Tradition. As this time of year rolls around, that word starts to mean more and more. St. Joseph High School has a rich football tradition; as the winner of eight league titles and alma mater of former NFL quarterback Mark Brunell, the school has enjoyed its share of success on the gridiron. When Brunell—who was a St. Joe’s star before going on to become a three-time Pro-Bowl player and Super Bowl champion as a backup-—manned the helm for the Knights in the mid-80s, the furthest he was able to navigate the team was to the CIF finals. So when this year’s squad lost in the CIF quarter finals against a very good Calabasas team, it was clear, the tradition has continued to grow.
“I think it’s quite a big accomplishment when you look at our pre-season schedule and the size of our program in general,” said coach Dustin Davis.
This year’s team faced challenges before the season even got started. Davis learned before the season that a number of players would not be participating this year at St. Joe’s—some of whom went on to be starters for other programs.
“We had several kids that would have been seniors this year that had left the program … and we had quite a few juniors that decided not to play. All of which would have been likely starters for us,” Davis said.
Couple those losses with a grueling schedule including five playoff teams at Lompoc, Bishop Diego, Arroyo Grande, Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks, and St. Bonaventure, all before the playoffs began, and you had what appeared to be a recipe for disaster. However, when you factor in the two teams St. Joe’s competed against in the playoffs, facing seven playoff teams in 12 games turned into quite the accomplishment.
“There was a lot of adversity for this group but I thought they did a real good job of not letting that be an excuse or a crutch and just finding a way to get better every day and not worry about some of the outside influences,” Davis said.
The tough schedule was put in place by design. After losing to the top seed in the CIF playoffs each of the last two years, Davis thought that exposing the Knights to faster and more talented teams early in the year would serve the team come playoff time.
“Our thinking was that this was a good opportunity to get exposure for the program, exposure for the kids going against these teams that have in some cases several recruitable type athletes,” Davis said.
St. Joe’s battle-tested team approached the playoffs with confidence and a sense of purpose. After winning their first-round game against Troy, the Knights once again found themselves facing the top ranked team in the division, Calabasas. The eventual Division 5 finalist featured several players with offers to Division 1 schools including the son of former NFL and USC star, Keyshawn Johnson, and beating them proved to be a gargantuan task.
Still, Davis did what he always did and prepared. Late in the game against Calabasas, St. Joe’s scored on one of the younger Calabasas players. On the ensuing kickoff, St. Joe’s put in a large number of starters. As Davis said, they put “as many seniors as we could on the field because it was going to be their last play they ever play.” The result was a big hit from the St. Joe’s coverage team.
At the conclusion of the game, Calabasas coach Casey Clausen took umbrage with coach Davis. Clausen is most known for being the brother of NFL backup and former Notre Dame star quarterback, Jimmy Clausen, but was also a starting quarterback for the University of Tennessee in the early 2000s.
When asked about the incident, Davis wasn’t sure what part Clausen was upset about.
“I don’t know what he took offense to, if it was because we scored on a freshman corner late in the game or when we kicked the ball off and had a big hit and our guys celebrated,” Davis said. “In five years, I have never had a team quit, and I don’t forsee that ever changing. As long as there is time on the clock, we are going to play, we are going to play hard. It doesn’t matter what the score is.”
That persistence is a philosophy his players can take beyond the football field.
“The whole point of this football thing is that it is fun … and for a select few maybe it leads to the opportunity to play the sport in college, but for the vast majority, it is going to end in high school, and I would hope that what we are doing within and through the football program is going to help them be successful in life. If we are not, then we are not doing it the right way.”
Contributor Jason O’Neill can be reached through Editor Shelly Cone at [email protected].
