Fantastic four: Hanford multi-sport athletes celebrate fourth major section title

In less than 140 characters, Urban Meyer captured the essence of the Hanford football program’s development into a small-school state power.

On the heels of a national championship victory over Alabama last January, the Ohio State coach tweeted that 42 of his 47 recruits played multiple sports in high school. In this era of specialization, Meyer is an advocate of the full high school experience.

So, too, is Hanford coach Josh Young.

The multi-sport athlete has placed his football program on a historic arc.

“Urban Meyer put out that tweet about scholarship athletes who played multiple sports,” Young said. “We’re lucky to have guys that are able to do that.”

The Bullpups (12-1) have won 24 of their last 26 games, including back-to-back Central Section Division II championships. Their latest conquest has come with an added perk: a road trip to Sonora (12-1) for Friday’s CIF Northern California Division IV-AA bowl game.

Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.

The winner will advance to the Division IV-AA state bowl, where it will play the winner of Canyon of Anaheim (9-5)-Bonita Vista of Chula Vista (11-2).

Hanford and Sonora are making their first appearances in a regional bowl. The Wildcats captured their first Sac-Joaquin Section banner in 20 years with a come-from-behind 42-30 victory over Bear River in the Division IV final.

The Bullpups defeated San Joaquin Memorial, 42-28.

“The opportunity to play one more game together is awesome. I think that is what they relish more than anything,” Young said, “the fact that they get to play together again.

“They’re a close group. We break practice on ‘family,’ because they really do care for one another. They obviously don’t want this thing to end.”

Those bonds have been forged on various battlefields.

Quarterback Ryan Johnson and wide receivers Cole Taber, Ju’Wuane Hughes and Jonathan Stevens are no strangers to the California state playoff system.

As members of the Hanford basketball team, the four have won consecutive West Yosemite League and Division II titles and advanced to the second round of the D-II state playoffs each year.

The Bullpups’ varsity basketball team is 53-11 with the fantastic four in sneakers and long shorts, and they’ve helped infuse the football program with the same culture of success.

“There are four guys that have won four section titles – back to back in basketball and now football,” Young said. “They are a special group; guys that have played together for a long time. They’re accustomed to competing at a high level and they expect the others to compete at a high level.

“They work. They don’t just talk about it. They work at being good and playing well together.”

With that drive, Johnson has led an assault on the school record books.

A shifty, strong-armed junior, Johnson broke the school record for touchdown passes in a season with 29 and counting. He has completed 62.2 percent of his passes (179 of 288) for 2,573 yards. He’s also second on the team in rushing with 658 yards and nine touchdowns.

“Our quarterback has been playing really, really well,” Young said. “He can do it with his legs and he can do it throwing the ball.”

Johnson has a natural rhythm with his basketball teammates, all of whom can stretch the football field.

Hughes and Stevens are averaging better than 21 yards per catch, while Taber is tied for the team lead in receptions with 41 with Brandon Sanchez.

Hughes has 739 yards in just seven games, an average of 105.6 per game. His eight receiving touchdowns are second only to Sanchez’s 11.

Hughes is also the reigning West Yosemite League basketball MVP after averaging 5.6 points, 5.9 assists, 3.6 steals and 3.9 rebounds.

The matchup between the Bullpup receivers and Sonora safeties Kane Rodgers and Wyatt Faughnan is intriguing.

Rodgers is tied for the state lead with 11 interceptions. He had two in the victory over Bear River. Still, Bruins quarterback Jason Voter threw for a season-high 285 yards and three touchdowns.

“I think this is going to be the biggest challenge yet,” Sonora coach Bryan Craig said. “The biggest thing they have that we don’t is speed. They’re fast all over the field. We’ll have our hands full trying to keep that bottled up. Their wideouts, they run like the wind.”

Young isn’t fazed by the travel or atmosphere at fabled Dunlavy Field, where the weather will bite and the crowd will hiss.

This might be new ground for the football program, he says, but his nucleus – the fantastic four – thrives in high-stake situations and hostile environments.

“We’ve played in big games before,” Young said. “A lot of these guys are multi-sport athletes. Being basketball players, they’ve traveled quite a bit.”

This story was originally published December 9, 2015 at 6:00 PM with the headline "Fantastic four: Hanford multi-sport athletes celebrate fourth major section title."