Sonora celebrates high school's historic back-to-back state championships
Sonora is a city of just over 4,000 people, where many of its residents showed up to celebrate their back-to-back state champs. The Sonora High School football team was undefeated this season and their celebration Thursday evening, taking their on-the-field title to the streets of their home downtown, was fit for champions.
'We are the Champions' music was blaring in their parade out of a sheriff's office heavy-duty vehicle with streets blocked off for the marching band, cheerleaders, and law enforcement to make their way through the city.
The team was on the back of a semi-truck, soaking in the moment with their community cheering them on proudly.
"It's crazy because they're literally making history," Jadin Hernandez, sister of running back Lemar Vaughn, said. "The team has never gone to the state championships. It's great getting to watch him play and watching his accomplishments and seeing him kind of live out his dream and what he wants to do and he's so passionate about it. It's really nice to get to see him really happy and thriving with what he's doing."
Debi Grahek is the grandmother of Vaughn and told CBS Sacramento she's been watching her grandson play since he was in elementary school with the Junior Cats. Grahek said he won then and has so many awards. Grahek said her grandson is living out his dream and that he wants to play professionally.
"It's just amazing to watch your grandson do this," Grahek said. "And for the history of Sonora, I mean, they've never had this happen. I'm speechless because it's amazing."
An undefeated team (15-0) with their last loss in October of last year. A team known for their physicality, playing the right way, and their 'Mountain Misery,' coined for their mountain weather home-field advantage.
"It's a big deal for the community," Greg Marfil, dad of Levi, the team's equipment manager, said. "We're a small, tight-knit community way up in the mountains and not a lot of people know we're here. We get frequently mistaken for Sonoma. But, it's really important. Football is a great unifier, everybody loves to get behind these kids. They work so hard for so long. Two back-to-back state championships and they kept getting moved up in divisions, making it harder for them but they just kept fighting through it and fighting through it. The community is just really behind these kids."
The Marfils went to every playoff game, supporting their son and the team.
"He was part of something greater than himself," Machele Marfil, Levi's mom, said. "So, he absolutely enjoyed the team and enjoyed the environment. And the energy was phenomenal, even through playoffs."
"It's fantastic," Greg Marfil said. "He got invited to do it and we were really happy that he got to do it. Gets him out there. He loves sports, so it got him to be able to do something with sports and he's a rabid football fan, he likes every sport. So, anything he can do and be a part of something is just really good for him."
The Marfils saw the course of the season and how the team fought through a difficult schedule.
"We got him up and drove him there at 6:30 in the morning on Wednesdays and they all did, all the kids showed up," Greg Marfil said. "It's a grueling schedule. I get to ask him, like 'How's the team doing? What's their focus like?' And he'd tell me, 'Oh, you know, they're focused or they're kind of tired,' but they fought through it and they had a really grueling road schedule to begin the season and they fought through it and they got to their bye week unscathed and then they just rolled downhill from there."
Junior tackle Ezekiel Orweller lines up on both sides of the ball, on offense and defense. Orweller said it means a lot and that "it's nice to have everybody support us."
So, what does it feel like to be a state champ?
"Feels amazing," Orweller said. "I'm super happy, my parents are happy, the community's happy, try to make them happy."
Orweller told CBS Sacramento what it took to get here.
"Takes a lot of effort to do it," Orweller said. "We work hard, we work as a team. We do what we can do to win."
Win. That's indeed what this football team has become accustomed to. With Yosemite National Park about an hour east of this city, it's fitting that the 'Mountain Misery' team brought home another title. They're living on a mountain-top, El Capitan-type experience, and they're not looking back.