“We are Google searching everything.” Coaches find challenges for state opponents
Escalon coach Andrew Beam and Ripon coach Chris Musseman both said they are spending a little bit of extra time on film of their opponents this week.
Ripon hosts Highland from Palmdale in the CIF State 4-AA championship and Escalon hosts La Jolla in the 4-A title game on Saturday. Both games are at 6 p.m.
Coaches are familiar with teams from its section and the type of schemes they run on offense and defense but when you get to a state championship, it adds another element of a possible surprise.
“We don’t have any connections down there,” Musseman said. “They look really good of film and are a large school with a large team but we don’t know what competition they have faced.”
Beam has been in this situation before.
He was the Cougars’ quarterbacks and strength and conditioning coach when Escalon won its first state championship with a 30-14 victory over Madison from San Diego in 2010.
Beam said Escalon and La Jolla’s coaching staffs exchanged their last three game films.
“We are Google searching everything about them,” Beam said. “We are looking at stories written about La Jolla just to kind of get a feel of who they are.”
However, none of the three films the team received from La Jolla had the Vikings defense going against a Wing-T offense, which Escalon runs.
“They have an outstanding set of receivers and have electric athletes on both sides of the ball,” he said.
Musseman said one interesting thing about Highland is they go for a 2-point conversion 90% of the time after scoring a touchdown.
Hilmar beat Strathmore in the Division 6-AA state championship last year and Yellowjackets defensive coordinator Mark Santos said it was hard while watching film to see how much athleticism a team had.
“It’s really like playing a faceless opponent as we don’t know their players and coaches,” Santos said. “During the season, we know the players and coaches we will be going against. Once you get to Week 14 or 15, it’s also a lot of film to watch and breakdown in such a little time.”
Fortunately for Hilmar, they played Strathmore in the NorCal championship in 2017 so they were familiar with their opponent.
After five months of games and practices, Central Catholic coach Roger Canepa said the Raiders didn’t change much during their state championship appearances, partly because they had seen so many offenses and defenses during the season.
Central Catholic won four straight state championships from 2012-15, tied for the longest streak with De La Salle, which won four in a row from 2009-12.
Local teams to win CIF State Championships
| School | Year |
| Modesto Christian | 2009 |
| Escalon | 2010 |
| Central Catholic | 2012 |
| Central Catholic | 2013 |
| Central Catholic | 2014 |
| Central Catholic | 2015 |
| Oakdale | 2016 |
| Denair | 2018 |
| Hilmar | 2018 |
“The hardest hing was comparing who they played,” Canpea said. “Yeah, they looked good against who they played but was that team good?”
Getting to know the schools
Highland: Located 65 miles north of Los Angeles and less than 10 miles south of Lancaster, Highland High School opened in 1989. The Bulldogs beat North Torrance in the CIF Southern Section Division 9 championship on Nov. 30 and beat Selma in the SoCal Regional championship last week. Senior running back Isaiah Creech has 2,002 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns for the Bulldogs.
Two famous alumni from Highland: Former Seattle Seahawks defensive back and “Legion of Boom” member DeShawn Shead and UCLA pitcher and 2020 Team USA member, Rachel Garcia.
La Jolla: You can find the Vikings campus 14 miles northwest of San Diego. The school opened in 1922.
Some of the famous alumni from the school include: Former MLB player and 1984 Modesto A’s player-coach Bruce Robinson, Electric Arts video game company founder Trip Hawkins, House of Cards actress Robin Wright, and Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski.
Fans will have a tough choice to decide which game to attend on Saturday and both schools will be at near capacity.
Since both games are 12 miles apart, fans on social media early in the week were hoping the CIF State office might switch one of the game times so people could attend both.
However, CIF spokeswoman Rebecca Brutlag said there was no talking of changing game times and the only thing that could change the start time is if weather conditions necessitate a site or time change.
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CIF State Division 4-AA Championship
Highland, Palmdale (12-3) vs. Ripon (13-1)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 14
Location: Ripon High School
Time: 6 p.m.
Ticket prices: Tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for high school students (with a valid ASB card), seniors (65 years old and older) and children.
CIF State Division 4-A Championship
La Jolla (10-4) vs. Escalon (13-1)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 14
Location: Escalon High School
Time: 6 p.m.
Ticket prices: Tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for high school students (with a valid ASB card), seniors (65 years old and older) and children.
