"I think he would have been proud how things have turned out," Cedric said.

TWO YEARS ago, Cedric Lousi was at football practice at Washington High when the horrible, unthinkable news was delivered. His father, also named Cedric, had died of a heart attack that afternoon while playing tennis.

Suddenly, a Huskies team that was gearing up for its big game against perennial power James Logan was devastated by tragedy. The elder Lousi, who was just 41, left behind his wife and five children. The oldest son, then a sophomore and very close to his father, took it the hardest. A promising future was quickly thrust into despair and uncertainty.

"I didn’t think it was real," he said. "I didn’t feel like going to school anymore. I knew I had to, but I didn’t feel like doing much work when I did go, so I just sat there and didn’t really say much. I just waited for the time to pass."

Lousi (pronounced LOH-see) not only missed his dad, the unexpected death created a precarious situation for the family, which had moved to the United States from New Zealand in 1999. The father was the sole provider, and he was in the process of trying to establish U.S. citizenship for himself and his family when he died. With little income and lacking citizenship, it looked as if the surviving family members would be deported back to New Zealand.

Fast forward to today. Lousi, now a senior, is a standout two-way player and team captain for Washington, which plays Pittsburg on Saturday night in the North Coast Section Division I semifinals. At 6-foot-1 and 235 pounds, he is being recruited by BYU, San Jose State and several other schools as a defensive end/tight end with a lot more going for him than just his football talent.

"He’s just one of the special individuals I’ve ever been involved with in youth sports, because beyond his skills as an athlete, he’s a young man who simply represents the good in people," Washington coach Ken Wittmer said. "He is always the first one in the locker room on game day. He’s there to help me with anything I need. I’ve had three years of nothing but joy having the guy around. He’s just been raised very, very well."

So what happened?

First, a number of people came to the aid of the Lousi family after the father’s death, notably parishioners from Fremont’s Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, where the family attended. Washington High held a fundraiser, as well. Ultimately, citizenship was established and the family got back on firmer financial footing.

Psychological wounds were healed, too. Through the counsel of Wittmer and others, Lousi came to the realization that life had to go on.

"During that summer after my sophomore year, something hit me … I just manned-up about my dad passing away and let it go," he said. "It was meant to be, I guess, so the next year I just came out and worked twice as hard at everything $8212; school, football, life. I realized you have to take advantage of all your opportunities when they’re there because they only come once. I also thought that if I worked hard and somehow pulled off a scholarship, it would lighten the load off my mom and also help pave the way for my brothers and sisters."

Lousi, who was born in New Zealand but is of Tongan descent, has become one of the most respected and popular kids at his school. He’s a three-sport athlete who also plays volleyball and basketball for the Huskies. He’s also helped pave the way for his brother Haniteli, now a sophomore on the football team.

"To me, it would have been an injustice to Cedric to have to leave the country and not have a chance to play football, go to high school, maybe earn a scholarship and be a contributor to society," Wittmer said. "And he’s going to be a contributor, somebody I look back on and say, ‘I was lucky enough to coach him.’ He’s just a great kid. Every mother wants their daughter to go out with a kid like him."

Lousi returned the compliment, saying Wittmer &8212; an off-campus coach who is an air-traffic control supervisor &8212; helped him get through the toughest emotional times.

"Ever since my dad passed, he’s been like a father figure for me," he said. "He’s always looking out for me and also helping me get my name out there to colleges, in addition to being an awesome coach."

Lousi still reflects on his father, who introduced him to football in the eighth grade and used to sit across the street from the practice field and watch, then critique his son’s play when he came home.

"I think he would have been proud how things have turned out," Cedric said.

From www.contracostatimes.com/sports/ci_13904892

Silencing the doubters and critics hasn’t been an easy task for the Washington High football team this season.

The North Coast Section seeded them No. 11 in the 16-team Division I bracket. The Huskies had to play a first-round game on the road, against a team they had already beaten once this season. And, some may have even doubted their chances in Saturday’s quarterfinal against visiting College Park, a No. 14 seed that had knocked off No. 3 Amador Valley a week before.

But Washington stayed unfazed and defeated the upstart Falcons 31-9 to advance to an NCS semifinal next Saturday at Pittsburg.

"This group has come along ways," Washington coach Ken Wittmer said. "Nobody agreed that we could get here. Well you know what, you’re always as good as you are on Friday and Saturday night. And that’s it."

Washington (9-3) never trailed on Saturday. A 1-yard run by Deandre Clark, the first of three on the night for the flyback, gave the Huskies a 10-0 lead midway through the second quarter.

College Park (6-6) was able to answer with a 12-play drive and go into the intermission trailing just 10-7 after an 18-yard touchdown pass from Taylor Valdez to Matt Guilliaume with 47 seconds left in the first half.

"We just wanted to stress execution," Wittmer said of the Huskies talk during the half. "We didn’t feel like we had made many mistakes. We just needed to execute in our situations."

Washington opened the second half withan eight-play scoring drive that was aided by two critical fourth-down penalties on College Park. Following the second penalty, Clark scored from 19 yards out.

The Huskies pushed the lead to 24-7, but the Falcons still had life after a forcing a safety with 7:14 remaining. However, College Park could not get a first down on either of its two ensuing possessions and turned the ball over on downs.

"We lost too many individual battles today," College Park coach Bill Kepler said. "We had our chances after the safety, down two scores with eight minutes to go, but we kind of fell on our face a little bit."

From www.contracostatimes.com/ci_13888148

Enjoy!

Washington 19, California 7: When the NCS seeds were announced on Sunday, it came as quite the surprise to Washington coach Ken Wittmer that despite owning an early-season win over the Grizzlies and finishing with a better record, his team was seeded at No. 11 and Cal at No. 6.

“They keep making us prove ourselves,” Wittmer said. “There is no way we should have been below San Ramon either, but my Huskies proved themselves again.”

Cal (5-6) moved the ball with ease on its first drive of the game and took a 7-0 on 3-yard touchdown run by Gio Javier, but it was all Washington the rest of the way.

The Huskies (8-3) answered scored with touchdowns on their next two drives, the second capped off by a 14-yard pass from David Ross to Casey Jennings and Washington led 13-7 at halftime.

Ross would finish 9-for-10 for 200 yards and connected with Jennings on third-and-21 from the 50 in third to put Washington up 19-7.

(from www.contracostatimes.com/ci_13844200)

It was a do-or-die play.

James Logan High quarterback Jonathan Willis lofted a pass down the right sideline for tight end Toni Pole. A Washington defender read the play and tried to jump the route for an interception.

He missed. Pole made the catch and raced 78 yards for the touchdown that sealed a 28-10 victory Friday over the Huskies at Tak Fudenna Stadium that clinched at least a share of the Mission Valley Athletic League title.

“We were setting up that play all game,” Pole said. “Run, run, run. Our coaches picked a perfect time to go for it. It was a great play call. As soon as I caught it, I knew it was a touchdown.”

The win avenges last year’s loss to Washington — the Huskies first in 10 years over Logan — and clinched the automatic berth to the North Coast Section playoffs.

Logan (7-3, 5-0 MVAL) opened the scoring on its first drive with a 27-yard field goal by Gustavo Ulloa. The Colts quickly got the ball back and took a 10-0 lead midway through the first quarter on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Willis to Pole.

Washington (6-3, 4-1) scored early in the second when it recovered a fumble to set up Josh Wilson’s 28-yard field goal to make it 10-3.

It stayed that way through halftime, but Logan started the third quarter with a flurry. After forcing a Washington punt, Willis found Joe Castro in stride on a 47-yard pass to get to the 1-yard line.

That set up a touchdown plunge by 280-pound offensive lineman Mister Simmons, who was lined up in the backfield, to make it 18-3.

Seven seconds after the score, the Colts got the ball back when Castro intercepted a deep pass by David Ross off a flea flicker.

Washington finally got a successful drive that ended with Ross’ 2-yard touchdown run to get the Huskies within striking range at 18-10.

Needing a stop on defense, Washington instead saw Pole streak down the sideline for the game-clinching TD.

(from www.insidebayarea.com/argus/localnews/ci_13734822)

It’s been a long time since the James Logan High football team had to exact revenge against Washington.

But that’s exactly what the Colts will be looking to do today when they square off with the Huskies at Tak Fudenna Stadium at 7 p.m.

"We feel like as a team, there’s payback to get the league championship back to Logan," said Colts’ fourth-year coach George Zuber, whose only Mission Valley Athletic League loss was last year’s 14-7 decision to Washington.

That Huskies’ victory was their first over Logan since 1998 and earned them their first league title since that same year. It also snapped the Colts’ 18-game MVAL winning streak.

Now Washington (6-2, 4-0 MVAL) has its sights set on a second straight win over the Colts (6-3, 4-0). It would clinch at least a share of an MVAL title and an automatic berth in the North Coast Section Division I playoffs for the Huskies. Logan also can clinch at least a share of the title and a playoff berth with a win.

Washington coach Ken Wittmer said there’s very little psychological edge his team can take from last year’s victory.

"The only thing we did was give (Logan) a wake-up call," the fifth-year coach said. "We have a lot of juniors on our team that are starting that didn’t play in that game. I don’t think we have much of a mental edge."

While both coaches expect another tight game, they agree they can be a little more relaxed since both teams are near locks for the playoffs given the NCS’s recent decision to allow up to 16 teams in each of five divisions.

"Last year, if we didn’t beat Logan, we wouldn’t have gone to the playoffs," said Wittmer, whose team started 0-4 before rallying to take the league title. "We can play a little looser."

Still, winning a league title is the immediate goal.

"There’s maybe a little less pressure, but at this point, winning the league championship is the most important thing,"Zuber said.

(from www.insidebayarea.com/sports/ci_13725215)

With Washington High quarterback David Ross battling elbow tendinitis in his (left) throwing arm, the Huskies are leaning heavily on a “Wildcat” style offense with quick Deandre Carter making big plays out the shotgun formation.

On Friday night, Carter danced and powered for 185 yards rushing, including a 6-yard touchdown, in the Huskies’ 21-2 Mission Valley Athletic League win over host Newark Memorial.

His elbow strength improving, Ross still saw time at quarterback managed to pass and run for two TDs.

The victory had its rough edges. The Huskies were intercepted twice, snapped the ball out of the end zone for a Cougars’ safety, fumbled the ball away once, and committed numerous mental mistakes in a game they really controlled.

“Very sloppy,” said Washington coach Ken Wittmer, whose team improved to 2-0 in league and 4-2 overall. “I’m very disappointed. I’m just disappointed that we made too many mental mistakes.”

The Huskies’ defense stymied the Cougars at every turn, particularly in the first half when the Cougars managed just two first two downs. Overall, they sacked Newark’s sophomore quarterback Chris Flexen four times, including three in the first half. Washington’s Casey Jennings had two interceptions, and Tanner King ran 12 times for 84 yards.

From Newark’s perspective, the Cougars (3-4, 1-2), who fell 44-6 to the MVAL’s other powerhouse, James Logan, the week before, head coach Rich Swift thought his young and nicked-up squad showed character in the second half by playing solid defense.

The Huskies led 7-0 early in the second quarter on a 2-yard run by Ross and Josh Wilson’s extra point. Carter’s 37-yard run to the Newark 4-yard line set up the score. Ross upped the margin to 14-0 with a 15-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Spencer Romero across the middle.

[The calendar has been updated to reflect this change. -Paul]

[The calendar has been updated to reflect this change. -Paul]

By Kyle Bonagura
Tri-Valley Herald/Valley Times

David Ross connected with Cedric Lousi for a 6-yard touchdown with 9.3 seconds left to give Washington High an upset 30-28 victory against host California on Friday.

The game-winning touchdown came after the Grizzlies scored 21-straight points to erase a 24-7 third-quarter deficit.

What a difference a year can make

The last time Washington walked off the field it was after a 41-0 loss to Cal in the first round of the 2008 North Coast Section Division I playoffs.

In Friday’s rematch, it was the Huskies who got off to a quick start and played mostly mistake-free football, while the Grizzlies struggled in the debut of first-year coach Eric Billeci.

Washington kicked off to open the game and the kick fell to the turf where the Huskies recovered and took over at the Cal 39-yard line. Five plays later, Tanner King scored from three yards out and the Huskies went on to control the rest of the first half, taking a 17-7 lead into the locker room.

After receiving the ball to start the second half, once again, Washington needed just five plays to score and did so on a 37-yard pass from Ross to Deandre Carter.

But with Reggie Davis inserted into the game on offense after playing just a few first-half plays on defense, the Grizzlies began to move the ball with ease. Davis ran for 34 yards the first time he touched the ball. He finished with 80 yards on 13 second-half carries.

Gio Javier scored on a pair of short touchdownruns before Cal quarterback Quinn Kaehler found Michael Smith from 18 yards out to put Cal up 28-24 with 6:17 left in the game.

Cal forced Washington to punt on its ensuing drive and took over with less than three minutes to play from its own nine. The Grizzlies came up a yard shy of a first down on third-and-two and punted the ball back to Washington, which took over at the Cal 34.

Ross threw a pair of incompletions, but found Carter for 23 yards on third down. After a five-yard run by King, Ross connected with Lousi for the win.