After winning one game in the last two years, the Morgan Hill Raiders Junior Pee Wee won 28-0 in the state championship to secure a turnaround season.
The Raiders defeated the Temecula Attacking Kodiaks at the Best of the West Championship on Dec. 7.
“To me, this tournament means that all my team and my hard work has paid off,” said Jered Brindle.
The Raiders went 10-1-2 this year and were knocking on the door of a national championship game.
“(Over the year), the maturity and experience really made a difference, in addition [to] talented newcomers to the team,” said defensive coach Bill Lara. “Our offense was very advanced for this age group and other teams defenses couldn’t figure us out.”
Following the win, the players expressed their pleasure with pulling out a state title just a year after suffering through a one-win season.
“After going 1-17 the previous two seasons it means a lot to our players,” said Vincent LaGatta. “It shows the rest of the teams that we can play good football in Morgan Hill. It [is] a celebration of our team’s hard work and dedication.”
For the coaching staff, the turn around was a change in the attitude from the top down.
“The difference [between] this year [and last] was the leadership of our head coach while setting a tone of togetherness and toughness from the very start of the season,” said offensive coach Vince LaGatta.
That togetherness wasn’t always easy, said Caleb Ojeda, but it paid off in the end.
“It means that all the blood, sweat, and tears the team has gone through in all the practices and games have paid off for this final moment of the season,” Ojeda said.
