‘We were ready for it’: Hughson three-peats as section champs after game-winning drive
If Hughson High football coach Shaun King could package the key to the Huskies’ success and sell it, he’d be a millionaire.
Somehow, Hughson (13-0) finds a way to come through in the biggest moments in the biggest ways. Against Hughson, no lead is safe. Everyone knows it. Fans, family, friends and coaches.
They don’t call them the “Heart Attack Huskies” for nothing.
“I’d be able to watch in the stands if I could sell what we do,” King said, wearing yellow-lensed sunglasses and a smile from ear to ear.
Their latest scare came in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V championship game against Sutter (11-2). It was the epitome of a championship atmosphere. Players celebrated sacks, first downs and touchdowns, clean competitiveness and spirited cheering sections equipped with “Offense,” “First down” and “Deee-fence” chants.
After falling behind by double digits, tying the game twice and converting a couple of two-point conversions, Hughson pulled out a 30-29 comeback win over Sutter, claiming it third straight blue banner.
Hughson reached the section’s pinnacle in 2022, 2023 and again this season. It has won by a total of three points.
“These are the best times of our lives,” King said. “Three years, three sections (titles), all by a point. People ask, ‘How do you handle this adversity?’ and I don’t have that answer. We just stay calm and help the boys believe they’re always in the game.”
The win also keeps the Huskies undefeated, marking their second 13-0 record ever and first since they finished 13-0 and were named the No. 1 team in Division III by Cal-Hi Sports. It’s a team on which King played linebacker.
They take that perfect record into the Northern California Regional playoffs, which start next Friday.
McDaniel connection
From the backyard to the Sac-Joaquin Section’s biggest stage, brothers Robert and Bryce McDaniel’s connection has continued to evolve.
Both have been around for all three Hughson section titles. Robert McDaniel, a senior verbally committed to Arizona, started at quarterback in all three. In the first title game, he threw the ball just six times, for 74 yards. Saturday afternoon, he completed 13 of 21 passes for 225 yards and two touchdowns with one pick. Bryce, a junior, was the holder that season. Each season, he has seen his role grow until he blossomed this year into the Huskies’ leader in receiving touchdowns. He caught five passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns.
“He goes up for the ball every single time and he’s able to come down with it,” Robert said of his brother. “It’s that backyard connection and the trust just knowing where he’s going to be all the time.”
Bryce agreed: “There’s no better feeling than catching a pass from your brother.”
The pair connected for Hughson’s first touchdown of the game, a 17-yard connection, and paired up again to tie the game at 22 with a 21-yard touchdown. Hughson knew from watching film that Sutter would be vulnerable on the outside. That’s where they thrive. Multiple times, the 6-foot-2 quarterback found his 6-foot-4 brother/receiver for gains of more than 20 yards.
“In the first half, they played a lot of man stuff,” Bryce said. “In the second half, they started playing Cover-2 with some man. They left the outside wide open and we capitalized on everything they did.”
Hughson knows how to get it done
Hughson fell into an early 15-0 hole but by the third quarter evened it at 15-15.
Over the next quarter and a half, Sutter scored twice and Hughson scored once to make it a 29-22 Sutter lead.
Colt Foss rushed for a pair of touchdowns for Hughson.
Ironically, McDaniel did not complete a pass to his younger brother on the game-winning drive. But he did find everyone else. Hughson started at its own 43 yard line and McDaniel found Jamesson Davis, Lawson Aviles and Malakai Sumter. Eli Wilbanks added a carry, McDaniel scrambled for six yards, and a Cesar Ramos 15-yard carry set the table, getting Hughson to the one-yard line.
The drive was set up by a one-play Sutter scoring drive. With two minutes, 11 seconds on the clock, Marcus Meras broke away for a 65-yard touchdown run, his second time reaching the end zone on a play of more than 50 yards. While Sutter’s sideline erupted with joy as the successful extra point made it a 29-22 game, Hughson’s sideline still had hope.
There was 1:59 left on the clock.
“That was way too much time,” Bryce McDaniel said. “At practice, they give us 50 seconds to drive down the field and score. We put that pressure on ourselves in practice. So we were ready for it.”
The Huskies called on running back Foss to cut it to a one-point game. He hurdled the pile, reaching the ball over the goal line.
Two of Hughson’s four-year varsity players connected to win the game. McDaniel found Max Mankins, who battled through a knee injury, over the middle of the end zone. Mankins, who will play at Air Force next season, absorbed a hit and hauled in the game-winner.
“I had a feeling the ball was coming to me,” Mankins said. “I was just thinking in my head, I have to catch this for my team, we’ve put in all these hours. They’ve helped me so many times through these three years. This is on me now, I have to make a play.”
The Huskies have three- and four-year varsity players scattered through their offense and defense and it showed.
“It’s huge,” Mankins said of the Huskies’ experience and senior leadership. “We’ve been in situations like this before. So when you’re down a touchdown with two minutes to go, we’ve overcome worse. We know that we can come back and win the game … as long as the clock is ticking. We’ve learned that over the years.”
“Going bowling” again
With the win, Hughson advances to its third straight state playoffs.
Next Friday, the Huskies play in CIF Northern California Regional Bowl Game with the chance to advance to the state championship.
Two seasons ago, they were one of the 14 California state champions, winning the Division 5-AA state title over Muir, 9-6 to cap off an exciting, rainy game that kicked off the “Heart Attack Huskies” run.
Last season, they fell to Palma 31-21, which is usually a Division I or II team in the Central Coast Section, but dropped to the Division 4-A state bracket.
“After losing in it last year, this one is huge for us,” Mankins said. “We want to get back to the state championship where we were two years ago.”
Said Bryce McDaniel: “I’m ready. I’m not losing this bowl game.”
This story was originally published November 30, 2024 at 9:51 PM.
