The562’s coverage of football in 2024-25 is sponsored by The Terry Donahue Memorial California Showcase.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.
“People are trapped in history and history is trapped in them.” – James Arthur Baldwin
Wilson football players have no choice but to face the fact that their school is 98 years old and it’s never won a CIF Southern Section football championship. In fact, the Bruins have never been to a final until this weekend as they travel to Highland for the Division 9 championship game.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Highland High School in Palmdale. CLICK HERE for tickets.
“It’s huge, you know, we’re now part of history and it means everything to us,” Wilson junior Thomas Jones said. “We worked so hard and put so much time in and it’s all paying off.”
In their first year under coach Travis Clark, the Bruins (9-4) have turned things around by returning to the postseason for the first time in five years. Wilson used a pair of dominant wins at home over Victory Valley and Great Oak, and a dramatic quarterfinal win at Village Christian, to make school history and play for a title.
“We’re doing it for this community, you know, all these people deserve it,” Clark said.
Highland (9-4) is no stranger to deep playoff runs recently. After winning the Division 9 championship in 2019, the Bulldogs have played in a pair of Division 8 semifinals and reached as high as Division 4 two years ago. Highland has a combined 48-14 overall record since 2019.
The Bulldogs have also been dominant in the Golden League. After losing non-league games to juggernauts like Mission Viejo and Oak Hills, Highland rolled through its league schedule while averaging almost 40 points per game.
Highland survived a close first-round playoff matchup with Cerritos before easily dispatching of Burbank and Quartz Hill.
The Bulldogs have used their strong offensive line and home field advantage to get their running game going in the latter part of the season and into the playoffs. Senior Roderick Erwin (5’11” 175 lbs) leads his team with 74 carries, 504 yards and five touchdowns, but Highland uses a balanced attack with quarterback Justin Wyatt Jr. averaging eight yards per carry with 48 on the season and six touchdowns. The 6’4” Wyatt Jr. has 31 touchdowns and four interceptions this season while averaging 151 yards per game and completing 56 percent of his pass attempts.
Highland plays on a natural grass surface, and head coach Justin Wyatt Sr. knows that is a big part of the home field advantage.
“We like having our games at the dog pound,” Highland coach Justin Wyatt Sr. told the Antelope Valley Press. “It’s a different type of field, if you know what I mean. It’s not turf. Playing in the dog pound, you’ve got to be very greedy. We kind of hang our hat on that, that’s just the kind of style of ball we play too.”
In the semifinal last week, Highland trailed 14-0 at halftime but five different running backs racked up 201 total rushing yards to spark the comeback.
Wilson has done a great job stopping the run during these three playoffs games, and has turned to Deuce Weston to spark its own ground attack. Weston has compiled 450 yards and seven touchdowns in just six games.
CLICK HERE to read why Weston sat out the first half of the season in support of his teammates.
