Cupertino coach guides South to Wedemeyer win
Oswald’s choice of QB’S proves effective
CAMPBELL » Branham senior Cameron Rynhard found out via text he made the cut for the 46th annual Charlie Wedemeyer high school all-star football game, which took place Saturday night at Westmont High. “It was a great honor because I’ve been going the past few years and I was like, ‘I want to be that guy next year to make a difference in the game,’ ” Rynhard said.
Turns out the running back set the tone early in a 33-14 victory by the South, which improved to 2418-4 in the long-standing series.
The bulk of his game-high 110 rushing yards on just 11 carries came on the opening drive, with 27- and 36-yard bursts followed by a 9-yard touchdown less than three minutes into the game.
“It was a blast,” said Rynhard, who ran for 1,962 yards and 23 TDS as a senior. “First thing I said to my linemen was, ‘That hole was huge.’”
He added: “We all knew we had the talent. So it was super fun and I’m glad I met all these guys. And I’m excited to see where all these guys go off.”
Previously held during the summer, the 2020 Wedemeyer game shifted to January and filled the stands in Campbell.
It also provided players another opportunity to showcase skills prior to the upcoming national signing day on Feb. 5.
But that wasn’t the motivation for rivals turned teammates Payton Stokes of Saratoga and Yost Girvan of Los Gatos — the twoheaded rotation at quarterback.
“It’s cool to be able to compete with each other instead of against each other,” Girvan said. “It’s like a different aspect, so it brings us together in a different way after kind of hating each other and then loving each other. It’s just fun to come out here and play football with each other.”
Stokes added: “In the offseason, us two work out together, so it was fun to be on the same team for once and to go through the drills together.”
Stokes, who produced 3,452 passing yards and 39 TDS this season after being diagnosed with a benign bone tumor prior to his senior year, finished 7-of-10 for 100 yards in the Wedemeyer game. He also tossed a 1-yard flip pass on fourth-and-goal to a motioning Gian Lagemann of Los Gatos, who found his way past the goal line to put the South ahead for good 13-7 with 9:31 left in the second quarter.
“That was fun,” Stokes said. “I got to celebrate with someone that I saw rip us apart.”
Girvan, who led Los Gatos to a Central Coast Section Division II title in November, tossed a 17-yard touchdown to Cupertino’s Demarcus Oandasan with 12 seconds left until halftime, as the South went into the locker room up 20-7.
South coach Chris Oswald didn’t consider adding a third quarterback to the roster after landing his top two choices.
“They’re awesome kids and every day supported each other,” said Oswald, the coach at Cupertino. “That’s why I only wanted those two. There’s a lot of quarterbacks in the spread world, but I knew when we got those guys we were going to be fine.”
The North, though, was no pushover.
Last year’s winner led briefly 7-6 after Silver Creek quarterback Ricky Anaya faked a fly sweep, then had his helmet fly off as he tossed the ball to Overfelt’s Melvon Bellard for a 9-yard touchdown with 2:19 left in the first quarter.
Bellard led the North with 86 rushing yards on 10 carries, while Wilcox’s Paul M. Rosa amassed 56 yards on 12 carries and also caught a 23-yard pass.
Rosa ranked the Wedemeyer game — which benefits the ALS Association and Coaches Against Cancer — as one of his best memories of playing high school football, along with the 2018 state title by Wilcox when he was a junior.
“It just means a lot, and the fact that we’re supporting a good cause, it means even more,” Rosa said. “This has always been something that I never thought I would get to, and to finally get to this point in my career, it feels good.”
The North didn’t hesitate to make things interesting in the second half.
Right after Bellard ripped off a 43-yard run, the longest play of the night, Milpitas quarterback Jovin Becerra connected on a 37yard touchdown pass to Homestead’s Harold Rucker III to get within 20-14.
But the South responded with an 11-play, 80-yard drive that ate up over six minutes off the clock and culminated with a 1-yard sneak by Girvan on fourth-and-goal.
The rest was up to the defense, as Valley Christian’s Deven Vanderbilt scooped an interception on the ensuring drive to set up a 27-yard field goal by Cupertino’s Jake Barbeau, who later booted another one from 33 yards out.
Oak Grove linebacker Jayden Fulsom added a sack later in the game, while Los Gatos’ Jared Quandt forced the only turnover of the first half with an interception.
“They play fast, they play with confidence,” Oswald said. “So the defensive coaches did a great job of just turning them loose, knowing who they had. It wasn’t about us, it was ‘Go get ’em.’ ”
• At halftime, Mike Janda — the winningest coach in CCS history — was recognized. He announced his retirement on Friday following 36 years at the helm at Bellarmine, which included six CCS and 14 West Catholic Athletic League championships, along with three trips to state title games.