The Boys of Riverside: A Deaf Football Team and a Quest for Glory

As the playoffs approach, the Cubs’ star wide receiver Jory Valencia is diagnosed with walking pneumonia, keeping him out of school and off the football field for over a week. The first playoff game is against the Leadership Military Academy Wolfpack, a team that almost beat them earlier in the season. Jory insists on playing, and the coaches agree, feeling that winning is the most important thing. He is taken out after just four plays. The Cubs dominate the game, and the coaches take out all the starting players except right guard and CSDR student body president Christian Jimenez. On a routine running play, Christian receives a hard hit, fracturing his right leg and ending his season. The Cubs win 52-6.

The Cubs’ win against the Wolfpack fills the team with confidence, and the players begin to believe that they will win the championship. Their opponents in the semifinal, Flintridge Prep, are equally confident. The Flintridge offensive coordinator Ramses Barden won a Super Bowl ring with the New England Patriots, while the head coach, Russell White, remains the all-time rushing leader for the University of California Bears. The Flintridge coaches encourage their players to focus on the Cubs’ skills, not their deafness.