SAN JOSE — All Gators are big. But some Gators are bigger than most.
Sacred Heart Prep led Burlingame 7-3 in the Central Coast Section Division IV championship game at San Jose City College and was threatening to open up a bigger lead. Sensing an opportunity, Burlingame elected to go for a fourth-and-1 at its own 38-yard line.
But fate intervened in the form of Aseli Fangupo. After Burlingame bobbled the snap, the Gators’ 5-foot-10, 275-pound defensive tackle scooped up the ball and rumbled 29 yards for a touchdown, escorted down the field by his ecstatic teammates.
As he slid down into the end zone in style, Fangupo had changed the game for good. His momentum-flipping play gave SHP a 14-3 lead, and the Gators never trailed afterward en route to a 21-10 title game win.
“Aseli, everything he gets is so great,” SHP coach Mark Grieb said. “You couldn’t ask for a better human in terms of a leader, a guy who cares and loves his teammates and works his butt off every single day. At times, he is our team, but he’ll never say it. He’s a humble guy, and just works hard. So I’m so happy for him.”
SHP (7-6) was granted an opportunity after an up-and-down regular season with the No. 3 seed in the D-IV bracket. The Gators took full advantage of it with double-digit wins over The King’s Academy, Branham and Burlingame to win their first section title since 2021.
In that year’s championship game, a win over Homestead, Fangupo forced a fumble and rumbled down the field, but he didn’t find the end zone. In his senior year, he ensured that his career would end with a touchdown next to his name.
“This time, when I saw the ball, I was able to waddle down there into the end zone,” Fangupo said. “When that gap opens, my eyes get bright, but I know my teammates are right behind me, and thanks to them, I’m able to make plays like that.”
Sacred Heart Prep scored first early in the game. The Gators forced a punt on Burlingame’s first drive and parlayed good field position into a 7-yard TD run by Maxime Morelle.
Burlingame (8-5) countered with a 10-minute drive that reached SHP’s 1-yard line. But a false start penalty backed the Panthers up, and they ultimately had to settle for a field goal.
“It was a good football game,” said Burlingame coach John Philipopoulos. “The reality is two or three plays really dictated the outcome of the game, and unfortunately, Sacred Heart Prep was on the positive end of those two or three plays. The hardest part to handle is (they were) self-inflicted wounds in some regards.”
The Panthers had a strong response in store after Fangupo’s scoop and score. Two plays later, Luke Levitt found a streaking Jake Flood open over the middle for a 44-yard touchdown, closing the gap to 14-10.
But Sacred Heart Prep demonstrated some quick-strike capability as well. On the next play from scrimmage, Sasha Bamdad stretched out a run play to the sideline and ran 63 yards for an answer.
“It feels great,” Grieb said. “I feel really happy for these kids who work so hard all year. A lot of kids work hard and don’t get the reward of winning a section championship. But these guys never gave up. It’s tough when people are saying stuff about you, especially the day and age we live in, where they hear so many things so quickly. The guys they play against, and people online saying stuff. So it was nice that they’ve been able to redeem themselves.”
SHP craved a championship after slotting into the D-IV bracket. But as with many teams this time of year, the Gators are also grateful for the opportunity to be together for another week.
“We didn’t even know if we were going to get in,” Fangupo said. “But right when we got in, we knew we were going to try to make a run, and the results show right now.
“It’s all about just playing for another week. That’s our motto. We don’t really care about getting to the championship. We’re just going to go one game at a time. We knew we were really blessed to get a second chance, so we were just going to take every opportunity we can.”
