Ygnacio Valley’s Frederick Fine, 17, runs for a touchdown after making a reception during a scrimmage game held at Ygnacio Valley High School in Concord, Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
For the first time in nearly five years, the Ygnacio Valley football team looked up at the scoreboard and saw they scored more points than their opponent at the end of the game.
The Wolves fended off Redwood Christian on Friday night, beating the Eagles 26-20 to capture their first win since 2019 and break a 35-game losing streak, the longest active winless run in the state.
“A win would definitely mean more than I can explain,” Fine told the Bay Area News Group last month. “The feeling of getting my first victory with this team. I know it’s coming, and I can feel it.”
Coming off a 73-0 loss to Alameda a week ago, YV’s offense found a spark on Friday against a Redwood Christian team that was playing its first varsity game in the 55-year history of the school.
Fine, a quarterback, made the switch to receiver for YV’s game against Redwood Christian and was dominant. The senior totaled 126 receiving yards and caught a touchdown. He also rushed for 21 yards and found this end zone with his feet.
Freshman quarterback Jalen Fayad threw for 137 passing yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 63 yards. Junior Romel Mariano added 74 yards rushing.
Sophomore defensive back Matin Andish picked off two passes, including one with just over a minute left to seal the game.
Rae Jackson Sr. earned his first win three years into his tenure as head coach.
It was a historic victory for the Concord school, which considered dropping its 11-man football program entirely just a year ago. Some of the YV’s current seniors were told by people outside the team to pursue better opportunities elsewhere, but the camaraderie they’ve built over the last three years has kept them in a YV jersey.
“A whole bunch of people in my inner circle, including my own parents, always ask me, ‘Why don’t you go to a different school?’” Fine said in August. “But I just can’t bring myself to that because I know what we have here is what it takes to win and be great. I see that vision, so that’s why I want to be part of it.”
Senior tight end Dalton Gates told the Bay Area News Group, “It’s a family. Family is all we got. Loyalty over everything. I’m loyal to my guys. They’re loyal to me, so that’s why I stay.”
The last time YV won before Friday night was in October 2019 when the Wolves defeated Berean Christian 40-6. YV went winless for a total of 2,143 days before Friday’s win.
YV is scheduled to play at Kennedy-Richmond on Friday.
