Central path to state final started with back-to-back losses to Folsom (84-46 last year)
The message is clear: Central High football coach Kyle Biggs wants a state championship.
“All the hard work we put in the offseason was all for a state championship,” Grizzlies junior linebacker Jekob Jones said. “All Coach Biggs has talked about this offseason was winning state and nothing less.
“We are one game away from reaching our ultimate goal, and winning this game would mean all that work we did paid off.”
Central (14-0) gets its shot Friday when it plays Sierra Canyon-Chatsworth (14-1) in the California Interscholastic Federation Division 1-AA final at Cerritos College in Norwalk. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m.
The Grizzlies grew tired of losing in the state semifinal round the past two years to Folsom, which went on each year to win the 1-AA crown. Last year’s 84-46 loss to Folsom was particularly galling since it came at Central’s Koligian Stadium, ending the career of star quarterback Trent Tompkins, an undefeated season and an 16-game home winning streak.
“We felt disgusted,” Central senior wide receiver Jeremiah Hunter said. “We never wanted to lose like that again.”
It seemed Folsom would be in the Grizzlies’ way again this year. But the Sac-Joaquin Section’s No. 1 team lost in the section semifinals. Folsom’s Sierra Foothill League rival, Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills, emerged, and Central beat Oak Ridge 38-32 last week in the Northern California Regional final.
At last, the Grizzlies will play for a state championship.
It’s the only thing missing in Biggs’ remarkable résumé. Since he took over as head coach in 2016, the Grizzlies have gone 50-5 with four straight Tri-River Athletic Conference titles and three consecutive Central Section championships.
Central was 4-9 the year before Biggs arrived from Fowler. He helped steady a program rocked when coach Justin Garza left for cancer treatment. (Garza died in February 2017 at age 41; a monument at Koligian Stadium honors his legacy.)
Biggs said he credits this year’s seniors for the 2019 success because of “all the building and learning from experience.”
“This group is led by a veteran group,” Biggs said. “We thought we could put it together this year and do what it takes to be a champion. It just worked out with a lot of trust.”
Matchup: Central vs. Sierra Canyon
Sierra Canyon started football at the eight-man level in 2007 and has steadily moved up under coach Jon Ellinghouse, who has been there since the start. Last week, the Trailblazers beat Helix-San Diego 38-20 in the SoCal 1-AA final.
Junior quarterback Chayden Peery is the hard-to-miss team leader. He’s 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds and has thrown for 3,132 yards and 18 touchdowns (with one interception) this year.
Central quarterback Jameson Silva, a senior transfer from Edison, has thrown for 2,945 yards and 41 TDs (with one interception). Hunter is his leading target with 72 catches for 1,070 yards and 15 TDs. Senior running back Quali Conley has 2,032 all-purpose yards (1,489 rushing) and 22 total TDs. The defense is allowing just under two touchdowns a game.
Fun facts
Central, with an enrollment over 4,000, is one of the biggest schools in the state. The 2017 section title was its first in playing football for 87 years.
Sierra Canyon is a private school with an enrollment of about 1,000 and a base high school tuition of $37,700.
If you go
Tickets: $15, $10 for children, students (with ASB card) and seniors
Online: Presale at GoFan.co
Getting to Cerritos College: It’s south of Los Angeles in Norwalk on Alondra Boulevard, just east of Interstate 605. Driving time from Fresno varies depending on time of day but count on about four hours.
Parking: $10 in the lot off Alondra Boulevard adjacent to Falcon Field
Pregame: The Central-Sierra Canyon game is the second half of a Friday doubleheader at Cerritos. At 4 p.m., Clayton Valley-Concord (coached by Tim Murphy, formerly of Clovis East) plays Aquinas-San Bernardino in the 2-AA final. There are three more state finals Saturday at Cerritos capped by the Open Division game between De La Salle-Concord and St. John Bosco-Bellflower.
Weather: Forecast is for a sunny Friday in Norwalk with a high of 70 degrees, then partly cloudy and 59 at the 8 p.m. kickoff with little change throughout the game.
