by Andrew Alonzo | aalonzo@claremont-courier.com

Last Friday, Claremont High School’s varsity football team accomplished a feat it hadn’t managed in a decade: starting the season undefeated, at 5-0.

The team has outscored its opponents 181-74 since it began the year with a 17-12 victory over Capistrano Valley Christian on August 22. That was followed by a 50-42 win over Diamond Bar, a 21-13 win against Alta Loma, and consecutive blowout victories over Kaiser, 37-0, and La Salle, 56-7.

Senior captain Luke Labbe said intense conditioning has contributed significantly to the team’s success. “I mean, today we got good work in, tomorrow we’re going to get work. There’s just no rest man,” Luke said Tuesday.

Claremont High head varsity football coach Jacob Caron pictured Tuesday. Courier photo/Andrew Alonzo

Claremont’s 2015 team also started 5-0 but faltered in Palomares League play, finishing fifth and out of the running for the California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section playoffs. In 2019 the Pack lost its opening game to Damien then won four straight, eventually qualifying for the CIF-SS playoffs but losing to Chaffey in its postseason opener.

The early success of this year’s team has to feel good for second year head coach Jacob Caron, as he’s already exceeded last year’s win total, when the team went 4-6.

Caron said his first year was about creating a cohesive team culture with the players he had, especially the seniors. This year, he has 19 seniors and has spent more time strengthening the group’s bond, in hopes of it trickling down to future players. Caron’s style is due in part being a member of early 2000s CHS football teams, which dominated the Base Line League.

“When I was a little bit younger, when we went through the three-peat Base Line League championship era, it was the same mentality: you had to grind every day,” Caron said. “We’re not as big, as strong and fast as some of our opponents, but we were going to out prepare them and then see what kind of character we have in the game when the game’s close.”

Luke has seen CHS’s football program evolve since joining in his freshman year.

“I’ve been in this program for four years,” he said. “So I’ve seen the highs. I’ve seen the lows. I’ve seen three different coaches. So this year, I mean, it really stands out as something special about this year and it’s all thanks to our coach who really turned it around for us.”

Caron and several players mentioned the recent addition of junior quarterback Brandon Coronado, who joined this year after transferring from Glendora High School, as a key factor in its success. Brandon has recorded 1,395 yards of total offense, passed for 14 touchdowns and rushing for four, with just three interceptions.

“Obviously, Brandon was a huge turning point,” Luke said. “At Diamond Bar, we put up 50 points, but at the same time our defense did fall off that game. So, it’s just about contrasting offense and defense and just buckling down and just getting everyone to do their job.”

“I’ve got to say it’s like a brotherhood here,” said Wolfpack player Bix Lazar. “Coach Caron got us the coaching we finally needed to have an explosive offense … a defense where we can actually work …  We all have the same mentality where we want to win, and if you don’t want to win, get off the team.”

Caron said that “accountability and reality” have become part of the team’s ethos. “We do have some outliers and some big-time playmakers, but they’re always putting the team first and I think that’s a recipe for our success and selflessness.”

(L-R) Claremont High football players Brandon Coronado and Tai Thompson run sprints on Tuesday. Courier photo/Andrew Alonzo

Caron credited CUSD leadership for making crucial student scheduling changes this year that have benefited the team.

“It started with the [administration] bringing sixth period team sports into the curriculum,” Caron said. “That has given the student athletes an opportunity for better mental health, time management, work life balance, and it gave us a tremendous jumpstart into the offseason where I had a daily class with the returning players to work on sports performance protocols.”

The team has set making the playoffs as their goal.

“That’s an outcome goal, and sometimes you want to win a CIF championship, but if you don’t, does that delineate or deter from the success of the season?” Caron asked. “I think outcome goals can be not fair at times, because only one team is going to win CIF. And everybody else, you can still feel proud of the work and the journey.”

Caron said he is focused on more than wins and losses. “It’s the process, it’s the path, and you just want no regrets,” he said. “You want to leave it all on the field, whether you look up and the scoreboard is in your favor or not.”

Claremont’s season resumes next Friday, October 3, when Sierra League play opens with a 7 p.m. game at rival Los Osos, 6001 Milliken Ave., Rancho Cucamonga.