They are among four locals who have recently committed to play
for four-year programs
MORGAN HILL
It was only a spring football game, played without keeping score inside a half empty Aggies Stadium. It was a largely meaningless reward for UC Davis players after weeks and weeks of mental and physical training. Yet it was the high point of two careers and one friendship.
Rob Fiscalini III drove two hours to see it. The San Jose State junior safety watched his best friend, Phillip Thrappas, also a safety, make seven tackles and deliver plays few can pull in their first season at the Division I FCS level and felt a sense of admiration.
“He wasn’t hitting like that in (junior college),” Fiscalini said. “I was so proud of him.”
The 20-year-old local talents — Thrappas previously lived in Morgan Hill, and Fiscalini spent part of his childhood there — had rarely been this far apart on any playing surface. They first met while attending Britton Middle School and played Pony Baseball together until switching strictly to football at Valley Christian High School, which they helped carry to the 2008 Central Coast Section Open Division title game with Fiscalini starring at linebacker and Thrappas behind him at safety.
“They’re big reasons we got that far,” VCHS coach Mike Machado said. “They’re two natural play-makers, and they work hard and push themselves every day.”
Thrappas and Fiscalini did everything together. They even shared the same goal.
“We pretty much had our hearts set on getting scholarships out of high school,” Fiscalini said.
“We were pretty serious about that,” Thrappas said. “We always kept it in sight, going DI.”
When that didn’t work out, Fiscalini and Thrappas followed the same path to Foothill College, where they played beside each other at rover and free safety, respectively, the past two seasons. Their star power didn’t fade, much like their dream.
“We kind of fed off each other,” Fiscalini said. “We’d always crack about who’d start, who wouldn’t lift as much as the other guy in the offseason. We knew how each other played and what our strengths and weaknesses were. He’d hold down his responsibility; I’d hold down mine. It was the most comfortable feeling.”
Last fall, Thrappas and Fiscalini led the Owls to a 9-2 finish and a Silicon Valley Bowl title while making first-team all-Northern California Conference. Thrappas was named Foothill’s defensive MVP with 75 tackles and three interceptions. Their hard work and determination finally paid off on national letter-of-intent day in February. Thrappas, now 5-foot-10, 195 pounds, earned a scholarship to the UC Davis, while Fiscalini (5-foot-11, 210 pounds) signed with San Jose State.
Though they were heading to different parts of the state for the first time, neither could have been more content.
“It felt like it was meant to be, finally,” Thrappas said.
“It’s something we were prepared for,” Fiscalini said. “We always wanted this. We knew we were going to stay in touch and come see each other play when we could.”
Spring camp was a tough but “very fun” experience for both players, who said they have adjusted well to the much quicker pace of major college football.
“To be successful at the next level, you have to take yourself to the next level,” Thrappas said.
Which takes us back to that May 7 spring game, one crowning event built on smaller ones — and perhaps just the start of several more to come.
Thrappas and Fiscalini aren’t the only local football standouts who signed with four-year programs this offseason.
Steve Sorce, a Sobrato High School alumnus, and Live Oak High School product Jeff Roberts have accepted scholarships to Kansas Wesleyan University, an NAIA Division II stalwart that produced multiple All-Americans in 2010.
It is a reunion of sorts for Sorce and Roberts, who played Pony Baseball and Pop Warner football together in Morgan Hill only to play for rival high schools and junior colleges — Roberts at Gavilan, Sorce at San Jose City. As seniors, they went head to head at quarterback in the 2009 El Toro Bowl, which Live Oak won 27-0. San Jose City bested Gavilan last year in Coast Conference action, with Sorce under center, and Roberts starting at free safety and playing slot receiver and running back.
The two remained good friends over the years and have been training together this offseason. They report to camp in August.
“We’re definitely excited,” said Sorce, who recently toured the KWU campus. “We’re going out of state; it’s best to do that with people you know.
“It’s a good school with a small-town atmosphere like Morgan Hill, which I like.”
Sorce expects to compete for the starting in the Coyotes’ spread offense right away. He passed for about 950 yards and 15 touchdowns to two interceptions and rushed for two scores last year.
“It’s a really cool offense they run there,” he said. “I think I’ll fit right in with it.”
Roberts said he will likely play wideout for KWU. He had several touches for Gavilan in 2010 and also totaled the fourth-most tackles on the team.
“Ever since I can remember, I’ve always wanted to play college football,” Roberts said. “This is like a dream come true for me, and it’s even better having a buddy go along.”
