. Every day we didn’t get to practice, be around each other, have the same weekly routine, we were reminded how much we missed it.
“Now, heading into the playoffs, it feels so great. The whole season has been great. Feels like we have a whole new drive to take it to another gear.”
Lincoln won back-to-back section titles and state titles in both 2018 (6-A) and 2019 (7AA). Without a fall 2020 or spring 2021 season, turnout this fall was minimal for the Mustangs — around 15 players. It was more than just a struggle, Lincoln coach Phil Ferrigno said: “It was survival.”
The team lost three of its first four and was outscored 95-17 in the losses. “But the kids kept showing up for practice,” Ferrigno said. “Numbers slowly grew. It wasn’t pretty always, but we got through.”
Behind a rugged defense, and a ball-control offense led by Ricky Underwood (796 yards rushing, 11 touchdowns) and Diego Cristerna (420, 5), the Mustangs have won six straight and took the regularseason Academic Athletic Association title.
“Just being on the field every week has been awesome,” O’Connell said. “Especially when you win.”
This is Lowell’s first winning season since 2007, but senior quarterback Reese Miller said the victories were all gravy.
“I’m really happy that I got my senior year because I saw how much it sucked for all my friends in the grade above me last year,” Miller said. “I’m just really excited to go out and have fun playing football for some of the last times in my life.”
Said Lowell senior wide receiver Nicolo Chiera Sciammas: Players “were all left in a tough place without football, an outlet, an escape for so many. As much as our team was heartbroken we lost an entire season that we will never get back, we are grateful for the season we have now.”
Balboa junior center and defensive end Santiago Alvarez said the lost season made him appreciate the game and “the brotherhood that the game builds. We can all come together from different cultures and neighborhoods and backgrounds to work for one goal.”
State volleyball bound: Five Metro girls volleyball teams won Northern California titles Tuesday — four for the first time — and qualified for Saturday’s state championships at
Santiago Canyon College (Orange County).
Mitty (40-7), the winningest program in state history with 14 championships, is the only historically experienced squad advancing after a 25-21, 23-25, 25-20, 25-19 home win over eighth-seeded St. Francis in the NorCal Open finals. The Monarchs, who got a matchhigh 20 kills and 14 digs from Audrey Liddle, will play Marymount-Los Angeles (37-0) — the nation’s No. 1 team — at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
The first-time NorCal champions included Hillsdale-San Mateo (D1, 27-2), RedwoodLarkspur (D2, 29-6), Carondelet-Concord (D3, 26-12) and Skyline-Oakland (D5, 21-3).