Christopher High’s tradition of playing football at midnight became a little more special this year.
The Cougars were joined by Gilroy’s own Robert ‘Ghost’ Guerrero and Daniel Ruettiger — who’s better known as Rudy — on Aug. 15 as part of the team’s buildup to the midnight practice on Aug. 16.
Guerrero stopped by to offer the team some words of inspiration and the team also had the opportunity to Skype with Ruettiger, who is considered to be on of college’s football’s most inspirational players.
The Cougars then watched the film “Rudy”, which is based on Ruettiger’s trials and tribulations that led to him achieving his dream of strapping on a shiny gold helmet to play for the University of Notre Dame.
“We had a talk with ‘The Ghost’ (Robert Guerrero) and that was awesome,” senior quarterback Sterling Montgomery said. “He’s a great competitor, great mentor and great speaker. I think that really sat with the guys really well. Then talking with (Daniel) Rudy Ruettiger over Skype was very inspirational and kind of like a once in a lifetime thing.
“We asked him a lot of questions: What it was like back in college? What made him keep driving to do what he did? How did he persevere through it? We spent 20-25 minutes with him and it was a lot of great knowledge from an experienced older gentleman. We’ll never forget it on this night. For us seniors, this is our last one. The juniors, sophomores and freshman will remember it, too — it was a great night for everyone.”
Since the school’s inauguration, the Cougars have participated in ‘Midnight Madness’ — the name given to the football practice held at midnight on the first day following the Central Coast Section’s 10-day mandatory cease of practices.
The Cougars were suited up in their helmets and pads and it was business as usual as they took the field at 12:01 a.m. on Friday. Christopher is the first football program in the section to take to the field once the ban is lifted.
‘Midnight Madness’ is nothing new for Cougars coach Tim Pierleoni, who has held this practice previously at Gilroy and Anchorpoint Christian High Schools during his time there.
“They’re excited, they want to start playing ball,” Pierleoni said. “We’ve been working hard all summer long and they’ve been looking forward to this night. With the parents that helped us and the committee that helped us, it made it a memorable night out. I guarantee these kids are kids are going to remember this.”
The team ran drills as well as a 7-on-7 duel under the buzz of the generator powered lights that illuminated the practice field in the front of Christopher High. Family, friends and fellow classmates came out in droves, bundled up with sweatshirts and blankets as they watched their team kick off its seaon in a way only Christopher can.
“We have some guys that came out here tonight that graduated last year and that was surprising” Montgomery said. “The parents are awesome, they set up a whole bunch of food for us and kept everythig calm and running smoothly. It’s a lot more subtle this year, which is great. You can get a nice, focused mindset. I think it’s awesome that all these people come out here at midnight to support us for the first day we can practice. I almost feel honored to have everyone come out and support our team, it’s really cool.”
Despite tempatures being a little cooler than the daytime, the players exited the field with sweat dripping off their foreheads. But the Cougars players smiled through it all, walking off the field around 1 a.m. with the knowledge their season is just around the corner.
The Christopher players enjoyed snacks and a dip in the pool to cool down after practice before retiring for the night for a well needed rest. The Cougars were back in action for practice later in the day Friday, kicking off double-days practices before their season opener at 7 p.m. Sept. 6 at Sobrato.
“It’s good karma for the season, we’re out here hustling as soon as we can,” junior middle linebacker Jacob Moen said. “Hopefully it translates over to the rest of the season. I saw a lot of positive things tonight. There was a lot of team bonding, helping each other up and being good sports about it. We were knocking each other down, but also picking them back up.”
