DIVISION 8: Sunny Hills coach challenged his players: ‘do you want to be great?’

Sunny Hills, led by (from left) Wilson Cal, Jun Ahn, Coach Peter Karavedas, Carson Irons and Luke Duxbury, takes on Santa Barbara in the finals. (Photo Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone)

Sunny Hills football team has had to battle back to win two of its CIF Division 8 playoff games against Tustin and Trabuco Hills.

So the the top-seeded Lancers, who have had four comeback wins this year, should be well prepared when they take the field Saturday night at 7 to take on No. 2 Santa Barbara in the CIF championship game at San Marcos.

“It’s been an incredible effort by our boys throughout this playoff run,” said Coach Peter Karavedas. “They’ve been down a couple times and they’ve fought to get back and they’ve fought to win and they’ve showed a lot of grit and resiliency which are traits that you carry with you the rest of your life, not just in football.

“And they prepared really well, dating back to the off-season and fall camp. They’ve really put a lot of work and effort in and understood that everybody wants to have special achievements, but it’s the people who put special effort in first who get those things.

“It’s been a lot of fun so far and we’re enjoying it, but we don’t want to be satisfied with just being there, right? We want to win the whole darn thing.”

Karavedas thought going into the seaason it could be a special one. It has met his expectations. Now, the Lancers (11-2) will be out to end to end Santa Barbara’s eight-game winning streak and bring home the program’s fourth CIF title. Santa Barbara is also 11-2.

“We knew we had our starting running back (Jun Ahn), our starting receiver/db (Wilson Cal) and starting QB (Luke Duxbury) all returning,” he said. “We had some sophomore talented kids who have started on varsity (last year) (tight end/linebacker) Carson Irons and (tight end/linebacker) Noah Brown. And we had a JV team that went 9-1, so we knew we would have a good team.

“But our challenge to the boys was are we going to have a good team or are we going to have a great team? And, if you’re satisfied with good, maybe you will win seven or eight games, and probably go to the playoffs. For most teams, that’s a good season but do you want to be special, do you want to be great? That’s really been the key to taking it to another level and never being satisfied with where we’re at.

“Our kids have really bought into that and I think because they bought into that, we’re sitting here today.”

Duxbury, who has passed for 1,898 yards and 20 touchdowns, and Ahn have led the way on offense.

“They been so dependable,” Karavedas said. “Jun has rushed for almost 1,700 yards (1,690 and 26 touchdowns) but the ability to throw the ball with Luke Duxbury, and he made three great touchdown passes last week against Trabuco Hills and always be clutch in those moments (has been important).

“And to have a big play receiver like Wilson Cal who also plays defense has been really beneficial. And on the defensive side of the ball, Carson Irons and our other junior linebackers have really been the key for us. They’ve done a great job of implementing the game plan and making sure our guys are prepared and flying around to get to the football.”

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