Oct. 29, 2024

Shaun King credits his seniors -- many of whom have been together since they were fifth-graders playing flag football – for Hughson’s magical and historic march to its first Trans-Valley League football championship in 28 years.

“I could sense we had something special in the summer. I knew then that our camaraderie was tight,” said King, whose team capped a perfect regular season with a 41-24 victory over longtime nemesis Hilmar on Friday night.

The accomplishment pushed Hughson’s record to 9-0 and earned King not one but two ice baths from his players along the sidelines.

“It’s a huge accomplishment,” he said. “Not many teams go undefeated in the TVL. It’s rare that happens. It’s big for our community, for our players, for our coaches, our administration. It’s been a long time in the making. It’s a big deal.”

King believes it is the first Hughson team to go undefeated in the regular season since the 1997 state champions.

If things go as the Huskies and their fans hope, this year’s squad may one day stand beside the 1997 team as well as the 2022 state champs in Hughson lore.

First, the Huskies will enjoy their outright TVL title – their first since 1998. It accomplishes one of their four goals at the start of the year. The others are to win a third straight Sac-Joaquin Section championship, followed by NorCal and state championships.

“One down and three more to go,” said King. “I don’t think we’ve really had time to celebrate. We really want that third blue banner” signifying a Section title.

Things did not get off to a good start against Hilmar, a rival that has given Hughson fits for a decade. Neither King nor his players had ever beaten the Yellowjackets. The last Hughson team to do it was in 2014.

So when Robert McDaniel made a rare mistake and had his pass tipped and intercepted in the end zone in the first quarter Friday, King admitted he had that familiar feeling.

“Uh-oh, here we go again,” he said.

Fortunately, his unease didn’t last long. McDaniel responded as he’s always done – “calm, cool, collected,” said King – and hooked up with his younger brother Bryce on a 28-yard scoring pass later in the first quarter to tie the game 7-7.

Back on track, Hughson’s offense started to click, with McDaniel connecting with his receivers and Eli Wilbanks and Colt Foss spearheading a powerful running attack.

The Huskies stretched their lead to 21-7 in the second quarter on McDaniel’s 8-yard pass to Lincoln Sousa and Wilbanks’ 20-yard TD run. Hilmar scored on a pass, but Hughson closed the first half with a 28-14 lead thanks to the second scoring pass from McDaniel to his brother.

“I told them to keep up the intensity,” said King when asked about his halftime message to his players. “We’ve been in their shoes (talking about Hilmar). We know what it’s like to come from behind.”

Hilmar opened the third quarter with a field goal, but then Foss – who has been a force at middle linebacker this season but has played sparingly on offense – scored on a 5-yard run. The extra point was no good, but Hughson still led 34-17

The Huskies iced the game the next time they had the ball, the fifth possession in a row in which they scored. This one started on their own 3-yard line, took 17 plays and ran eight minutes off the clock in the fourth quarter. Once again, Foss ended it with a short touchdown run to give Hughson a 41-17 lead.

“He’s part of our jumbo package, which we went to on that drive and it worked,” said King of Foss, who had run the ball just seven times all season before racking up 12 carries and 72 yards Friday.

“It’s amazing, man, it’s so cool to just carry the ball,” Foss told the Modesto Bee. “I love middle linebacker, but it’s so much fun to run the ball.”

McDaniel, a four-year starter who is on his way to the University of Arizona, shook off two early interceptions to complete 21 of 40 passes for 326 yards and three TDs. For the year, he has thrown 29 TDs and just three interceptions.

“We’ve come up short all my years, I mean this is my first time beating Hilmar,” McDaniel told the Bee about beating Hilmar. “That was the steppingstone to get a TVL (title). … It just feels really great to get back on top.”

McDaniel and Foss are two of the seniors who King has relied on this season. The others are Max Mankins, Malakai Sumter, Carlos Guizar, Travis Harkrader, Colton Taylor, Jamesson Davis, Cesar Ramos, Daniel Sotelo, Landon Reisz and Ryan Lankford.

“I can’t talk enough about the senior leadership,” King said. “They’ve been mentors to our juniors and the other players.”

Technically, Hughson still has one TVL game left – at home Friday against Modesto Christian. But the Crusaders have not indicated they will play. They’re 0-7 and already have backed out of TVL games against Escalon, Hilmar and Ripon. Friday, they went to Sonora and lost 64-0.

Hughson Athletic Director Justice Futch has tried to find another opponent, without success.

“I hope a game appears out of the blue, but it is highly unlikely at this point,” he said.

With the top seed and a first-round bye a virtual certainty when the Division 5 bracket is announced Sunday, Hughson faces the prospect of three weeks between games. It’s not a perfect scenario but will allow the players to recover from the bumps and bruises that always are present this time of the year. Plus, with no game this week, King and his assistants can go to Orangevale and scout the game between Division 5 rivals Sutter and Casa Robles.

“We’ll probably see one, if not both, of those teams down the line,” said King, whose team beat Sutter in the Division 6 semifinals a year ago.

As for having the long break until they play again, King isn’t fazed.

“We’ve got some ideas to keep the boys still in it,” he said. “We have such good senior leadership, I’m not too worried. … This is what is ahead of us. This is what has been given us.”