Being part of the team that claims its school’s first CIF championship is definitely one of those moments a high school student will never forget. For the Nipomo High School varsity football players–the CIF Southern Section Northwest Division champs–it’s a memory that will go down in the history books.
“In some ways, it feels like [being a CIF championship team] hasn’t really sunk in,” said Elias Sparks, captain of the Titans defensive line. “It started getting real for us when we discussed our CIF championship rings. We all realized, ‘Wow, we really are the champions!’ What a feeling and, as seniors, what a way to end our run.”
When Nipomo hosted Arrowhead Christian in the championship round on Dec. 6, the first half of the game was not going how the Titans anticipated. Heading into the locker room at halftime, they knew it would take extra determination to change the 7-7 score to a win.
“We weren’t playing to our potential the first half,” Sparks said. “The captains of the position groups got our groups together, talked to them, and said, ‘Look, as a team, we just aren’t playing up to our level; we are playing down to theirs [the Eagles].’”
Before packed stands of Titans supporters cheering on their hometown team, the Titans turned the tides in the third quarter. Nipomo took control to claim the first-ever CIF Southern Section Northwest Division championship title in the school’s history with a 22-19 victory over the Eagles.
“We’ve always been a second-half team,” said Nick Kimball, a Titans wide receiver.
“We knew that, more than in any other game before, we really needed to step things up in the second half.”
Filing back onto the field to start the third quarter, Kimball said the team had “good vibes” and was determined to win.
Both teams fought hard to make it to that final round—Nipomo (10-4 overall) with a 58-7 victory over Bishop Montgomery in the first round of CIF on Nov. 14, a 56-20 second round win over Shadow Hills on Nov. 20, and a 48-14 win over Pasadena Poly in the Nov. 28 semi-finals, while Arrowhead Christian (12-2 overall) defeated Cantwell-Sacred Heart 48-19, Maranatha 43-28, and Templeton 40-30 before being stopped by the Titans.
Michael Jordan put the first points on the scoreboard for the Titans with a 2-yard touchdown early in the first quarter before the Eagles responded with a touchdown of their own. The defensive teams kicked into high gear, and neither team scored again until after the half.
“We have a lot of talent on our team, a lot of returners, and our goal has always been 14 weeks. We knew we wanted that championship title, and we were not going to let the first half of the game determine the final outcome,” Sparks said.
Fourteen weeks of games and even more weeks of weight lifting, conditioning, and practice is what it takes to make it to a CIF championship game. With leagues and divisions being reorganized this year, Sparks felt the Titans are now in a division that better matches the school. With a league record of 3-1, Nipomo finished as co-champs of the Northern League alongside Templeton and Morro Bay.
“One of our goals this year was to win league, and the other goal was to win CIF,” said Russ Edwards, now in his eighth year as Nipomo’s head varsity coach. “That’s what has come to fruition. I have to say, it’s pretty cool!”
After scrimmaging against Paso Robles and playing in what Edwards described as “arguably one of the toughest preseason schedules in the area,” the Titans knew their championship goals were in reach. “When we held our own against Paso, we knew that if we kept progressing and kept everyone healthy that we were on our way to having a special year.”
This year’s team had a large senior base and returned 18 starting players from last year’s team. Edwards said the team was cohesive throughout the whole season, but was plagued by injuries.
With the offensive and defensive lines dealing with various injuries, the Titans were mixing and matching through the season, according to Edwards. During the last five weeks, all of the linemen got healthy, which was perfect timing for playoffs.
“Timing is everything and the health pieces of the puzzle came together when it mattered the most,” Edwards said. “This gave us a distinct advantage in terms of depth over the teams we faced in the playoffs. We were able to use our depth to wear the other teams down.”
And that’s just what happened during the second half of the championship game.
“We had opportunities in the first half to really blow the game wide open, but things just didn’t click,” Edwards said. “We came out in the third quarter, lined up and played power football.”
That power paid off when Antonio Navarro scored a 1-yard touchdown run to give Nipomo a 14-13 advantage over the Eagles. When Titans quarterback Matt Albright hit Kimball for a 39-yard touchdown strike, the gap widened to 22-13. The Titans held the Eagles to one more touchdown in the fourth quarter to end the game with a championship title.
Winning CIF divisionals takes teamwork, and Edwards is quick to give credit to all of his players along with his entire coaching staff: Wayne King, offensive line; Joe Robledo, quarterbacks; Gordon Duhon and Josh Caldera, defensive line; Jay Wells, linebackers; Lawrence Rucker, defensive backs; and Tony Dodge, running backs and defensive backs.
“No matter if we had a win or a loss, the coaches always kept things positive for us, and they led us to a CIF championship,” defensive line captain Sparks said. “As players, there’s not much more we can ask for from our coaches.”
Now, weeks after their historical win, Kimball—Nipomo wide receiver—said the Titans continue to be thankful for the support they were shown from the staff and students at Nipomo High and throughout the community. “There’s always someone saying, ‘congratulations’ or ‘great season,’” Kimball said. “It really is a great feeling to have. We are a family, and we are all about teamwork. … It’s not about the individual. We lose as a team, and we win as a team; winning CIF as a team though, well, it really is pretty great.”
Contact contributing writer Meagan Friberg through Managing Editor Camillia Lanham at clanham@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Dec 18-25, 2014.