After winning CIF title, Connor McBride’s Woodbridge Warriors seek another crown

Coach Connor McBride guides the Warriors before Friday’s CIF Division 13 final vs. Montebello. (PHOTO: Fernando M. Donado, For OC Sports Zone).

After leading Woodbridge High School’s football team to the CIF Division 13 championship Friday night, Coach Connor McBride was back at work with his assistant coaches planning for his team’s next challenge.

The Warriors (6-8) take on Los Angeles City Section champion San Fernando (11-3) Friday night in the CIF 7-AA South regional bowl game at 7:30 p.m. at University. The winner moves on to face the North winner between Redding Christian, Palo Cedro (13-0) and Middletown (11-2) next weekend in Orange County.

It will be Woodbridge’s first appearance in the CIF regionals, according to former coach Rick Gibson, now an assistant.

“We’re excited no matter what to be able to play football into December,” said McBride, the first year Woodbridge coach who was one of the program’s great running backs. “That’s the longest I’ve ever coached or played football. We’re excited to go against an opponent that has a really tough record, they’re 11-3, we’re excited about that and excited for the challenge.”

San Fernando defeated Cleveland 21-14 in the LA City final last weekend. The Tigers, who finished third in their league, have won five in a row and defeated Marshall 53-8.,

Woodbridge, after starting 0-7, has won four in a row and six of its last seven games.

“We’re excited to play a team from a different area, we’re excited to play at home, we’ve been blessed with nine home games this year, a lot of our fans have wanted to come {the last few weeks}, we’re excited to have another opportunity to play again in front of our community,” Gibson said.

McBride said San Fernando “likes to throw the ball …. We know they’re 11-3 and they’ve been very successful. It’s going to be a big challenge for us.”

Woodbridge captured its third CIF title in school history with a thrilling 24-23 victory over Montebello Friday night in Montebello.

The reaction from those in the Woodbridge community of Irvine has been off the charts, said the 27-year-old McBride.

“It’s been very exciting …. and an amazing feeling of hard work paying off for our kids and for our program,” McBride said. “There have obviously been great vibes and congratulations not only from our families, but alumni reaching out and everyone in the community is so happy for us. It’s been a great feeling and a weekend of congratulations and looking back on the hard work paying off.”

After the bus trip home from Montebello, Woodbridge players and coaches were greeted by their suppporters.

“All of our families were waiting for us on campus, so we got to pass out CIF (championship) T-shirts and (took) some more photos with the plaque, it was just amazing to see not only our players smiling and happy but also the families being there, it’s a memory for all of us,” McBride said.

McBride said the Warrriors came out of Friday’s game without any injuries.

“We’ve been healthy this whole time and it’s been a big part of our success, that plays into it, strength and conditioning from our off-season,” he said.

McBride, who is in his third year as a teacher in the Irvine district and first year at Woodbridge, was also back in class Monday after last week’s Thanksgiving break teaching U.S. history and a college career preparatory class.

He was looking forward to seeing students at the school congratulate his players Monday.

“I’m just proud of my team, my community, my school, it’s not only been my team, but also our staff, the and the community and the families who have been with us until the end and this CIF championship is not only for my team and for the coaches but for the community so I’m really excited for them and really appreciative reflecting on so much of this surreal moment we’ve had this season, but we have more work to do.

“We want to continue to get better the next two weeks and hopefully win a state championship.”

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