At 6-foot 4-inches tall and 240 pounds of muscle, linebacker Jake Moen injected fear into the hearts of Bay Area teams in his four years of varsity football at Christopher High School.
Now the Ivy League will find out why.
Moen is headed to New England’s Dartmouth College, where he’ll be part of a championship tradition that goes up against the likes of Harvard, Yale and Princeton.
On Feb. 4, guests of honor and school namesake, Don and Karen Christopher, joined Moen’s teammates, coaches, friends and family in the high school library as the 18-year-old signed his letter of intent to play for the Hanover, N.H. team, which has won 17 Ivy League championships.
“You come to these things and a lot of times it’s about football and what kind of football player he was and that has a lot to do with where he’s going and what he’s doing, but more to that is the things that he’s done off the field,” Cougar coach Tim Pierleoni said. “I’ve never seen Jake fail and I believe that this is one of those times he’ll rise to the top.”
Moen has been a Cougar force since called up to varsity in the eighth game of the season his freshman year. He racked up 613 tackles in his prep career—a record Pierleoni said no one will ever come close to breaking.
Signing with the Division I Dartmouth “Big Green” is the culmination of Moen’s storybook senior season.
He and the Cougars christened their new stadium—the Don Christopher Sports Complex—with a Monterey Bay League Pacific Division Championship and their second straight Central Coast Section playoff berth.
Moen was named the MBL’s Most Valuable Player and received First Team All-League honors, the result of long hours in the weight room, on the field and with his textbooks.
“The four years here at Christopher High have definitely been the best four years of my life,” Moen said. “From the beginning, Coach P has told me that everything is going to work out, everything is going to be fine. He said ‘you’re going to work hard, you’re going to do what you need to do and in the end, all the cards will fall in the right place,’ and I think they did.”
College offers poured in, but he went with the school that had watched him from the start. Moen was the Big Green’s No. 1 defensive choice in the nation—and they were Moen’s top pick, too.
“I went out there on my official visit and just fell in love with the place,” the Cougar said. “I felt like I fit in there and I fit in with all the guys on the team. It was just the right place for me.”
Dartmouth is more than 3,100 miles from the Garlic Capital. Moen said he’s nervous about being away from his family—his dad Randy, mom Shawn and two sisters Alexis 19, and Elena, 13—but he’s also excited for something new.
And the feeling is mutual for his parents.
“(Dartmouth) was a place that Jake was made for, it was made for Jake—way beyond the football,” Randy Moen said. “We haven’t told his mom it’s all the way across the country.”
Shawn Moen said, “Hopefully his California kid will kick back in four years. I think as a parent that’s what you strive to do, have them become successful young adults and have them go out and do it. If it was here or Timbuktu, it’s his choice.”
Teammates and friends describe Jake as a humble and focused young man, qualities that shined through in a short speech before his signing.
He thanked teammates for “making me looking good” and his family for their support. He also thanked coaches Pierleoni, Travis England, Fern Sanchez, Brian Boyd and Craig Martin—some of whom have coached him since he was 6—for shaping him into the player he is today.
Pierleoni said Jake’s absence leaves the Cougars with big shoes to fill next season, but his impact is forever imprinted on Christopher.
“Thank you for everything you’ve done for your program,” Pierleoni said to Jake. “I truly believe this young man is what Christopher High football is really about and what our school is truly about.”
Thank you for everything you’ve done for your program. I truly believe this young man is what Christopher High football is really about and what our school is truly about.”
