TORRANCE, Calif. — Championship football teams don't just look forward to winning titles; they also look forward to defending them.
Unfortunately for the Division 14 CIF Southern Section regional champions, South High School, the pandemic sidelined their title defense for months on end.
But the high school's senior dual-threat quarterback and receiver Kade Jones and his teammates realize that it's a privilege to be able to play football.
"After COVID, I never looked at anything so different in my life before because now, I don't take this for granted anymore," Jones said.
But perseverance is nothing new for Jones and his teammates.
Winning the title resulted from a long road, on which South held a 1-9 record just a few years before.
"It was just a dream because I could never have imagined this school — we've been known as a bad football school," Jones said.
And when the pandemic jeopardized their season, Jones relied on that experience to help navigate his team through more dark times.
His coach, Matt Mishler, who's been at the helm of South's success, had to rely on Jones and his senior leadership to keep the team safely practicing when they weren't allowed to get on the field by organizing workouts and helping himself and his teammates stay sharp.
"We talked about it. It's like, 'You have to use your personality to get these guys to follow you,' and he did that. And he's the great reason why we're here today, because he was the one to organize all that stuff. So he deserves a heck of a lot of credit because he kept everybody practicing away from us," Mishler said.
And while there are no playoffs to look forward to this year, South has earned respect, and Jones and his teammates an even greater appreciation for each other.
"I still get to play on Friday. I still hopefully get some good film. I just get to play with these people — my brothers. I love these guys," Jones said.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated South High School's championship title. This has been corrected. (April 10, 2021)