Vallejo High School’s football team faced a tough defeat in the first round of the North Coast Section playoffs on March 15, 2024, losing to Concord High School with a final score of 36-24. The game took a significant turn early on when starting quarterback Julio Ramirez suffered a broken collarbone, impacting Vallejo’s game strategy and momentum.
Concord’s Jacari Gibson played a pivotal role in the Bears’ victory, rushing for an impressive 161 yards and scoring three touchdowns. His performance was instrumental in helping Concord secure their advancement to the next round, where they will face Middletown. Vallejo concluded the season with a commendable record of 7-4, marking a notable improvement compared to previous years.
Head coach Mike Wilson III expressed pride in his team’s effort throughout the season. Vallejo has shown remarkable resilience by winning at least seven games and making it to the playoffs for the third consecutive year. Prior to this recent success, the program struggled to secure five wins in a season from 2005 to 2022. “What I will remember the most about this season is this team played hard,” Wilson said. “We came back in a lot of games and scored a lot of points, so I’m really proud of this team. We never gave up.”
The game began with a promising but short-lived play for Vallejo. On their opening series, Ramirez was tackled for a loss of seven yards, marking his last play of the season. Senior Elijah Peace, typically one of Vallejo’s leading wide receivers, stepped in as quarterback to fill the void left by Ramirez. “We had to adapt a lot. We weren’t prepared for that,” Wilson noted. “He went out pretty early, and it changed the whole game plan.”
Despite the sudden change, Peace proved to be a strong asset, finishing the game with 102 rushing yards and three touchdowns, along with 94 passing yards on seven completions. “Elijah is a true soldier,” Wilson remarked. “He gutted it out for us all season. He ran hard all night and didn’t complain. He played well.”
Concord established an early lead when Gibson rushed for a 19-yard touchdown, followed by a field goal from Jair Montano that made it 10-0. Just before halftime, Gibson added another touchdown, increasing Concord’s lead to 17-0. Despite the significant deficit, Wilson reported an optimistic atmosphere in the locker room at halftime. “The mood at the half was up,” he said. “We just had to make some stops and get ourselves back in the game.”
The second half began sluggishly for Vallejo, as Concord extended its lead to 24-0 when Chris Dunn scored on a 31-yard run. Vallejo finally responded with a touchdown of their own when Peace rushed for a 28-yard score, narrowing the gap to 24-6.
With eight minutes remaining in the game, Peace continued to rally his team, scoring again with a 20-yard run, bringing the score to 24-12. “I just knew I had to get it done,” Peace stated. “I had to run the ball a lot. The line did a good job of calling their blitzes.”
Despite their momentum, Vallejo’s hopes were dampened when Concord’s quarterback Juan Gonzalez connected with Erik Madayag for a 23-yard touchdown, pushing the score to 30-12. Vallejo managed to find the end zone one more time with a 1-yard touchdown run from Peace, making it 30-18. Concord quickly retaliated with another touchdown from Gibson, who added a 36-yard run to his impressive performance.
Peace concluded the scoring for Vallejo with a 26-yard touchdown pass to Romelo Butts with just 25 seconds left on the clock. However, the Redhawks could not overcome the deficit, and Concord secured their victory as they fielded the kickoff shortly after.
Vallejo High School’s football team has shown significant growth this season, and although the playoff loss was disappointing, the foundation for future success appears to be firmly in place.
