High School Sports

Tobenna Ezeokeke vividly remembers Duncan Ellis giving him the cold shoulder when the two first met each other in elementary school. Ellis, who is one grade ahead of Ezeokeke, made sure to let Ezeokeke know just how competitive he was.  "He asked me what my...

Gilroy High junior Ruben Le and his family made the cross country move a couple of years ago from Boston to what locals refer to as the garlic capital of the world.  However, it didn’t take long for him to make a name for himself...

Gilroy High’s Coby Merrill sat expressionless as he got back in clean clothes during the Central Coast Section Masters Finals tournament Feb. 18 at Watsonville High.  Judging by his posture, one would’ve never guessed the freshman had just won the 195-pound weight class title in...

Early in the season, the Christopher High baseball team was still finding its identity. With the playoffs looming, the Cougars have found it. Potent hitting, solid defense and improved pitching has Christopher coach Ryan Dequin feeling good about his team, especially after a 10-0...

On the second play of Gilroy’s second drive, Matt Mendosa took the handoff before going over center for a six yard gain. It took multiple defenders to take down Mendosa, who bowled over one player at the end. In football lingo, Mendosa absolutely trucked...

Christopher High football coach Darren Yafai and his staff traveled to San Francisco last Saturday to scout the Sacred Heart Cathedral-Mountain View game. To say the Fightin’ Irish looked impressive would be a vast understatement.  “They’re the real deal,” Yafai said. “Seeing them in person,...

One of the all-time great stalwarts in Gilroy High boys basketball team history is set to play the final game of his prep career next week. Point guard Drew Gumin, a four-year varsity standout, put himself in elite company among Gilroy High standouts by...

At any level, from youth to the pros, sports teams tend to place pressure on themselves if they get deep into a season with an undefeated record.  They start allowing outside chatter or their own inner voices to creep in and thus place more undue...

Usually when a team out-gains its opponent by just 26 yards in total offense, the outcome is razor close. That wasn’t the case in Christopher High’s season-opener against Sobrato on Aug. 28. After a somewhat slow start, the Cougars turned it on en route...

At 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds with a fastball that has topped out at 94 mph, Gilroy High junior Quinn Larson checks off all the boxes from a Division I prospect standpoint.  But Mustangs coach Dennis Castro said it’s Larson’s intangibles—the competitive fire and love for...