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2005 CIF Champions (11-3)
If it were Hollywood, Friday night's game would have ended differently. The Braves would have won. Probably on a final second Joey Green field goal from 50 yards with Darrell Solorio present in a wheel chair. But this contest at Huyck Stadium was real. In this one, the CIF Div. X football championship game ended with the Lompoc Braves losing to Crespi 24-14 much as they fell to the Celts 25-8 last year. “We couldn't throw the ball real well. That put a lot of pressure on the running game,” said Lompoc offensive coordinator Roger Pacheco. “We knew going in that they were going to be a little bit more physical than we were. We were going to have to play perfect football to move it on them and we didn't.” Crespi coach Jeremiah Ross said his team's defense, which gave up 39 points a week earlier to Cabrillo, was improved. “A week against that wing-T which we don't normally see very often, we did a much better job reading our keys,” he said. Friday was Ross' third visit to Lompoc. He came first as a player with Rancho Alamitos in 1992, and left with a victory, then again last year in the semifinals when he was a Crespi assistant. “Every time we play here it is a heckuva game. These young men here play tremendous football. They play hardnosed, tough, aggressive football. We had to come out and do the same thing. We were just able to get a few more stops than they were,” he said. His predecessor, Troy Thomas, said much the same last season. But this year's game was different. Last year's Lompoc team simply played football. This year's squad adjusted to playing a deeper, richer, more complex game over the second half of the season. It was Halloween when an automobile accident took the lives of Brice Fabing and Mikey Terrones and almost took the life of Darrell Solorio. The three victims of the Halloween accident had left practice moments before the crash. The team was their bond. Their teammates were stunned. A week of disbelief followed, then a week of funerals. The Braves attended as a group - somber, numbed. Ballcarriers became pall bearers. The coach turned clergyman. The team captains became public spokesmen. The players and many of their classmates became comforters. “Hundreds, hundreds of kids came to my house,” said Dorine Fabing prior to Friday night's kickoff. Somehow the Braves managed to play their archrival the same week. Every week brought a new tribute from the opposing team, a new ceremony, a new set of reporters asking for comment. The players' dual role was unprecedented. They were playing in a tougher league than Division X, yet the players and coaching staff shouldered the burden. Their play stuttered, steadied, then improved. Their defense became a stone wall. They made it to the championship game. Despite the pressure. They had dedicated their season to the fallen three. Their families attended every game. “I know Brice is here,” explained Dorine Fabing. “We have to win the title for them,” said many. Consider the pressure. Yet even facing defending champion Crespi on the field, a team studded with big time college prospects, the Braves never stopped attending to their other task. Friday night began with a ceremony initiated by captain Johnathon Terrones. He and three other captains presented lettermen's jackets to the families. “The kids, they went through a lot to come this far to play for the championship,” said Mike Terrones, father of Mikey, standing afterward on the 20-yard line. ”I've known these kids since Pee Wee division of youth football league. Eight years old with my boy. To come this far takes some ballplayers, some leaders.” They didn't win on the scoreboard in the south end zone. They won a CIF title in a different sport. |