A celebration of the football team’s 35-28 win against El Capitan in the CIF [California Interscholastic Federation] State Championship game was held in the gym on January 25. Community members, parents and students were welcomed by players before watching the Comcast SportsNet broadcast on a large projection screen.
According to head coach Kevin Macy, the event was coordinated by parents. “It was Kim Stephens, our team mom, who really came up with the idea to put this together,” Macy said. It was held primarily for those who were unable to make the game in person.
Macy said,”When we won the game, we were as far away from Moraga as you can be. We were down in LA, and it started Christmas break,” so many students were unable to attend.
“We wanted to have a broader community celebration,” said Macy. “We just wanted to see what we could do to bring everyone together for one last celebration.”
The event also reunited the team. “After the game there was no real official team gatherings, because Principal Walker turned us all off to our parents and we weren’t under control of the school,” said offensive lineman Sterling Strother. “We weren’t really together as a group. So it was just for everybody to come together and for the community to come see it”
The event consisted of a meet and greet with the players, coaches, cheerleaders, and the pep band. Fans were able to talk to them and ask questions about the season and state victory. Players also signed autographs.
“It was kind of just for the community to be able to mingle with the football players and get to know who they were rooting for over the course of this season,” said Strother.
“It [the conversation] was more about the overall the process of how it unfolded, as opposed to individual efforts,” Strother said.
According to Strother, “the only individual effort they really talked about was, obviously, Adam Remotto’s fumble recovery.”
The game viewing was officiated by Cal Hi Master of Ceremonies, Kevaney Martin, who, according to Strother, had previously “covered a lot of our big games. She covered the Napa game, the Analy game, and the NCS championship game. She just really likes the Campo football program, but also the vibe that is around Campo.”
Macy explained that the event had two major sponsors. One was Comcast, who provided the broadcast and copies of the tape for sale, as well as “fan cards” for attendants, and the other was the team parents who, according to Macy, “all rallied to raise the extra money” for the projection and sound system.
The was the first event of its kind at Campolindo. Macy said that attendance at the event was limited due to its timing. “It would have been nice to have more of the students out, but there’s finals and then a three day weekend,” said Macy. “I think the school would have gone nuts if they were to see how cool this event was.”
Strother said that the team tried their best to spread the news. “We tried to get the word out to as many people as possible, like ‘this is our last official celebration of the season, and if you want to come and see it and meet all the players, now’s a good chance to do so.'”
The game itself was described by the Lamorinda Briefs as “one of the greatest comebacks in state championship game history”. Campolindo was down 28-7 at the end of the 3rd quarter, but scored 28 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to win the game 35-28.
“The highlight of the game for me was that at the very last minute, they scored a touchdown and won,” said Johns.
Macy, on the other hand, values his team’s determination. “They [the audience] don’t realize how sore, how exhausted, and how sick these kids were, when they were going down to that game. And the way they played, it was all perseverance and pride.” He added, “I think for me, the overall experience for the kids is how they represented the school and the community.”
Of the outcome, Macy said it was, “Campo perfect. I don’t think you can write a better script that fits this community, and this school.”
