Portola players stuck together through rough start to reach CIF Division 11 final

Portola was represented Monday at the CIF Media Luncheon Monday by (from left) assistant coach Shawn Green, Nash Luper, Maxwell Mapstone, Timmy Grettenberg, Diego Reyna, Adam Nofal, Anthony Riccardi and head coach Peter Abe.

It wasn’t the start that Portola High School’s football team had expected when the Bulldogs began the season 0-5.

But the coaches and players found a way to get through the tough times, improved gradually, won three CIF playoff games, including a 31-20 road victory over top seeded Don Lugo in the opening round and have reached the CIF Division 11 final Friday vs. El Rancho.

The players talked about their journey during the CIF Media Press Conference at the Long Beach Marriott Monday.

TIMMY GRETTENBERG, RUNNING BACK, LINEBACKER

“We’re all very excited, it’s our first time in the championships. I’m feeling good, I feel a lot more healthy, I had a minor injury last game and I feel a lot better this week.”

DIEGO REYNA, RUNNING BACK-LINEBACKER

“I’m excited to play with my teammates as we’ve been working hard throughout the whole season for this opportunity and I’m just ready to compete. We’ve just come together as a team and put our differences aside and we’re just ready to play for the championship this Friday.”

NASH LUPER, QUARTERBACK:

“I’m super excited, I feel that we’re all very prepared for this game. I know after last season, we didn’t waste any time and we took deliberate steps practicing … over the off-season working really hard and despite the beginning of our season being 0-5, we’ve still been getting better every single week. I kind of expected us to get this far and now I think it’s our time to take home the championship.”

Luper said the team’s senior night victory over Buena Park stood out.

“It was our senior night victory over Buena Park, it was a very special game because I had all my family there watching and it came down to the very last play,” he said.

ADAM NOFAL, DEFENSIVE LINEMAN/TIGHT END:

“I think it’s an amazing experience. I’m a senior so it’s definitely my last year and I think it’s a great way to go out so hopefully we can play well, get ourselves a ring and make school history.”

Portola’s defense, led by Nofal and Maxwell Mapstone, has been critical to Portola’s success.

“Mentality and focusing on your assignment and just staying locked in,” Nofal said of the keys. “Off-season helped a lot getting that strength. It’s definitely helping out a lot on the line of scrimmage.”

ANTHONY RICCARDI, TIGHT END-LINEBACKER

“I think it’s a great opportunity for us, I feel like after our loss to Northwood in week five, it really just sparked us to try as hard as we could and that’s what we’ve been doing every week for the the past eight weeks since then. We’ve only lost one of those games and everyone has been working together as a team and we’ve all just come together, rather than before when we were 0-5, everyone was arguing with each other, it’s a lot better now.

“We were tired of losing, we felt like losers and we just hated that feeling and that feeling inspired us to do better, we had to turn it around someway so we all came together and decided that was the time to do it going into league.”

MAXWELL MAPSTONE, LINEBACKER-TIGHT END

“I’m excited, it’s going to be a good game, we worked the whole off-season for this, it’s the best of our divisions so I’m excited to see how we play against a well put-together team.”

Mapstone and Nofal have been the leaders on defense.

“I feel like I make an impact on the defense,” he said. “For example, I try to coach up my other friends who have less varsity experience so they can get better as a player and a person as well. I love the defense I have around me, I feel like we’re a great, well put-together defense even though it’s our defensive coordinator’s (Andy Howe) first year here at Portola, I feel we’ve made good out of it.”

—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com