Muir High School Mustangs Greeted Warmly Upon Return From State Championship

An enthusiastic crowd of family, friends, faculty and supporters greeted John Muir High School’s varsity football team upon their return to the Muir campus Sunday afternoon after having fallen to Hughson High School in the CIF 5-AA State Championship game the night before.

The Mustangs lost 9-6 to CIF Northern Section champs the Hughson Huskies on a wet, windy and cold Hughson home field outside Modesto on Saturday night.

The Muir Mustangs won their fifth CIF Southern Section Division 10 title and their first-ever CIF Southern California Regional, taking out  Palo Verde Valley 33-7 a week earlier. 

Despite the pain of the State championship game loss, Muir coach Lance Mitchell said, “This season has been amazing. These kids overcame an awful lot of adversity. God definitely has a plan for this team and this season, and I am just happy to be a part of it.”

Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo, a Pasadena High alum who had joined PHS fans in wishing Muir good luck, greeted the returning team and told Pasadena Now,  “To the school and the student athletes, this is a moment in time that they will always remember.”

“They’ll remember their individual participation and their tram participation,” he continued. “And for the City, it just makes us proud, it makes us beam to have our kids in a State championship game after having won the CIF Southern Section.”

Muir High Principal Lawton Gray added some historical perspective to the game, saying, “It all started when the water polo team, when they won CIF, and all of our football team went down to Irvine to support them. And that inspired them.”

“After the Turkey Tussle loss (Muir fell 47-0 at the hands of Pasadena High in the annual Turkey Tussle game at the Rose Bowl in October)  our team decided to pick themselves up off the canvas,” Gray said. “Our coaching staff did an amazing job with the kids and making sure they understood that that game wasn’t the end of the season, and they turned it around and had a strong (championship) run, and all the credit goes to Coach Lance and his coaching staff.”

Mayor Gordo expressed his thanks to members of the community who stepped up to support the team.  Molly Munger, Gale Kohl, Jerry Kohl, Doug and Susan Kranwinkle, and Bill and Claire Bogaard provided travel arrangements for the parents and families of the student-athletes.

Donors also provided pre-game sweatsuit warm-ups to the players.

Added Mayor Gordo, “I also want to thank Darick Holmes for making the community aware of the need for additional resources, and I want to recognize Councilmember Tyron Hampton who shares in the spirit of giving especially as he is a proud Muir alum and forever Mustang fan.”