It requires dedication, grit, fitness and stamina to keep playing this late into the football season, and that’s exactly what the Monte Vista High School pep band displayed Saturday afternoon. The Monarchs’ football team won the CIF San Diego Section Division 5 championship with a convincing 38-20 win over Bonita Vista, and the pep band was equally impressive.

The 10-member squad was seated in the east stands at Southwestern College, directly in the sunlight on a warm 71-degree day. It didn’t help that their red uniforms featured thick pants and long-sleeved tops.

Said baritone Ali Youhas: “The uniforms are so sweaty.”

The pep band normally consists of 25 members, but 17 of them opted out during Thanksgiving weekend.

“These are the diehards who left their families to be with us today,” said band director Charles Jinkovsky.

There were two subs: Jinkovsky (drums) and Youhas’ father, Keith, another baritone. The instrument breakdown was: two baritones, two trumpets and one trombone, saxophone, drummer, clarinet, flute and tuba.

Band, Part 2

Ali Youhas said she didn’t know who classmate Alex Villanueva was. “But I heard his name,” she said.

She should have. Villanueva carried the ball 46 times for 297 yards and five touchdowns, setting the section single-season rushing record with 3,006 yards.

“I like being in the band setting, spending time with my friends,” said Ali Youhas. “I just really like music.”

A little tired

Not only did Villanueva carry the ball 46 times, he also started at safety, plus returned kickoffs and punts. With less than a minute to play and the senior standing on the sideline, waiting for the final seconds to tick off, he was asked if he was tired.

“Just a little,” he said. “They hit hard, I’m not going to lie.”

Hamamoto left dry

Veteran Monte Vista coach Ron Hamamoto was spared the late-game, cold-water bucket dumping.

Instead, the Monarchs soaked defensive coordinator Page Culver.

Culver told the Monarchs that Hamamoto was off limits because he’d been sick during the week.

“It felt a little shocking,” Culver said of the drenching. But given the circumstances, he added, “Not a bad thing.”

Movin on up

Hamamoto is in his 39th season as a head coach, with stops at USDHS (now Cathedral Catholic), Rancho Bernardo, Lincoln and Monte Vista. The section championship is his third. His career record is 245-193-4.

The 245 wins rank third in section history, behind Herb Meyer (339) and John Carroll (248).

St. Augustines Pai Polamalu (43) celebrates after a touchdown against San Pasqual during the CIF San Diego Section Division 3 football championship game at Southwestern College on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024 in Chula Vista, CA. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Nice genes

St. Augustine knocked off San Pasqual 13-7 to win the Division 3 title. One of the Saints’ best players is sophomore safety/running back Pai Polamalu, the son of former Steelers All-Pro safety Troy Polamalu.

Troy Polamalu serves as a Saints assistant, coaching the secondary.

About coaching his son, Troy said, “It’s a blessing.”

Pai also played on the Saints’ varsity basketball team as a freshman. Asked which sport is his son’s best, Troy said, “School. It’s the only thing his mother has control over.”

Traditions

Few schools feature more traditions than San Pasqual. The Eagles’ kickoff team, called the Kamikaze Squad, turns to its fans and bows. The fans, in turn, bow to the players.

“It’s a mindset that they’re giving it their all and may not come back,” said Mavany Corley, head coach Tony Corley’s wife.

The Eagles come out of the locker room before games in yellow jackets. After warmups, they swarm to the sideline, tossing the jackets to the sky.

Said Mavany, “It’s like, ‘Eagles fly.’”

Like father, like son

San Marcos coach Tom Carroll remembers when he was 4 or 5, watching 8-millimeter game tape being projected against a wall in the family home. Carroll is the son of the legendary John Carroll, who won a record 13 section titles at Oceanside.

Tom, 39, was looking for his first championship Saturday night when No. 1-seeded San Marcos battled second-seeded Granite Hills in the Division 1 championship game.

Asked the best football lesson he learned from his father, Tom said: “Definitely the preparation aspect. Football is the most practiced, least played game. The level of dedication he put into preparing for his opponent is something I saw firsthand.”

San Pasquals Robert Renteria (12) passes against St. Aug.ine during the CIF San Diego Section Division 3 football championship game at Southwestern College on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024 in Chula Vista, CA. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Gutty performance

If there were a Most Inspirational Award for the weekend’s five championship games, it would go to San Pasqual junior quarterback Robert Renteria. Playing on a strained right calf he injured two games ago, Renteria limped and hobbled about the field against Saints, completing 21 of 33 for 210 yards and one touchdown.

“We knew he had a bum leg and didn’t know if he’d play,” said Saints linebacker Masoli Iuli. “I respect him. Big ups to him. He went out and played four quarters of football.”

Granite pride

Among his peers, Granite Hills head coach Kellan Cobbs is respected as one of the best in the section. At 37, Cobbs is already in his 13th season as the Eagles’ head coach, sporting a 103-50 record going into Saturday’s title game with two section titles and one state championship.

Cobbs, who was hired as the varsity coach at 23, played defensive back and quarterback at Granite. His parents graduated from the school. The Eagles, though, didn’t have much success when Cobbs suited up, winning six games in four years.

He has built a staff loaded with ex-Eagles. Fifteen of the 23 coaches in the program played at Granite Hills.

Said Cobbs: “There’s a hunger to win from all our coaches.”