After guiding Ripon to state title, Chris Musseman named The Bee’s Coach of the Year
There was a moment this season where Ripon High’s football team was down.
It was a month into the 2019 season and Ripon had lost to Hilmar, 38-27.
The Indians, with a roster in the low 20’s, saw seniors Nico Ilardi and Grant Wiebe both leave the Trans-Valley League opener with injuries. They both missed two games.
“I told them I was proud (after the game) and I am still feeling good about the season,” Indians coach Chris Musseman said after the game.
Three months later, the Indians have two new additions to their trophy case.
Ripon won the school’s first CIF Sac-Joaquin Section title since 1996 on Nov. 30 and beat Highland in the CIF State Division-4AA championship on Dec. 14.
The state title is the school’s first in its 109-year history, according to CalHiSports.
For his efforts, Musseman is the Bee’s Coach of the Year.
Always subdued on the sideline, Musseman, in his fourth year as coach of the Indians, spoke plenty of times during the season about Ripon embracing the underdog mentality while contending with injuries and playing against teams with rosters twice its size.
“This team works so hard and trusts what we are asking them to do,” Musseman said after Ripon beat Sutter in the NorCal Final. “They fight with bigger guys week in and week out.”
Ripon has a winning record in all four of Musseman’s seasons and the coaching staff has developed one of the most disciplined teams in the area.
The Indians rarely turned the ball over (six turnovers all year) and didn’t commit many penalties.
Ripon finished with a 14-1 record, a testament to Musseman’s leadership.
