Christopher High football had one of the more thrilling seasons ever, with a ton of ups and downs. The Cougars finished 5-6 overall, tied for third place in the Blossom Valley Athletic League, Mt. Hamilton Division, and advanced to the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.
Highlights included big wins over Gilroy, Palo Alto, Overfelt, Leigh and eventual CCS Division IV champ and NorCal Division 6-AA titlist Lincoln.
On Oct. 31, CHS defeated those Lincoln Lions 31-29 with four Adrian Leon touchdowns. Key plays included a Kordell Crocker interception and 51-yard return and a game-sealing pick by Ethan Vernon.
It seemed nearly every contest had late-game shifts of momentum and rallies that turned the scoreboard around. The campaign concluded in the CCS Division IV playoffs with a heartbreaking 35-34 quarterfinal loss to Branham.
“We’ve got a lot of young guys,” said coach Michael Pirnik, late in the season. “The effort level is there. We play hard. We have no quit. In terms of development over the season, yes, there’s been progress. We’re going to fight every single game.”
The young squad dealt with graduations of 32 seniors, including some of Christopher’s best ever in quarterback Jaxen Robinson and wide receiver/linebacker Evan Vernon. Not coincidentally, their younger brothers, both sophomores, were among this team’s leaders. Dylan Robinson quarterbacked the Cougars and Ethan Vernon was a top receiver and defensive back.
Along with the youth of the team, the Cougars were adjusting to their third head coach in three seasons, as CHS alum Pirnik took the helm. With all that on the plate, Christopher reached the playoffs again and was in every game all season.
In fact, with a few more points in three contests, the Cougars would have had an 8-3 record. In addition to the defeat to Branham, Christopher lost 22-21 to Monterey and 21-20 to Willow Glen.
The young team had senior leaders in Crocker, linebackers Aiden Swann and Brady Hemeon, defensive end Gabriel Jiminez Yanez and lineman Siaosi Vai. Yet it was a thin class of seniors and underclassmen, often sophomores, who played huge roles.
Pirnik felt that the departed seniors left their mark and contributed to the team’s success this year, leaving a legacy with standards for the current group. He added that his team played all year with toughness and discipline and always fought hard.
But he took little solace in tough losses.
“I don’t think that close losses are good losses,” said Pernik, after CHS led Mt. Hamilton champ Santa Teresa into the fourth quarter before falling short. “To give all your effort and not get the result.”
Dylan Robinson led the aerial attack, completing 121-of-221 passes for 1,353 yards and 12 touchdowns. Top receivers were Crocker with 38 receptions for 443 yards and three scores and Vernon with 33 for 399 yards and two scores.
Leon, also a sophomore, led the ground game with 156 rushes for 998 yards and 15 touchdowns. Robinson was a dual threat quarterback and carried 90 times for 408 yards and four touchdowns.
The Cougars defense was led by Dominic Marini with 65 tackles, Hemeon with 58 tackles, Vai with 49, Swann with 43 and Jiminez Yanez with 42.
In the opener, Leon rushed for 212 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. Casen Pauneto carried 15 times and totaled 111 yards and a score. Marini had nine tackles. But Monterey scored late and their two-point conversion beat the Cougars 22-21.
Robinson completed 12-of-13 passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns as the Cougars drilled city rival Gilroy 42-7. Logan DaSilva and Ryan Holt caught scoring throws and Leon, Pauneto and Hemeon rushed for touchdowns.
CHS rolled Palo Alto 41-27. Robinson found Crocker and DaSilva for touchdown passes and Leon and his offensive line dominated, with 211 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries.
The Cougars led Willow Glen 20-7 and the scoreboard read 20-14 into the fourth quarter. Swann scored on a 69-yard interception return and Robinson threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to DaSilva and a 67-yard TD bomb to Krocker. However, Willow Glen rallied for a 21-20 win behind a blocked punt and a successful onside kick.
Christopher got back on track the next week, whipping Overfelt 28-6 on Sept. 25. Leon scored twice and Robinson carried to paydirt once.
The Leigh game flipped in Christopher’s favor. The Longhorns led 17-7 after three quarters but the Cougars scored three touchdowns in the final stanza. Leon picked up 118 yards on the day. Swann had an important interception and Jared Rodriguez had a big fumble recovery and return.
The twists and turns went the wrong way in the next two games. CHS led Branham 14-13 at halftime on Oct. 16 but fell 26-14. The Cougars led powerful Santa Teresa 16-14 into the final quarter but lost 27-16 on Oct. 23. The valiant effort against the Saints included 15-for-23 passing for 168 yards from Robinson and six catches by Crocker for 94 yards.
The train got back on the tracks with the Halloween victory over Lincoln. A key was the “Extreme One Ton” formation, with Vai in the backfield and Leon taking a direct snap and following the powerful blocking. That formation produced the final two scores.
A week later, it was neighbor Live Oak. Robinson tossed two touchdown passes and the Cougars led 17-14 after three quarters, but the Acorns powered back with three scores for a 35-17 win.
In the playoffs, it was another game with twists, turns, rallies and exciting plays. Branham was the division’s No. 1 seed, while the Cougars were the No. 8 seed, but the game was dead even.
Leon ran for 121 yards and two tallies on 24 carries. Christopher led 21-7 in the early stages but trailed 35-28 late in the game. The Cougars fought back and scored a touchdown with 57 seconds remaining but an all-or-nothing two-point conversion run was unsuccessful.
The 2025 team did not match the historical accomplishments of the previous three-year run, 29-6 overall, 14-2 in league. However, with all the roster restocking, new coaches and new systems, and growing experience of young players, the season provided some big victories, another trip to the playoffs and great hope for the future.
“We definitely improved a lot since the beginning of the season,” said Marini, late in the season. “We have a lot of sophomores starting and we keep getting better.”
