St. Mary’s wins 1st-ever CIF State title, for school pride and for city of Stockton
Tony Franks during competition is as calm as a soft summer breeze, unflappable even in a pressure-cooker contest with the biggest honor a high school athlete in California can achieve hanging in the balance.
When the St. Mary’s Rams of Stockton coach saw one of his star players lose the football at midfield with 2:17 left in the CIF State 2-AA championship game at Saddleback College on Friday night, Franks barely flinched.
When Bakersfield Christian missed a 23-yard game-winning field goal attempt late to tie it, the coach perked up a little, and then he let all the emotions flow after his gritty group took a victory-formation kneeldown to secure a heart-check 27-24 triumph, a crowning achievement for the proud private school that opened nearly 150 years ago in the heart of the Central Valley.
This victory was for scores of alumni, and, as Franks pointed out, the conquest was especially meaningful for the city of Stockton.
The region has for decades battled its perception of a crime-ridden region, and it all came rushing to the forefront on Nov. 29, when a children’s birthday party was horrifically interrupted by a hail of gunfire that law enforcement described as gang-related.
More than 50 rounds were fired, killing four, including two 8-year-olds and a 14-year-old, and wounding 15 others. That happened at the same time that the Rams rallied to beat Granite Bay to win the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division II championship at Hughes Stadium.
St. Mary’s players and coaches learned of the tragedy as they headed home from Sacramento, shaken by the senseless nature of such a loss of life, and they dedicated the rest of their season to families who were impacted.
While the Rams were in Orange County winning the program’s first state championship in the 19-year history of the CIF State finals, Stockton street gangs agreed to hold truce talks in an effort organized by the Texas-based Youth Peace and Justice Foundation.
209 pride
Franks was emotional after the game, immediately hugging longtime assistant coaches, and most all of them teared up. The coaches also bear-hugged players, who celebrated their greatest sporting moment. Franks is a 1977 graduate of St. Mary’s, a multi-sport guy who played football and ran track at UC Davis, where he also coached for a spell. His 248 victories at St. Mary’s makes him the active section leader with no end in sight.
This victory was Franks’ most meaningful, as he always celebrates seniors. The coach said he embraces a city that he has called a big part of his life for more than 50 years. St. Mary’s capped a whirlwind 13-2 season in which there were twists and turns throughout the playoffs with late drives, big scores and dramatic stops.
“This was maybe the most dramatic of them all,” Franks said. “It was incredible. I’m so happy for our community. St. Mary’s High School is a strong community in the San Joaquin County, in the 209 (area code), and we’ve been around for 150 years. This is a real crowning achievement for our community, for our players, those close to the program. I’m thrilled that we can bring this home for them at this time.”
Franks added, “Every city has issues, and every community has violence and crime and issues and problems, but communities also have a bunch of good kids who play high school football, and that’s pretty cool. We go out and teach kids how to play football, and we line them up and go play a football game. And once in a while, you get some joy out of it.”
Diego Hernandez rushed 21 times for 17 yards and had two key blocks to spring teammates for touchdowns as the Rams handed Bakersfield Christian its first loss after a 14-0 start. Jaden Gavan passed for 244 yards and touchdown strikes to Ivan Huerta and Kenneth Moore III for St. Mary’s, which suffered losses to Oak Ridge of El Dorado Hills and De La Salle of Concord, the latter of which is in Saturday night’s CIF Open Division game.
“We wanted to finish strong for our school and for city,” Galvan said. “There are a lot of good things going on in Stockton, not all bad. We’re proud to win this.”
Franks said he does not take seasons or championships for granted. He said that in his 41 years of coaching, including 15 years at UC Davis, he ended a playoff season with a victory just twice. The first was in 2004, when St. Mary’s beat Nevada Union of Grass Valley in the CIF section Division I championship and on Friday.
Franks said he would drive home late on Friday night to the 209, and he may make some cellphone calls to scores of his high school teammates from the 1970s.
“We’ll all remember this night, forever,” he said. “All of us.”
As for the post-game hugs to Rams coaches, the head coach said, “We all work so dang hard, so dang hard at this, and to be able to finish our season with a win ... it’s great.”
This story was originally published December 12, 2025 at 9:11 PM.