‘We took that personal’: How Patterson overcame 0-2 start to reach section semifinal
It might be a surprise to most that Patterson High is playing No. 1 Oakdale in Friday night’s CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Football Championships semifinal game.
But not to those inside the team’s locker room, the players who somehow rebounded from an 0-2 start, won the Central California Conference title and its first two playoff games, including a 52-48 upset of Yuba City in last week’s quarterfinals.
“We didn’t let morale fall because we knew we had a good solid team,” said Patterson coach Rob Cozart about the team’s loss to Manteca in Week 2. “We walked off the field losing to Manteca thinking you might see these guys again.”
In looking back on the summer, Cozart said this week he was pleased with the team’s first 90 days of conditioning and practice after the mandatory dead period. They also had a great showing in their preseason scrimmage at Orestimba.
Then, the season started.
The Tigers lost their first two games. First, a 27-20 defeat to Hilmar, then crushing 44-17 loss to Manteca.
“Our guys felt really good about the scrimmage,” said Cozart. “We came out healthy, we did well.
“The Hilmar loss hurt, but then I think the Manteca loss was probably the worst just because it was back-to-back and we still hadn’t got the win yet. It wasn’t because they weren’t working hard … and I think that’s probably what was most frustrating.”
Nevertheless, the Tigers’ confidence in each other never wavered, in fact, it grew. They leaned on each other and developed a chip on their shoulder to prove wrong those who thought their 0-2 record would carry into the season.
Since that late August loss, the fifth-seeded Tigers have won 10 straight.
“You know how in the (Last Dance) documentary (Michael) Jordan was like ‘... and I took that personally’, well, our kids took (the doubt) personally.” Cozart said.
Patterson won the next three games to set up a Week 6 meeting with Merced, which nearly beat Central Catholic in the season-opener and was a winner of two in a row.
The Tigers beat the Bears, 49-38, giving them a 4-2 overall record and propelling them to the end of the season.
“At that point, our guys clicked in and thought, ‘OK, if we can put this effort every time then we’re gonna be successful and we’re gonna have that (league) championship,’” Cozart said. “It was like a whole other switch got clicked and then the hard work really started going.”
The Tigers completed the turnaround, going 6-0 in winning the CCC title outright.
How it happened can be tied to common coaching proverbs Cozart and his staff tell their team.
“Don’t look backwards, don’t look forward, just be 1-0 this week,” Cozart said on what he tells his team. “At that time we were 0-2, and you can’t be 1-2 until you’re 1-0 this week, you can’t be 2-2 until you’re 1-0 this week.”
Mondays and Thursdays are big for football teams. The first and last practices of the week tell coaches everything they need to know about their team’s readiness for the upcoming game.
In addition, the Patterson coaches tell their players one main thing every Monday to start the week, and Thursday to end it.
“Clock in on Monday to get paid on Friday.”
They take a real-world situation and bring it on the field.
“When we come in on Monday, everybody’s got to put in the work,” Cozart said. “Everybody starts with a fresh timecard and at the end of every practice, if you can walk off the field and you’re clocking in, and clocking out and doing the work, you’re gonna get paid on Friday.
“The reward is there based upon you putting in the work.”
But just like any job, sometimes you have to take work home with you. When practice ends on Thursday night, Cozart’s team knows that they can still do more before gameday.
“When we leave here on Thursday after practice, you’re still … 25 hours away from kickoff.” Cozart said. “At that point, it’s mental, psychological and emotional. It’s getting your body ready to go for the game.”
The tireless preparation and buy-in from the players has led to the best season Patterson has seen since 2017, where they also met Oakdale in the Division III semifinal, losing 63-27.
Jacob Guevarra isn’t the prototypical 6-foot-something quarterback but he hasn’t let that stop him. The 5-foot-9 dual-threat quarterback has thrown for 1,671 yards and 29 touchdowns and rushed for 623 yards and 12 more scores.
In the run game, the trio of Guevarra, Sean Hansen and Lolo Mataele have 2,821 yards. Hansen leads the team with 1,260 and Mataele is approaching his own 1,000 yard rushing season, sitting at 929.
Offensive and defensive lineman Marcus Simien has seen his stock rise on the recruiting trail. The senior has picked up offers from Nevada, Fresno State and Sacramento State, all in his senior year.
Everything, the season and his leaders’ success, comes down to one thing for Cozart.
“Guys put in the work,” he said. “They sacrifice, they know that we have a lot of different weapons. When their number is called, they know they’ve just got to be ready and they’ve been proving that.”
This story was originally published November 18, 2021 at 1:29 PM.
