Milpitas goes from 1-6 start to CIF football state championship
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MILPITAS — Boisterous yells rang out from players on the sideline. The crowd behind them egged them on.
By the time the clock was ticking down from 2 minutes, players on both sidelines and every spectator in the wet bleachers at Milpitas High knew the outcome: The Trojans were about to complete their turnaround from 1-6 all the way to 5-A CIF state champions.
“One and six, baby! One. And. Six!” junior defensive back Jared Cabanilla roared.
Senior receiver Jenson Quiro raised his arms in jubilation with a smile that ate up his entire face. Head coach Kelly King paced the sideline, shaking the hands of players, assistants and ball kids alike.
Star running back Josue Torres was still on the field. Somebody had to run down the clock in this 34-0 blowout of Reseda. He carried the ball for his 37th and final time to clinch the Trojans’ second state title in three years.
And who more appropriate than Torres? The 5-8 senior has been this team’s lodestar — “a million-pound heart,” assistant Vito Cangemi said — and also carried the load on the field. He scored three touchdowns and finished with 219 yards to bring his season total to 1,784.
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After weekly nail-biters and overtime victories to get here, this one was never in question.
Milpitas raced out to a 14-0 lead by the end of the first quarter.
Reseda returner Zecharriah Gipson fumbled the first two kickoffs, and Milpitas recovered each time. Torres and quarterback Jovin Becerra led the Trojans on a methodical first drive, finished off by Torres’ first touchdown run from 12 yards out. Before you could blink an eye, Milpitas was up 14-0.
On the first play following another fumbled kickoff, Torres jetted 41 yards into the end zone as time expired in the first quarter.
Becerra threw incomplete on his first two attempts as Milpitas went three-and-out on its first drive of the game, but he was money the rest of the way. The senior quarterback didn’t miss another throw and put the Trojans up 20-0 with a pump-fake then throw to a wide-open Curtis Price in the end zone. Milpitas took that lead into halftime and didn’t attempt another pass the rest of the way.
On the sideline, one coach barked at Becerra: “They’re flat,” advising him to take advantage. Another player was craving pancakes. They could already taste victory.
The whistle blew for halftime, and then the skies opened. Typically, showers are for postgame. But this one might as well have already been over. The rain receded for the entirety of the second half as the Trojans continued to extend their lead. And then, almost as if scripted, it came pouring down again on the postgame celebration.
“One and six” was the rallying cry, but brick-by-brick was the message, Cangemi said.
“It’s not the most talented team we’ve had at Milpitas but as far as grit, determination and all that, they’re second to none,” he continued. “It’s definitely different than our state title two years ago. Probably more sweet because of what we went through.”
Linebacker Aneterea Lealao was a sophomore on that 2017 championship. As a senior, “Monster” was a captain on this one.
“Knowing how long I’ve been here — four years — and taking leadership as a captain,” he said. “Having your own team do it, it just feels amazing.”
Lealao recovered the final of three fumbles forced by Milpitas. The Regents, a team that blanked its SoCal final opponent and forced nearly three turnovers a game this season, had the tables turned on them Saturday night.
Torres, another senior on a veteran-laden team, was also around in 2017. But a fractured hip kept him sidelined.
“Personally, I didn’t feel like I earned it,” he said. “I don’t like it when things are just given to me,”
After performances of 331, 285 and 219 yards on this state championship run, this one is sure to feel sweeter.
FINAL | Milpitas 34, Reseda 0
The Trojans are CIF 5-A champs! pic.twitter.com/l6GJ3NaakX
— Evan Webeck (@EvanWebeck) December 15, 2019