Joe Criado signs his signature to his letter of intent to play for East Oregon next fall.

Joe Criado was a three-year starter for Christopher, seeing time both offensively and on defense to cap a journey that started when he was young through high school.
But the lineman will write one more chapter as he will move on to play for Eastern Oregon University after signing his letter of intent in the CHS library.
“It was just to do it, just to have fun with it and it stuck. I liked it,” Criado said.
He said it appealed to him mainly because it allowed him just to keep going and going on the field, saying there was really no restrictions to his ability to play.
Criado got choked up as he thanked his parents, coaches and teammates for their support to get to this point.
With CHS coach Tim Pierleoni and mother by his side, Criado signed his letter of intent then posed for photos.
“Joseph is a solid football player and obviously being able to go to school and play football at the next level shows how solid of a football player he is,” Pierleoni said. “And more than just a good football player, he’s a great kid. A really great kid.”
Criado said he was wooed to EOU—located La Grande, Ore. about 170 miles northwest of Boise, Id—because of its small town feel similar to Gilroy.
“It has a small town feel, kind of like Gilroy, just smaller,” Criado said.
Criado said he took motivation from his dad who was a fantastic high school player and wrestler in his own right, even if that motivation came later on in the process.
Criado said his dad always encouraged him to enjoy the game, but wasn’t going to force him to play if he didn’t want to.
Then as he got older and matured he started to appreciate the history his dad had with the sport.
“I wanted to make him proud,” Criado said.
Criado said as he moves forward in his football career, he wants to use this last season as motivation.
Christopher went 2-8 overall a year after sweeping the Pacific Division to get called up the Gabilan Division in the Monterey Bay League.
“It’s the losses that stick with you,” Criado said. “Everyone has winning seasons, but you remember the losing times. I don’t want that feeling anymore.”
Criado has plenty of inspiration and experience to draw on as he move forward in football, but in life, he said watching his coach drop everything to be with his wife will forever be with him as a lesson on life.
“It made us stronger as people, maybe not as much as players,” Criado said. “It was hard on us players, but I think it showed us we need to take life in our own hands and do the right thing. It will impact me for the rest of my life.”

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Cheeto Barrera is the sports editor for the Morgan Hill Times and Gilroy Dispatch.

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