Team first
California coach Woods downplays program wins record
California’s hard-fought, down-to-the-wire 24-18 football victory at Avella last Friday night was cause for a two-pronged celebration.
First, it kept the Trojans undefeated in the Class A Tri-County South Conference at 6-0 to set up a first-place showdown at Beth-Center this Friday night.
Second, it was Trojans head coach Ed Woods’ 62nd win at California, moving ahead of Pete Petroff for the program record.
Woods’ only concern was the former.
After the milestone win was sealed by Eli Carpenter’s interception in the end zone in the final seconds, there were no thoughts by his players of giving Woods a Gatorade shower and hugging and congratulating him.
The reason why was made clear by Chase Shemansky, who scored the go-ahead touchdown for California with 1:30 left in the game.
The question was posed to Shemansky about his thoughts on his coach’s record.
“Wait, what?,” Shemansky asked with a confused smile. “We didn’t know that actually.
“That’s something to celebrate.”
Not to Woods, who didn’t let his players in on the fact he was on the verge of a milestone win.
“I wouldn’t put that on them,” Woods said. “That’s minor. We needed to win this game and that’s all I wanted them thinking about, not about some personal record for me. They’ve got enough on their minds, they didn’t need that distraction.”
Woods was correct it seemed.
The Trojans had their hands full with the gritty Eagles, who led 12-6 at halftime and went on a 93-yard touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter to tie the score at 18-18.
With the game on the line, Woods’ players stepped up and answered the challenge.
California briskly moved 58 yards to the go-ahead score in just four plays – an 18-yard run by Shemansky, completions of 15 yards to Brayden Crockett and 23 yards to Carter Frank by quarterback Brandon Meier and Shemansky’s 2-yard score.
The Trojans defense made the score stand up with a last-second stand.
The victory improved Woods’ overall record at California to 62-21 in this, his eighth, year. Woods previously was the head coach at Beth-Center for 17 seasons, compiling a record of 113-60, to give him an overall mark of 175-81 in 25 years.
California has already clinched a WPIAL playoff spot, making this the 21st consecutive season Woods has guided a team into the postseason. He’s had six undefeated regular seasons and he’ll be seeking his 10 conference championship when his team travels to Beth-Center.
When he finally addressed his record-breaking win, Woods pondered and said, “I’ve just been blessed with a lot of good kids and good coaches, and the support systems, the different parent organizations I’ve had at California, and also at Beth-Center, have been outstanding. I think when you have all those things together and have a loyal staff like I have, you can build a program. Our football teams are football programs. Everyone does their job.”
Woods perceives any milestone he achieves as a group effort.
“There’s a lot more that goes into a successful program than just the head coach,” Woods said. “This should be a shared record with all the players I’ve had here and all my coaches.”
The fact that Woods will be going up against his former team this Friday is another non-factor to him, an extra bit of information that his players don’t need on them.
“It’s not about me,” Woods said in dismissing that subplot. “Beth-Center has a great team, undefeated, it should be a great game.
“That’s what the focus should be on.”