Huddle up: Elijah Zabludoff on high school football

Editor’s note: Elijah Zabludoff is a senior football player from Bellflower St. John Bosco High and an aspiring journalist. Each week during the high school football season, he has blogged about his personal experiences and also his thoughts about prep sports in general. Zabludoff was a returning starter at center for the Braves, who won the Trinity League, the Southern Section Pac-5 Division and Open Division state championship in a 16-0 season. His season -- and high school career-- ended Saturday at the StubHub Center in Carson when St. John Bosco completed its perfect season by defeating Concord De La Salle in the state title game.

A typical senior season is full of lasts: a last team meal, last game, last play. However, our Bellflower St. John Bosco team isn’t filled with typical seniors. Our 28 seniors are a special group of players, and we made our senior season one of firsts with our accomplishments: first back-to-back, undefeated Trinity League champions; first Southern Section Pac-5 championship in school history; first state regional championship; and, on Saturday, the first state championship.

In the days leading up to Saturday, offensive line coach James Adams preached how physical the championship game was going to be. He told us that De La Salle players prided themselves on playing hard-nose football, and that we would have to match their physicality.

Coach Jason Negro and coach Chad Johnson reinforced that ideology. In the chapel, Coach Negro told all the offensive and defensive linemen to stand up. Then he told us that we would determine which team would win the game. He told us it wasn’t going to be easy but that we had to stand toe-to-toe with their lines and be more physical than they were. And we did it. We beat them at their own game in the trenches.

Like great championship teams, we found ways to overcome adversity and win the game. After two questionable holding calls, we had to settle for field goals or punt the football. Twice, game-breaking touchdowns were called back because of a call made 10 yards behind the play. But the Braves’ offense found ways to get around all the penalties and gain 400 yards. And our defense was stellar.

During the game, I faced off against Khalil McKenzie and Sumner Houston, two of the best defensive tackles I have played all season. My teammate Damien Mama aside, McKenzie is the biggest person I have ever laid eyes on. I stared across the line and knew it was going to be a physical night. Houston, an Oregon State commit, seemed to never stop. He played with such high energy, effort and physicality -- more than I had faced all season.

There are no words to describe exactly how I felt immediately after our victory. In a word, wow. Tears were flowing in mass amounts among the Bosco Braves. I don’t really think any of the accomplishments have set in, but I know they will soon. Everything just feels surreal, like a fairy tale. There is something pristine about these last 16 weeks.

If a person told me four years ago when I was a freshman at St. John Bosco that we were going to beat the mighty De La Salle Spartans, I would have told them they were crazy.

As I write this, it’s been about 12 hours since the game ended, and I still don’t have much feeling in my feet or legs, and my hands are in a ridiculous amount of pain. I have never been this sore after a game. But all the soreness is worth it. It almost feels rewarding.

For 16 long, grueling, stressful weeks, my body has been worn down and pushed to its limit. It’s been on the brink of complete breakdown and feels like it has seen the deepest abyss. But I kept going, my body kept on working, my mind never faltered, and it feels good.

Never have I been happier that something was ending; but I am also heartbroken that it’s over. I know, though, that the 2013 St. John Bosco Braves football team will forever live in the history books of Southern California football.

What seemed like a never-ending season is finally over, and together we achieved perfection.