Support continues to pour in for the San Clemente Tritons as they gear up for an intense matchup on Friday against St. John Bosco High School in a CIF-SS Division 1 playoff game.
According to reporter Steve Fryer from the Orange County Register, the Braves finished first in the Trinity League, which is widely considered the best high school football league in the state. San Clemente, one of two public-school teams in Division 1, shares this distinction with Centennial High School in Corona.
“It’s an honor for our kids to be in one of the toughest brackets in the nation,” said San Clemente football coach Jaime Ortiz in an interview with Fryer. “It’s going to be a tough test but our kids are excited for the opportunity.”
In the days leading up of the game, some big names including San Francisco 49ers quarterback Sam Darnold, Las Vegas Raiders tight end Cole Fotheringham, retired Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Bill Kenney and legendary Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid passed on some words of wisdom and well wishes to the Tritons.
“Big fan of yours,” Reid, from his hotel room in Germany, said. “I’m wishing you guys good luck coming this week against St. John Bosco. Go dominate the game. Best of luck on this thing. I know you guys will take care of business. If in doubt coach, go deep baby. Get after them.”
The high school is inviting the community to cheer their hometown team as they depart from campus at 2:45 p.m. on Friday to face the Braves in Bellflower.
Here are the other stories we’ve been following this week:
- Sixty-two teachers were celebrated for “Teaching with Heart” at the 2024 Orange County Teachers of the Year ceremony at the Disneyland Hotel on Monday.
- The Orange County Department of Education and several local school districts have been honored with prestigious Golden Bell Awards for their innovative educational programs.
- Out of an abundance of caution, the Tustin Unified School District closed all campuses on Thursday after air quality experts detected asbestos at the historic hangar that burned down Tuesday.
- Unhealthy air quality forced Foothill High to move its CIF-SS football playoff game Friday from Tustin High to Valencia High in Placentia.
- Hundreds of volunteers showed the Newport-Mesa Unified School District some love by coming together to work on more than 40 improvement projects at 17 different sites.
- The Ocean View School District will decide next week whether four campuses will remain open after a year’s worth of surveys and studies conducted by a task force.
- Luz Horn, a school nurse at Horace Mann Elementary School, received the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute’s 2023 Betty Robertson Award for her commitment to lifelong learning.
- Class of 2024 student athletes throughout Orange County took part in National Signing Day by committing to play a sport for a school at the collegiate level.
- Hundreds of runners and walkers participated in a 5K at the Tustin Public Schools Foundation’s annual Dino Dash, which raised funds to bolster public school programs.
- More than 1,200 families attended the Fullerton School District’s Champions for Children Block Party to learn, celebrate and provide input to the Local Control Accountability Plan.
- First Star Academy, a college-preparation program launched by UCLA, is aiming to help more foster youth students graduate from high school and reach levels of higher education.
- California is allocating $72.5 million to enhance education-to-career pathways by fostering partnerships between businesses and higher education institutions in four regions of the state.
This is the part where we encourage you to keep up with local education news stories by bookmarking the OCDE Newsroom, subscribing for emailed updates and following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.