Hughson beats Muir in poor conditions, wins first state championship game in school history
Pouring rain during most of the CIF State Division 5-AA State Championship between Hughson and Muir on Saturday night made for a less than ideal playing surface. Huskies coach Shaun King knew points would be hard to come by.
In a game with nine total turnovers played on a field with a muddy puddle that stretched from one 30-yard line to the other, the Huskies (13-2) prevailed, beating the Mustangs of Pasadena 9-6 to cap a historic season.
“It’s so surreal,” King said. “I don’t think it’s it’s set in yet, but this is a great time to live in Hughson.”
It is Hughson’s second state title, but first State Bowl Game win. The Huskies were named state champions in 1997, but bowl games were not played until 2006.
“Coach (Reyn) Franca sought me out after the game and told me to soak this all in,” King said of his conversation with the coach of the 1997 team. “This isn’t something that happens every year.”
Hughson scored its only points in the first quarter.
After failing to score on its first drive, Hughson’s defense forced a fumble on the Mustangs’ first play of the game, giving it possession near the Muir red zone.
David Delgado took the drive’s first handoff to the five-yard line and Liam Bridgford punctuated a drive that started at the Mustang 24 with a five-yard run through the middle of the offensive line to give them a 7-0 lead.
“We were just doing everything we could to hold on to the ball,” King said. “We were just going right up the middle. Our goal was to get three yards, then three yards, then three yards every play.”
The Huskies’ only other score came on fourth and 12. The Mustangs (9-7), backed up near their end zone once again, were forced to punt. With the punter standing on the edge of the goal line, a dropped snap rolled backward. He kicked it out of the back of the end zone for a safety, putting them ahead 9-0.
“It was still early in the game,” King said. “But I felt good because I knew two scores was gonna be hard to get that night. The safety is what won it for us.”
Offense didn’t come easy for the Huskies, either. They coughed up the ball three times
“It was a muddy pit,” King said. “It was tough to hold on to the ball.”
Muir’s only touchdown came in the third quarter. With Hughson backed up near its own end zone, the Mustangs recovered a fumble on the seven-yard line. Muir’s Mahki Clark took the direct snap five yards for its only score. An unsuccessful two point conversion kept it a 9-6 game.
Multiple times when the Mustangs looked like they would convert a drive into a touchdown, the Huskies’ defense stepped up by either forcing a fumble, interception or punt.
Muir didn’t look to pass much, but Hughson’s James Burns came up with two interceptions.
“It’s pretty amazing to even be able to catch a ball,” King said. “But he had two interceptions, which was huge. He sets the tempo for our whole defense.”
The team that won its first section championship in 22 years and first state championship game in school history is still relatively young.
Though they will lose their offensive backbone in Bridgford, Burns will return as a senior. Second leading rusher Alex Villarreal will also be a senior next year. Quarterback Robert McDaniel and two-way receiver and safety Malakai Sumter are just sophomores this year. The future in Hughson is bright.
“These seniors set the blueprint,” King said. “Now we have juniors and sophomores that are the same way and saw how hard the seniors worked in the offseason. They saw what it takes to get to this point, so we’re very excited about the future of Houston football.”
