ANAHEIM, Calif. – To compete at Servite High School, you have to be strong, fast, and able to keep up with the head coach — he tends to lift right alongside the team.
"No, it’s not normal," said senior defensive end, Tristen Wilson with a smile. "Especially because he’s way bigger than we are.”
Wilson is one of the standout seniors on the Friars' roster, a leader both on the field and off of it. If you ask him, he will tell you what they have at Servite is special.
"I think with our brotherhood it allows us to push ourselves further than anyone else does," said Wilson.
The team is pushing hard this season after an up and down past few years.
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From 2005 to 2012, the Friars won seven league championships and a CIF State Title. That was during head coach Troy Thomas' first tenure with Servite.
He returned last season and said a lot has changed in the Trinity League.
“There’re programs out there that have a lot of really great football player and I think there’s a haves and have nots," Thomas said. "That's the situation we're in now."
Thomas told says it has challenged his team to be better in all aspects.
"“I think our kids enjoy that opportunity," he said. “I think that’s why they chose Servite and why their parents decided to send them here.”
But the path to a league championship is no easy task, especially on a campus where many of the football players are dual-sport athletes and challenge themselves both in the classroom and in other activities.
Plus, they won't take the easy route. The Friars will be kicking off league play on Friday night against a team ranked No. 2 in the country, the St. John Bosco Braves.
But Wilson doesn’t seem worried.
“We’ve been looked down upon for far too long and I think we’re angry at this point. We’ve been looking forward to that game for a long time," Wilson said.
The game will kick off at Orange Coast College at 7 p.m.