Good Sports: Central East Bengals capture second state football championship

The Central East Bengals football team claimed its second state championship this past weekend, capping a season marked by change and redemption.

After rebranding from the Central Grizzlies to the Central East Bengals, the team repeated as Central Section champions behind standout running back Brandon Smith, an Arizona commit who set school records for rushing yards and touchdowns in both a single season and a career.

"We didn't come this far to just win one," head coach Kyle Biggs told Action News after the 70-35 win over Clovis in the D1-AA section final .

Smith reflected on the team's dominant performance in the section title game. "Knowing that we put 70 up. I don't see nobody else doing that in the valley game," he said.

The Bengals entered the season focused on returning to the state final after a heartbreaking 21-14 loss to Edison of Huntington Beach in the closing moments last year.

"Since we lost it's just been in my head just getting back to state and winning," junior receiver Bayon Harris said.

A 55-36 win in Pittsburg sent Central East back to the D1-A championship game, this time against undefeated Pacifica.

"We really just started locking in and focusing on what we needed to do," said junior wide receiver Xavior Jones.

Harris delivered a breakout performance with 11 catches for 174 yards. While the Bengals relied heavily on offense throughout the season, their defense made the difference late. In the fourth quarter of a one-score game, Andrew Garcia broke through for a sack and forced a fumble.

"Once I seen my outside linebacker go in I seen him (QB) turn around so I knew I had to make a play for the ball," Garcia said.

That turnover set up the play of the night: a fourth-and-three over-the-head catch by E.J. Morgan that sealed the victory. The gutsy call added to Biggs' legacy, who now has 107 wins in 10 years at Central East.

"He watches a lot of film. I don't know if he sleeps," Harris joked.

The school celebrated its second state title and first since 2019, when current Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy was on the roster.

"We are part of that legacy now and we're going to get mentioned to the next generation," Jones said.

Despite the name change, the Bengals proved Central East remains a perennial powerhouse in California high school football. Saturday's 42-28 win over Pacifica clinched the D1-A CIF title and the Bengals finished the season with a record of 14-1.

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