Northwood’s varsity football team wrapped up their season with a strong showing in the CIF-Southern Section Division VI playoffs and a second-place finish in their league. With a hard-fought loss in their second playoff game against Murrieta Mesa, their journey ended in CIF Round 1.
Moving up to D6—the highest Northwood has played in over 10 years—the team faced tougher competition, but still finished with an overall 9-2 record. They secured one of the final two spots in the CIF playoffs, with much of their losses coming in close contests.
“Because we moved up in league and the competition is much harder, everyone thought this was going to be a rough season,” senior Quintin Lynch said. “But we surprisingly had a much better season than we thought, and were 10 points away from being undefeated in the league.”
The season started off with a victory in the opening game against a rival Irvine High School and followed with key victories against Dana Hills and Aliso Niguel. According to senior Cole Hidalgo, the key to success for the football team came from their unique strategies and coaching.
“We created new plays for different teams this year, and have been running new offensive plays and defensive formations,” Hidalgo said. “Our head coach Clarke and our coordinators do a great job. We study what they plan for offense, defense and special teams.”
Pivotal to the team’s success was linebacker and running back senior Joseph Harper, who was recognized as this year’s Foxtrot League Most Valuable Player. Although this was Harper’s first year playing running back, his ability to make game-changing plays on both offense and defense was crucial to the team’s success.
Along with Harper, the other 26 seniors from the Class of 2025 played a pivotal role in shaping the team’s culture. As the last group from Northwood’s two CIF championships, the team will have a lot of rebuilding to do in future years, but players are confident that the program will continue to succeed.
“Winning the championship not once, but twice, is something that was super special, and a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” Lynch said. “A lot of seniors are leaving this year, but we have developed a really strong team in the past few years to carry on our legacy.”
