Northwood coach said team ‘competed right to the end’ in CIF State Bowl Game Final

Northwood players and coaches with the runner-up trophy after Saturday’s CIF State Bowl Championship Game. (Photo courtesy Northwood athletics).

Northwood High School football players and coaches returned to Orange County Sunday after a long trip to Escalon in the San Joaquin Valley, disappointed with the result of their final game, but proud of a record-setting season.

Escalon defeated Northwood 28-7 Saturday in the CIF 4AA State Bowl Game Championship on a rainy night in Escalon. Northwood finished 14-2, the most wins in program history and won the CIF Division 8 title, the second straight Southern Section crown for the program.

Northwood was going for its first state title. The Timberwolves had a 12-game winning streak snapped. Northwood’s only other loss was to Laguna Beach, 35-31, on Friday, Sept. 2. Escalon earned its third state crown.

“I thought our kids played well, we couldn’t throw the ball in the rain and the mud,” said Northwood JC Clarke in a telephone interview while on the bus ride going home. “Our kids weren’t as used to it as they were, they were a good team, they played well, they were physical and they had a great running back and linebacker just like us.

“They won the game, we had almost no success throwing the ball. They’re a running team, so the game went fast.”

Quarterback Eugene Miyata had Northwood’s only score of the game on a 9-yard TD run which tied the game. It was 7-7 at halftime before Escalon scored three TDs in the second half.

Escalon (13-3) was able to contain Northwood’s offense for the most part.

“Eugene Miyata, who has been fantastic for us, had a hard time in the rain,” Clarke said. “It was unfortunate for us and fortunate for them. I think it would have been a much more competitive game if we played on (artificial) turf even in the rain, but we had a great year, with great kids and they competed right to the end. We have no complaints.”

Northwood’s standout running back Adam Harper carried just 17 times for 72 yards in his final high school game, according to Clarke.

“They played man-to-man and put everybody in the box to try and stop him,” Clarke said.

Clarke said he told his players they had plenty to be proud of.

“They set Northwood records, they won 14 games, nobody has ever won 14 games at Northwood and won two CIF championships back to back, we hadn’t won a league championship in 18 years until last year. The senior class will be talking about this for a long time; they did really well, they found lightning in a bottle twice, that just doesn’t happen very often.

“It’s been an outstanding two years, 31 games we played in two years. I’ll go on the record again to say that’s too many games for high school kids. That’s a lot of banging and hitting and they were troopers all the way but somebody higher up has to figure out that 16 games is too much for high school kids.”

Northwood will lose Harper, the standout back, but his brother Joseph, a tight end and defensive end, will return for his junior season and the youngest Harper, Jake, is also expected to be on the varsity as a freshman lineman, Clarke said.

“He’s also a presence on the team that made everybody kind of more cocky than we should be and more sure of ourselves and he brought a vibe to this team that we could get it done,” Clarke said. “The whole family, his brother Joe is great, his parents are in charge of almost every activity we do.

“He (Adam Harper) would have liked to have the ball more. You could tell it was hard for him because on kick-offs, he just couldn’t get that burst in the mud and the grass but he never complains, he never asks to come out.

“In the six games of the playoffs, he never came off that field except for the punt team and kick-off team. We’ve had some talented players, but there’s no one kid in my 48 years of coaching that had more of an influence on a team than he has.

“I had some great athletes when I was coaching in the Moore League but I’ve never, ever seen one person do so much for a team than he has.”

Final scores on CIF State Bowl Championship Games

PHOTOS: Northwood steps up to capture CIF Division 8 title

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