On the recordDecember 18, 2024
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize this year's Carmel High School football team, which won the California 5-AA State football championship. It was not just the first time that a team from the central coast won 15-0, but also an amazing 48-7 win over El Capitan High School from the San Diego area, a high school that is more than double the size of Carmel High's 800 students. Despite that small number, the Padres came up big on the gridiron, averaging 50 points a game in five postseason wins and holding El Capitan to a season low of one touchdown. Now, I could highlight that the Padres have a player who got a full scholarship to the University of Alabama next year and who actually grew up playing youth soccer with my daughter, who I am sure if you know my daughter, Mr. Speaker, whipped that lineman into shape, but if you look closely at the entire team of the Padres, only a couple will go on to play at a 4-year college. Coach Golden Anderson and the entire staff are very proud of the Padres, but they will be the first to tell you that they are a seasonal football program where 95 percent of the team are multisport players. Coach Anderson will also tell you, Mr. Speaker, that when they started the season, they weren't thinking about a State title. They just wanted to win. As someone who played football at Carmel High for all 4 of his high school years, I understand that attitude, but I admit that we didn't even come close to winning a league title, let alone a State title.…





