CIF STATE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
DIVISION 7-AA
REDDING CHRISTIAN (14-0) VS. WOODBRIDGE (7-8)
Where, when: Fullerton High, Saturday, 11 a.m.
Live coverage: NFHS network
Tickets: $6.25-$16.75 at GoFan.co
Parking: Free
Outlook: Both schools are making their debut in a CIF State football championship game.
Woodbridge has made an unlikely and amazing run to get to a state championship game.
The Warriors started the season 0-7 before winning two of their last three regular-season games. They won a coin toss to get a spot in the CIF Southern Section Division 13 playoffs and then went 4-0 in the playoffs, including a 24-23 win over Montebello in the division championship game. Woodbridge beat San Fernando 13-0 last week in the CIF Southern California Regional Division 7-AA final.
Woodbridge has a balanced offense. The Warriors average 135 rushing yards a game and 139 passing yards a game. Freshman quarterback Waylon Stone, who became the team’s starter three games into the season, has completed 59 percent of his passes for an average of 126 yards a game with eight touchdowns.
Warriors senior running back Kayjahn Pitts has rushed for 997 yards and nine touchdowns. Stone has rushed for 570 yards and nine touchdowns. Stone rushed for 137 yards and two touchdowns in the CIF-SS final win over Montebello.
Redding Christian, located in Palo Cedro, won the CIF Northern Section Division V championship and defeated Middletown 22-7 in the CIF Northern California Regional 7-AA final last week.
The Lions are averaging 43 points a game while giving up an average of seven points a game. Redding Christian junior quarterback Wyatt Shaw (6-2,180) averages 216 passing yards a game. He has thrown 53 touchdown passes with only five interceptions.
Shaw has impressed Lions coach Gerald Piper.
“He’s an amazing kid, an amazing quarterback,” Piper said. “The key to Wyatt is his mind and his vision. He knows the game really well.”
Shaw’s chief target is senior receiver Collin Matos who has 62 receptions for 791 yards and 14 touchdowns. Matos is one of four Redding Christian receivers with double-digit touchdown receptions
Lions junior running back Leon Putnam averages 126 rushing yards a game and 8 yards a carry and has 18 rushing touchdowns.
Piper said people who attend the Division 7-AA final will see a fast and skillful Redding Christian team.
“You’re going to see a lot of speed and a lot of gifted athletes on both sides of the ball,” Piper said.
Winner: Woodbridge. Redding Christian’s outstanding set of skill players makes the Lions capable of winning this game by a large margin. However, Redding Christian has a great many two-way players who might get worn down in the final minutes of this game, and the Lions might have established those gaudy offensive numbers against teams that are not as good as the teams Woodbridge has played, or as good as Woodbridge itself.
