Football State Champs Parade & Rally

By Jondi Gumz

On Jan. 13, all the stars aligned with rainy weather taking a break for a parade and rally to honor the Soquel Knights football team winning its first state championship.

The event, put together by parents during winter break after that 22-7 victory over Jurupa Hills, brought crowds to Capitola Village, where local restauranteurs have faced an ocean of trouble, first with Covid shutdowns and then epic storms.

How many people came out? My guess is at least as many who attend Soquel Knights home games, and Soquel High Principal Greg O’Meara said the home side at Dewey Tompkins Field seats 1,500.

Everyone took photos. Soquel High senior Sam Crane was videotaping, Gerry Jensen had his drone camera in the sky, and KSBW-TV was on the scene.

Kudos go to parent Kevin Maguire, who hosted Zoom meetings with city of Capitola officials, high school staff, Santa Cruz City Schools district staff, Capitola-Soquel Chamber of Commerce staff and parent volunteers to arrange for the top-notch Soquel High band taught by Jim Stewart, the drum line, the cheerleaders coached by Cory Montanez, trucks for coaches to ride in, signs to identify the coaches, rides for “the boys in the booth” who got the honor of parade marshal — announcer Murray Fontes, plus David Robles, Gil Courtney, Angelo DeBernardo Junior, Lia Robles — and two floats (one newly built by Chris Amsden and Brian Hawes) for the football players to ride on.

One float told the story of the team’s 12-2 record in newspaper reports complete with photos.

Coach Dwight Lowery, who played football at Soquel High, Cabrillo College, San Jose State and the NFL, where he was a stellar defensive back, held up the coveted state trophy for all to see, with his wife Ashley and two daughters seated next to him.

Adrian Cavlan, a well-known local deejay with Sound in Motion who joined the booth team this season, entertained everyone from a setup at David Lyng Real Estate and then became emcee for the rally at the Esplanade stage.

Capitola Mayor Kristen Brown presented a proclamation honoring the Soquel High team’s accomplishment — first in Santa Cruz County to win a state football championship.

Drea Blackwell, KSBW sports anchor and Monterey High alum, shared how she had followed the team. She told the players to “value all these experiences.” She had a special message for underclassmen: “I’ll see you next season.”

Cavlan thanked sponsors for their support: New Leaf Market, Aptos Landscape Supply, First Light Farms, Driscoll’s, Aloha Island Grille, Sherri’s Cookies, Whitings Foods, Marini’s Candies, Sun Shops, FeeJays, Premo Roofing, San Lorenzo Lumber, Outdoor Supply Hardware, Classified Sound, Santa Cruz County Bank and Quality Water of Aptos.

More thanks went to Pono Hawaiian Grill and Olive Garden for offering discounted meals; the amazing Snack Shack lead volunteers Deborah Bredy, Justina Hildebrandt, Kelly Pelot, Summer Villarama-Mountian, Lisa Carey, Amy Miller, Sherry Boles and Holly Estupinian; the BBQ Team, Bernie Escalante, Tom Bredy and Dan Linneman. Plus Lori Vienna, Chris Amsden, Brian Hawes, Marcela Moran, Gerry Jensen and Jondi Gumz.

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Cavlan introduced varsity football players by name:

Django Daillak • Jake Escalante • Adrian López-Kais • Ayden McGuire • Hudson Summerrill • Sam Whelan • Kevin Baskerville • Vaughn Bredy • Masen Coso • Luca DaSilva • Hudson Hogan • D’Rell Hopkins • Tyreis Lundy • Chase Mowry • Ben Palma • Alex Serna • Jackson Stevens • Tanner Trowbridge • Armando Villareal • Gabe Virgallito • Deion Williams • Luke Battey • Owen Cattaneo • Cruz Ferris • Esteban Gonzalez • Justice Grauel-Tebong • Jacob Magana • Jordan McCord • Braylon Noble • Cade Petersen • Tito Ramirez • Malakai Ross-Graves • Troy Vienna

Next came coach introductions:

Freshmen Head Coach TJ Moran.

JV Head Coach Sean Ortega and assistant coaches Adrian Garcia, Cherubim Lesui, and Stephen Youmans.

Varsity assistant coaches Charles Jones, Chris Weeks, Darryl Williams, Greg Jones, Jacob Myers, Jake Clark, Joe Grubbs.

Last but not least, Varsity Head Coach Dwight Lowery.

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Cavlan asked the four team captains about the season.

After winning the league division championship last year, Soquel was moved up to the top division to face the most challenging opponents.

Even so, Cruz Ferris said the whole team expected to do well.

“We put a chip on our shoulder to show we could compete,” he said.

Jacob Magana said the win over Aptos was big after losing to the Mariners his freshman year.

“We got them back,” he said.

Cade Petersen said he would remember the win over powerhouse Palma avenging a loss.

“We came in and we kicked their ***,” he said.

In the crucial playoff against Casa Roble — the northern California championship that would send them to the state final—the Knights declined an offer to play at Cabrillo College’s stadium.

Luke Beatty explained why: “We want to play at our house with our atmosphere.”

And the Knights were victors by a score of 42-14.

Riding to Pasadena, the team watched movies to calm down.

Riding home, they had a lot to celebrate.

Coach Lowery thanked the community for their support, and he encouraged those attending to patronize Capitola Village restaurants.

With the weather clear, the crowd lingered to enjoy the moment.

Photo by Virginia Sajan and Jondi Gumz