OAKLAND – Michael Peters’ demeanor was not one of joy or celebration after his dynastic McClymonds team captured its 15th Oakland Section championship in a row on Friday afternoon at Castlemont.
In the postgame huddle, the longtime Warriors coach wanted his team to focus on the litany of mistakes and penalties the Oakland powerhouse had committed in its 32-7 victory against an overmatched Oakland High team.
“No matter who we see, we still have to play up to our standard,” Peters said. “We can’t be up and down like this.”
For McClymonds, winning a fifth state championship, not another inevitable section crown, is the team’s ultimate goal. Peters wanted his team to regain the momentum it had before a fight with Fremont-Oakland on Oct. 11 resulted in a forfeit and mass suspensions.
Even with players out, Mack hadn’t been tested by league competition in weeks. But early on, it appeared as if Oakland would give the Warriors their first competitive game against an Oakland Athletic League rival in years.
Ymer Belvine forced the first of two McClymonds fumbles on back-to-back possessions to keep the game scoreless midway through the first quarter.
But then the Warriors ran off 20 straight points via a John “Sharky” Tamale 12-yard touchdown run, and touchdown receptions by Ugene Jackson and Rahsjon Duncan. Dominic Davis ran for 73 yards to lead McClymonds in rushing too.
Throwing both touchdowns, and later running for a one-yard score, was junior quarterback Berell Staples, the transfer from Lincoln-Stockton who was playing in his first Silver Bowl.
“This win feels good, and it feels like a lot of the work we’ve put in this season is paying off,” Staples said.
His gifted left arm has added a new dimension to what had been a one-note Warriors attack for the past few seasons.
“Now we can do a lot of things to people, so they have to actually watch film instead of just knowing they have to stop the run,” Peters said.
Oakland gave its fans something to cheer about right before halftime when Belvine connected with Isaiah Carter Noriega for a 15-yard touchdown pass.
Oakland couldn’t muster much offense after that as McClymonds salted the game away, but coach Terry Hendrix believed the team’s promising first half was more of a sign of things to come.
“We didn’t have a foundation when I got here,” said Hendrix, who inherited a team that had gone winless in back-to-back seasons. “We’re laying the foundation, and this is just the tip of the iceberg.”
Oakland finished its season 8-4, while McClymonds improved to 8-4 and will have two weeks off between the Silver Bowl and its NorCal game.
