Cubs’ redemption: CSDR’s football victory
Renca: Do you remember that last year, the California School for the Deaf Riverside (CSDR) was undefeated for 8-man football and went into the CIF Southern Section Championship against Faith Baptist school? They lost the championship game by 74-22. CSDR football team made a big comeback. They were undefeated this season and entered the CIF Southern Section Championship game once again. The game was this recent Friday against Faith Baptist again, the same team as last year, and CSDR won 80-26.
[first photo] CREDIT: CSDR ATHLETICS
[second & third photo] CREDIT: PRESS-ENTERPRISE
The CSDR head coach, Keith Adams, said “Unfinished business is now finished.” There were many fans at the game, including celebrity Marlee Matlin. We interviewed Adams, the head coach, and two of his leading players: Trevin Adams and Jory Valencia.
[interview clip begins]
Renca: First, I have to say congratulations! Wow, what a big title! You’re officially champions! Last year, you got so close but ended up losing. But this year was your story of redemption. Wow! I want to take the opportunity to allow you to introduce yourselves as well as your positions on the football team.
Keith: My name is Keith Adams and I am the head coach at CSDR.
Trevin: Hi my name is Trevin Adams and I am a senior. I am a quarterback and a linebacker.
Jory: I’m Jory Valencia and I’m a senior. I am a wide receiver and a cornerback.
Renca: My first question - I have to ask probably the most common question: how do you feel? I mean honestly, how do you feel from last year to this year officially becoming champions? How do you feel? We’ll start with Jory.
Jory: Last year when we lost it was really painful. We were so close! We got all the way to the championship game just to lose it. It felt like we were so close and then we lost it. And then this year, we finally won it. Even though we were without one of our best players, Felix Gonzales, we did hesitate at that moment, but that didn’t stop us. We just kept on without him and were able to win the championship. It’s unbelievable. We did it.
Renca: Yes. What about you Trevin?
Trevin: It feels good to win. With everything last year, we had all that media hype and buzz just for us to lose so badly. Because of that, we knew we had to work hard. And we were able to attain that goal this year and it feels good. We worked hard for it, you know?
Renca: Yeah. As a coach, how do you feel?
Keith: Last year we had a lot of media attention. Daily interviews. All the cameras were constantly on us until the championship game, in which we lost badly. We felt a bit deflated after that. You know, we reached that level and the Faith Baptist team was very experienced. After they squashed us, the feeling was very emotional, so I said “this is unfinished business!” Everybody agreed. So we worked very hard this year. You know we have to go through the year of other sports, work, basketball tournaments, etc., and then fall came, and it is time for football season again. We immediately got on training for the 1st week. My players were hungry to win. Now, we squashed them this time around and it feels like sweet revenge from last year.
Renca: I’m curious about you as a coach, did you change any of your strategies that you might’ve had from last year? Did you do something different compared to last year or did you keep everything the same but move some things around? I’m curious about your plans as a coach.
Keith: Last year, I wasn’t prepared with the opponents’ skills. I watched them on video but on the field, it was way different. They were faster and they hit hard. So this year I was able to better prepare our players with skills in advance. We knew how to avoid their strengths. We knew some of the players were good tacklers. Last year, we would block for a bit but they would run after us and tackle us. So this year I made sure to emphasize that we play until the whistle blows. Last year, we thought it was no big deal to block for a bit and let up because that was good enough with other teams, but not with Faith Baptist, as they were relentless with the ball. So we couldn't afford to let that happen again so we kept on hitting until the whistle. That is a better strategy compared with last year.
Jory: Last year we had a lot of media hype. We felt a lot of pressure and anxiety from that. This year was a little less so we were able to focus more. Thank God that we got a rematch against Faith Baptist for our championship game. We ignored the media and just focused on the championship game. Last year they beat us 74-22 and that final score has bothered us since then. It’s triggered us ever since but we just kept going. We pretty much had the same team minus a few seniors from last year who were missing. We were ready for it-it’s like.. let’s go- come at us again. We beat them. Feels good.
Renca: What about you Trevin?
Trevin: As a quarterback, I lead the team with the other players. There was a lot of pressure especially with it being the last high school game in our life. After this game, that’s it. It’s our last game together. I will play at Gallaudet but that will be with a different team. It won’t be like playing with the same players that I’ve grown up with since PIP and played with since we were 18 months old. So with it being our last game together, it was special. We wanted to cherish every minute we had. I wanted to play hard with my teammates for one last time.
Renca: And you’re right, that special bond that you have together. You two, Trevin and Jory, have actually grown up together since Kindergarten?
Trevin, Jory, Keith: Since babies.
Renca: Oh wow, since you were babies. So you know each other inside and out. Is it just you two that grew up together or any others?
Trevin: There are a few of us.
Jory: Trevin and I are one month apart. So we’re really close. We grew up playing flag football. I used to play quarterback and Trevin was running back but then we switched and I would play wide receiver. Really we moved all around. Keith, during our third-grade year, was the coach and asked me about wanting to play tackle football. I was like, “why not?” and I joined. Trevin and I were offensive linemen. Growing up, both of us played different positions- all around. By the time we got into high school, it was set that Trevin was the quarterback and I was the wide receiver. And now we had a perfect season!
Trevin: Right, we’re just able to read each other's minds. We read the opponent team like when their team’s cornerback moves, we immediately know what to do and change our strategy, such as going to the post. All it takes for us is a look and we just know what to do. We have that kind of special bond that we just don’t have with anyone else. It’s amazing how we have that. We can just connect.
[interview clip ends]
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Renca: At the end of our interview, Coach Adams emphasized that it is best to start training when children are young. As they grow up, they will succeed in their skills. Quarterback Trevin mentioned that your success begins in the weight room. We, the Daily Moth, want to congratulate the CSDR football team for winning the championship. According to MaxPreps and CalPreps, CSDR is ranked the 9th best 8-man team in the nation. CSDR football team’s journey is definitely something to remember for our Deaf history.