Julia Castiglione

The Eagles defeated rivals the Sierra Chieftains in the championship game 34-26, Nov. 17, 2023.

New season, new team, new league, the Fresno Christian Varsity Football Team aims for a fourth consecutive championship under the leadership of Head Coach Mick Fuller. After three years with an undefeated record in the CIF 8-man division, the Central Sequoia League was disbanded, leaving the Eagles blindsided.

At the end of the 2023 season, teams within the CSL came together to disband the league with the intention of no longer playing Fresno Christian and Sierra High School. The other teams were fed up with the winning streaks of these two powerhouses, as the Eagles have gone 35-0 with their last loss in 2019. Before the decision was final, the athletic director and also head coach from Riverdale Christian met with Fuller to clue him in on the decision. This left the Eagles with only a few weeks’ notice that they would be forced out and responsible for scheduling games as an independent team.

Being an independent team comes with a multitude of uncertainties, such as finding potential opponents and concern about whether the playoff bracket is still intact. Fuller expands on how playoffs will continue despite being an independent team.

“League play is not an issue for playoff seeding,” Fuller said. “The system for playoffs looks at overall record and state ranking through Calpreps to determine which schools are able to go to playoffs and which seed in the bracket they get.”

FC coaching staff was surprised last February when they were told teams refused to play them in the upcoming season due to loopholes in CIF bylaws. Athletic Director Jon Penberthy shared his thoughts about the changes.

“We were left on the outside and had no idea it was coming,” Penberthy said.

Even with the changes to the ‘24-‘25 season, Senior Joshua Kubota still holds high hopes for the future of FC football. Kubota has a positive outlook on the situation and chooses to focus on the growth of the team.

“I definitely think this team can go a lot farther,” Kubota said. “Especially the younger guys, I think they can grow a lot more.” 

After nearly 10 years of playing in the same league and working alongside familiar teams, FC was left with no other option but to pivot and make the most of their new circumstance. Fresno Christian looks to keep up the same intensity and competitive drive that has made them a championship-winning team year after year. Fuller provides insight into how the younger players will take up responsibility after the loss off several seniors.

“Over the previous three seasons, we had outstanding athletes who worked hard and efficiently,” Fuller said. “Our younger players, the sophomore class especially, have much of the same drive as in previous years. They need to keep gaining experience and football IQ in order to achieve at previous seasons’ levels.”  

Many in the FC community wonder if the program will eventually return to an 11-man league.

“We are in football purgatory,” Penberthy said.”We are too big for our league, who no longer wants to play us, and too small to move into an 11-man league.”

According to Fuller, to be a viable 11-man team, we need to have at least 10-11 players in each grade level. We also need at least seven upperclassmen linemen to play varsity. When our enrollment and participation are higher, and we have an adequate number of linemen, and we can maintain a JV team of 15-20, we can consider going back to 11-man football.

This season, several newcomers bring energy and unity to the team.

“Freshmen Elijah Corrao, Dominic Ramirez, Levi Eurich, Ethan Meyer will all develop into excellent players,” Fuller said. “We also have a couple of seniors, Jeremiah Mason and Tristan Davis (who have never played football before) and are already having a positive impact on the quality of the team.”

While facing the season ahead, FC staff are staying level-headed and focused on improving and strengthening their game. Considerable time and effort was put into building a fall schedule playing the top 10 8-man teams in the state. Traveling to and from these schools will even include boarding  a boat to play Avalon High School in Catalina, Oct. 25.

Come support as The Eagles face off against CSD Fremont for their first home game of the season, Friday, Aug. 30. Kick-off is at 7 p.m. with a USA olympic theme. To see the full schedule visit The Feather Athletics page.  Save the date for the 39th FC Homecoming Oct. 11.

For more from the Feather go to Column: Title IX changes do not protect all or PROMO: Girls Tennis.