The bitter end to La Jolla’s football season: Bishop’s and La Jolla Country Day schools fall at CIF State Championships

Both The Bishop’s School and La Jolla Country Day School played in state championships Saturday night, Dec. 17, 2016 and both football teams lost to their opponents. For The Bishop’s School Knights, the loss was the only one in this season, which ended 14-1 when they were taken by the 13-2 Oakdale High School Mustangs from Oakdale (near Modesto) in the 3-A division 47-0. The La Jolla Country Day Torreys fell to the 12-1 McClymonds High School Warriors from Oakland in the 5-A division, 20-17.

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••• La Jolla Country Day School

When the La Jolla Country Day Torreys took on the McClymonds Warriors from Oakland for the CIF State Championship Dec. 16, it was a close game, ending 20-17 in favor of the Warriors. And La Jolla Country Day head coach Tyler Hales said it was the 16-member senior class and the defensive line that kept the score within three points.

“Our defense played unbelievably, they did a really good job at keeping that game close,” he said. “They made great adjustments when needed. It was the best defensive game we played all year. The guys gave it their all and played with a lot of effort, heart and grit.”

Particularly the senior players, which are: David Brewer, Alex Burch, Braxton Burmeister, Jacob Church, Eric Cohen, AJ Dhus, Peter Eltaeb, Brennan Goring, Ruan Lariccia, Casey Mariucci, Ben Petty-Hull, Joshua Reyesm, Trevor Rudolph, Ryan Tobin, Drew Scmid, David Wylie.

“Their leadership was phenomenal. They brought us to this level, and they left a big mark on all of coaches, the program and the school. They are leaving the program better than when they came. And I think we were feeling for them, because some might go on to play college football, but for most this was the last game of their football career, so to go out on a loss was a tough pill to swallow,” he said.

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••• The Bishop’s School

The Bishop’s School’s only loss this season was at the CIF State Championship Dec. 16, when the Oakdale High School Mustangs defeated the Knights 47-0. Despite the loss, coach Joel Allen said this season was “the greatest season Bishop’s football has ever played.”

By making it to the state championship, Allen said, “It was the longest season we have ever had, it was our most decorated season ... It was a great season, it just didn’t end the way we hoped, but we are still so proud to have made it as far as we did.”

When it came to the championships, he said they simply played a superior opponent, and couldn’t take advantage of fumbles from the other side. “Across the board, they were more consistent and they had more starters, they had more players overall (available), and the size and strength of those players was (greater than ours),” he said.

“It was a huge honor to play that big of a game. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t difficult to end the season on a loss when we had such a great run. But our guys put it in perspective and saw it for the great thing that it was.”