Lined up in front of the confines of Vanden High School, patrons decked in black, green and gold lined up the sidewalk with posters, confetti poppers and smiles from ear to ear waiting for the Vanden High football team to embark on De Ronde Road.
“I could watch it over and over again, I love seeing them enjoy the moment and they worked so hard,” said Sandra Null, the mom of junior Orion Null. “They deserve this and so much more.”
Nearly two months removed from their state championship — a 14-13 win over Aquinas — members of the program still have struggled to let it sink in. Through all the love and support that he has gotten through the region, Vikings head coach Sean Murphy still continues to grasp what the entire program has been able to accomplish.
“I’m just so proud of our student athletes and the resilience that they had shown in the last year and a half,” Murphy said. “We reflect on it and we hope they take the life lessons that they learned and the grit they showed that they can use that later on in life and become productive citizens. Now it’s about honoring the sacrifices they made throughout the year.”
So, in the early morning hours of the weekend, fans, families and members of the community came together for a parade to honor the season. The program went 13-2 overall, winning their last seven games, which included a Sac-Joaquin Section crown over Merced and then a NorCal title against Windsor.
At the main stage, members of the community like Mayor Harry T. Price and Superintendent of Travis School District Pam Conklin sat and waved to all those in the parade. District 5 Supervisor Mitch Mashburn drove a truck with some members of the program in the back of his truck bed. Along with the football players, members of the cheerleading team, Vandens JROTC and members of public safety were some of the many that walked the parade route to celebrate the program.
On top of the firetruck with his teammates and his brothers, senior Sean Davis was so happy with all the love that Vanden and the community has continued to give to his teammates.
“It’s just so crazy for all the Fairfield people to come out and see us,” Davis said. “We really came together as a whole.”
Though celebrating in the moment, what remained prevalent is the memory of Daniel Hughes, who was a key member of Vanden’s football and basketball programs before passing away in April of 2021. Watching his son Orion play with Daniel since the age of five, Mark Null was excited to celebrate but still felt sadness with Daniel not being there, but knew he was watching from a better place.
“He should be here doing the same thing, we are happy for them but it’s bittersweet at the same time,” Mark said. “He was a big loss to Vanden, but Daniel was a big loss to the community. (Sandra) was videoing when Orion was in the car, and as soon as Orion and Diaz and his teammates pulled up, a beam of light came up. Little things like that happened all year and I think it’s something that all these kids hold on tight to.”
Among the many members of the team on the bus, a helmet with the number nine continued to be passed around, knowing how pumped Hughes is for his teammates, as honoring him was their biggest motivator throughout the season.
“It’s still hard to sink in that he’s still not here with us but we know he’s obviously here with us in spirit,” senior Blake Waldrop said. “We always use him as motivation and just to think about him. This is what every high schooler dreams of, I’ve never seen anyone that had the potential and the work ethic as Daniel Hughes. He was a leader on and off the field. He was in the same class as me and I looked up to him.”
“I felt his presence today but I don’t think it was just today, I think it was our whole road to state honestly,” senior Cameron Fisherman said. “I think he was there through thick and thin while we were all practicing, bad and good. He was a good player, a good student in the books, and there was no one on the field that wanted it more than him.”
As the festivities continue to barrel through as the school year moves on, the reality is that 23 members of this state championship program will be graduating in the spring, and the Vikings once again hit their restart button. A legacy that the class of 2022 leaves behind is an acronym that Murphy calls EAT.
“We changed our message, our offensive coordinator we took one of his sayings, he always talks about effort and accountability, then we added teamwork to it,” Murphy said. “That became our mantra, EAT. I think this senior class really bought into that and they really bought into that motto and made it into a real thing.”
Leaving their high school careers as champions, Davis, Fisherman and Waldrop all shared different thoughts on what led to their success on the football field they are leaving behind.
“Stick to the program, you got to trust the coaches because they are looking out for you and your best interests,” Waldrop said. “Trust your coaches, be on your teammates’ side, never get into a fight and always remain brothers.”
“Be prepared at all times and give your whole effort,” Fisherman said. “Be a student-athlete with it, you don’t want to be dumb, playing on the football field and having bad grades, that’s a bad rap for you.
“Keep a great mindset and ball out while playing for your family and everyone,” Davis said.
Members of the Vanden Vikings football program are set to receive their state championship rings eventually, although the time and place for the ceremony is to be determined
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