SAN JOSE—A goal 18 years in the making was finally accomplished Wednesday night.
Christopher alum Rayshon Mills suited up for the South team at the 40th Annual Charlie Wedemeyer High School All-Star Football Game at San Jose City College, just as his brother did in 1996. While the game didn’t go as planned—North won 37-3—Mills said he was just thankful for the chance to follow in his brother’s footsteps.
“It was definitely a great experience; it’s something I’ve been looking forward to since I was little,” the wide receiver said. “That’s why I wore No. 45 because that’s his number. I played for him today even though we lost and I didn’t score.”
The loss didn’t dampen the spirits of the South team, however, who huddled together for photos following the game. The team gathered around head coach Tim Pierleoni from Christopher as a group one last time as he preached that it wasn’t the score that mattered, but rather the lessons learned on the field.
“Football teaches you about life,” Pierleoni said. “There’s a lot of times where you’re going to get banged around like that in life and you’re going to have to pick yourself up and get it done.”
The South Squad consisted of more than 41 athletes from 23 different schools. Prior to joining the squad, the players had only interacted as opponents, but over a few weeks they became not only teammates but also friends.
“It was a great experience getting to meet all these new guys. They’re all great—great personalities,” Julian Carabajal, a linebacker from Gilroy High said. “We came together as a team, surprisingly in just a few weeks. It was a memorable experience. I’m lucky.”
Sobrato’s Andrew Mesa was the only representative from Morgan Hill—Live Oak’s Kyle Quadros and Trevor Bearden were named to the team, but opted not to play due to other commitments as did Bulldogs’ player JoJo Nunn who was injured—and said the experience was a bit daunting at first. Having played with Quadros, Bearden and Nunn since joining Pop Warner ball at age 5, Mesa said he would’ve loved to share the All-Star experience with them, too.
“Since I was the only one from Morgan Hill, I didn’t know any of these guys,” Mesa said. “I’ve just made a lot of friends from this team. I’m cool with everybody now. I met a lot of new people.”
The South County was also represented by Christopher’s Andre Arroyo, Mark Riffle and Nate Silva as well as Gilroy’s Brandon Boyd who was unable to play due to injury.
North jumped out to a 31-0 lead at halftime and looked to be threatening again, but Mount Pleasant’s Alex Boyd stopped the team in its tracks with an interception. The play started a 17-play march down field, but South was stopped at the 9-yard-line. It had to settle for the field goal which cut the lead to 31-3 with 6:03 left in the third quarter.
The South defense played much stronger in the second half, holding North to just two field goals—a 35-yarder late in the third and a 27-yard goal early in the final quarter.
While the last two weeks were fun, Pierleoni said the All-Star game has him excited for the prep season which kicks off Sept. 5.
“I’m really looking forward to getting back with my team; I miss my kids. This was fun and next season is going to be really fun, too,” Pierleoni said. “It’s a huge honor to coach all these guys. They are such good kids, we had so much fun.”
