For the second year in a row, the College of the Redwoods’ football team got some jewelery to commemorate a special season, with CR getting their second-straight win in the Grizzly Bowl back in December.
CR wrapped up their 8-3 season with a 37-26 win at the Redwood Bowl over Coalinga. Redwoods’ football has stayed busy this offseason, being elevated to the National Division from the American Division. They’ll now face stiffer competition, but they’ll be able to do so on their homefield, with CR’s on-campus turf field being ready for usage.
“Trying to get better every year, that’s the goal,” CR head coach Jason White said. “The program is going to get better from year-to-year, so this is really the next step as far as what we’re doing. We want to be challenged every week, and we’ll definitely get challenged every week.”
The Redwoods’ football program was suspended in 2020 and didn’t compete in the 2020 or 2021 season before returning with White as their head coach in 2022, leading CR to a 24-9 record over the next three seasons, with three bowl game appearances and two bowl wins.
“Every year you want to celebrate your team because each team is completely different,” White said. “You always lose half your team in junior college. You usually lose a little more than that. You might keep 40% of your guys from the year before, so the chance to celebrate each team is an awesome thing.”
The 2024 Grizzly Bowl championship ring that members of the team and the coaching staff received on Thursday. The CR football program has been back for three seasons since the program’s suspension during the pandemic. CR has gone 24-9 since returning. (Dylan McNeill/Times-Standard)
The preparation for the 2025 season has already begun for CR, with the team having already started their spring practices. White said that the team got back to work in the weight room in January, and he’s pleased with the development of his 2025 team.
“Most of our players that have moved on to other schools, they’re not even here right now,” White said. “We’re mailing their rings to them, basically, so you’re kind of still celebrating most of the guys that are here right now. Just one more feather in their caps, Most of the guys that left are leaving with two rings; how often does that happen in junior college football? It doesn’t.”
Even though the program still has its eyes set even higher, that hasn’t stopped CR from collecting some hardware in the meantime. White also has brought back a successful Humboldt County football player to coach the CR offensive line, with former UC Davis lineman Miles Meynell joining the CR staff after five seasons with the Aggies.
“Adding Miles to our staff is going to free me up a little bit,” White said, who’s served as the CR offensive coordinator and offensive line coach the past three seasons. “It also gives me an extra set of eyes because when you’re the offensive coordinator too, you’re trying to watch the big picture, and you’re not just totally dialed in on the linemen like you need to be when you’re the O-line coach. He’s going to allow me to have a guy that can do that.”
The CCCAA playoffs have been expanded, with six teams from the north and six teams from the south advancing to playoffs. Teams who qualify for playoffs aren’t eligible for bowl games, meaning that White isn’t really looking for another bowl game appearance.
“It’s satisfying to know we’ve made progress, but ultimately, we want to go to the state playoffs,” White said. “Us developing our facilities and getting our kids moved on, those are all steps towards that ultimate goal. It’s just a matter of when do we get there.”
Dylan McNeill can be reached at 707-441-0526.