Monday Morning Lights: For long-suffering Ygnacio Valley, one win has led to three and counting

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YGNACIO VALLEY: WOLVES REVITALIZING COMMUNITY

During his team’s 44-0 victory at Richmond on Friday, Ygnacio Valley’s Rae Jackson Sr. noticed something he hadn’t seen in his three seasons as head coach. Looking into the stands, he saw coaches from his league scouting his team. 

“In the past I’ve never seen any high school coaches from other schools at our games watching what we’re doing,” Jackson said. “Our whole valley is waking up and everybody is trying to figure out what is going on at YV.”

Just a month ago, the Wolves lost their 35th straight game, 73-0 defeat to Alameda They held the longest active losing streak in the state, which spanned five seasons. But since then, YV has won three of its last four, which includes a 20-15 victory over Pinole Valley last week. 

YV has gone from aiming to win a single game this season to possibly finishing .500, or better, for the first time since 2019. 

“It’s just a lot of positive things that we’ve been working on over the years that are now just starting to shine,” Jackson said. “This is going to be the start of what is probably going to be a resurgence of Ygnacio Valley football.”

Ygnacio Valley players suit up in their home locker room before playing Terra Linda in a scrimmage game on Aug. 24, 2024. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) 

Freshman quarterback Jalen Fayad has been sensational for YV, totaling seven touchdowns in the team’s last two games. Seniors Fred Fine and Dalton Gates have provided leadership for the young team. Transfers Jacari Gibson and Kiminuao Knox add dynamic playmakers to a group that struggled to match up with any team during the long losing streak.

For Jackson, this season has been three years in the making. Taking the head coaching job at YV before the 2022 season, he knew changing the culture was going to be a heavy lift.

But after finally breaking the losing streak in a Week 2 win against Redwood Christian, which is in its first season of varsity football, and rattling off back-to-back victories the last two weeks, Jackson said he feels more at ease than he did at the beginning of the season.

“It seems like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders,” Jackson said. “I think it’s going to get better. It’s amazing to set goals, watch the goals be accomplished.”

Since the Bay Area News Group first reported on YV’s quest to break the longest losing streak in the state, the team has gotten the most attention it has received in years. But Jackson said the team has reveled in the fact that people outside the program care about the team’s journey this fall.