City of Chowchilla a winner, regardless of final score

Alex Pittz still gets occasional grief from his buddies.

The Chowchilla High football coach had achieved the dream, making good on his promise and getting out of the small Central Valley town to go to school.

It was Pittz’s decision to return to Chowchilla that tends to be the butt of the jokes, but the fifth-year head coach knew his time away was always temporary. The love of the Redskins’ faithful showed why on Saturday night.

Long after the final seconds had ticked off of Sierra of Manteca’s 20-15 victory in the CIF State Division IV-A Bowl Game, the stands of Henry Massaro Stadium remained filled to the brim with every spectator on their feet. Neither the disappointment of the loss nor the damp, foggy night could deter the crowd from applauding a magical season.

“Tonight was special,” Pittz said. “It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. We’d certainly like to have another chance, but nothing is given. The atmosphere was amazing, and I hope once the hurt of the loss fades, the kids can look back and realize how special it was to be a part of.

“But that’s Chowchilla. That’s why I came back. There’s nowhere else I’d rather raise my family.”

Television and movies often depict a small town rallying around a team that puts together an improbable run, but few get to experience that in real life. Even fewer get to feel that community support on the scale the Redskins’ players did.

A simple drive down Robertson Boulevard showed all one needed to know. There wasn’t a store front without a pro Redskins sign or a light or telephone pole without a “Go Chowchilla” ribbon. Then there was the tailgate party that got going six hours prior to kickoff.

The impassioned fan base was already worked into a pretty good frenzy by the time their team took the field.

When Alex Gutierrez gave Chowchilla its first lead of the night on a touchdown run and two-point conversion with under two and a half to play in the fourth quarter, the Redskin crowd gave Seattle’s 12th Man a run for its money.

“I’ve done some amazing things so far in my life, but nothing has been as amazing as this run we made,” Gutierrez said. “I’ve played football since I was a little kid, but after I scored the two-point conversion, that was as loud a crowd as I’ve ever heard anywhere.

“I can’t even put into words how great a feeling that was.”

The collective elation didn’t get to last very long, unfortunately.

Sierra quarterback Mark Vicente staged a dramatic scoring drive in the final two minutes to deny Chowchilla the perfect ending to a dream season.

“It was probably the most intense environment and most physical game I’ve ever experienced,” senior lineman Gary Nieuwkoop said. “I’ve never experienced something like this before. Your adrenaline was pumping so hard from the crowd noise, you couldn’t even think straight.

“It sucks we couldn’t finish it, but the crowd’s response after showed that they loved us as much as we loved each other.”

This story was originally published December 19, 2015 at 11:19 PM with the headline "City of Chowchilla a winner, regardless of final score."