Woodbridge represented at the CIF press conference Tuesday by (from left) Coach Connor McBride, assistant coach Rick Gibson, David Bosley, Ben Jenkins-Amara, Larry Lloyd, Waylon Stone, Jalen Webb and defensive coordinator Brendan Beresford. (PHOTOS: Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone).
Warriors face Montebello on the road in Division 13 championship.
Woodbridge’s football team has proved it’s how a team finishes the season that matters.
After an 0-7 start, the Warriors are in the CIF Division 13 championship game Friday night on the road against Montebello, aiming to bring home the program’s third CIF title.
Woodbridge, the third place team from the Omicron League, is 5-8 overall, Montebello 7-6.
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First year coach Connor McBride said the coaches and players always kept believing despite the rough start to put Woodbridge in position for its first CIF title since 1998, the year that McBride was born.
“The key is continuing to believe in the process and understand we’re going to face adversity in every single game in every single season, we hit our stride when we needed to, sometimes it’s not going to work out in the beginning, but in the end it will,” he said during an interview at the CIF press conference Tuesday at The Grand. “It’s come to fruition.
“It’s crazy to me and really surreal, it happened so quickly. But I’m trying to take time to soak it in and live in the moment. Being a first year coach, everything is brand new to me and so this is new to me as well.”
McBride was one of the Warriors all-time great running backs but never reached a CIF final as a player.
“It’s completely different,” he said. “I’m in charge of all of these guys. It’s a little bit different than for me going out there and just having to run the ball and make things happen. Instead I have to get a group of 65 guys to trust in the process, have fun, enjoy the process, face adversity, I love it.”
Woodbridge was represented at Tuesday’s CIF press conference at The Grand in Long Beach by inside linebacker David Bosley, who also plays fullback and running back; starting center Larry Lloyd, quarterback Waylon Stone, receiver Jalen Webb and left tackle Ben Jenkins-Amara.
Stone, a freshman, has more than 1,700 passing yards. Stone and running back and Kayjahn Pitts have combined for 15 rushing touchdowns.
“I feel like we’ve prepared a lot for this,” Bosley said. “We’ve been talking about this for months now, actually years and I think everyone on my team is going to come in focused with one mission in mind, and that’s to win on Friday.
“We never gave up, that’s really the key. We kept on persisting, there was adversity. We lost our games, but then when it mattered the most, we won and now we’re here and we’re facing a team that I think is good, but I think we will have the upper hand this Friday.”
Stone said he is also optimistic.
“I’m very confident, I believe in our team, I think we will practice well for the rest of the week,” he said. “Controlling the line of scrimmage (will be the key). If I do my job, I think it will allow the rest of the team to do their job and give us momentum and hopefully the W.”
Stone said the Warriors have remained confident through thick and thin.
“It’s our heart, we’ve battled through adversity all season,” he said. “I think we have more heart than any other team out there and I believe in us.”
Webb is also excited about the final.
“I feel like at school, no one really thought we were going to be here so it’s great that we proved them wrong,” he said. “We worked really hard in the off-season with the new coaches. It’s a great experience being here, hopefully we can win it Friday.
“We started off kind of slow, I feel at practice, just the team bonding and especially the line up front {was important}. I feel like with the line and winning the trenches, we’re able to push past any team we’re facing.”
Montebello is in a CIF final for the first time in 90 years, according to CIF officials. The Oilers, who have won four in a row, finished third in the Almont League.’
Coach Pete Gonzalez’ team is led by quarterback Joe Curiel, who has thrown for more than 1,200 yards. Running back Donovan Murrillo has nine rushing touchdowns.
The Oilers defense is led by Armando Bonilla with more than 120 tackles. Giovanni Solorzano has six of the team’ss 20 sacks this season.
“We know Montebello has been very successful,” McBride said. “They like to run the ball, pound the rock and control the line of scrimmage so it should be a big challenge for us. But we’re looking forward to that challenge.”
Montebello is seeking its first CIF title. The program’s last finals appearance was in 1935 when the Oilers lost to Glendale 6-0 in a lower division game.
Woodbridge has captured two CIF titles. In 1987, the Warriors won the Desert Mountain Conference title under the late Gene Noji. In 1998, Woodbridge captured the CIF Divison VI title under Rick Gibson, who is an assistant for McBride this season.
Woodbridge also advanced to the CIF finals in 1988, losing to Trabuco Hills in the CIF Division VIII final.
—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com
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