Recognizing Carmel High School Football Team

Floor Speech

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Mr. PANETTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize this year's Carmel High School football team, which won the California 5-AA State football championship.

It was not just the first time that a team from the central coast won 15-0, but also an amazing 48-7 win over El Capitan High School from the San Diego area, a high school that is more than double the size of Carmel High's 800 students.

Despite that small number, the Padres came up big on the gridiron, averaging 50 points a game in five postseason wins and holding El Capitan to a season low of one touchdown.

Now, I could highlight that the Padres have a player who got a full scholarship to the University of Alabama next year and who actually grew up playing youth soccer with my daughter, who I am sure if you know my daughter, Mr. Speaker, whipped that lineman into shape, but if you look closely at the entire team of the Padres, only a couple will go on to play at a 4-year college.

Coach Golden Anderson and the entire staff are very proud of the Padres, but they will be the first to tell you that they are a seasonal football program where 95 percent of the team are multisport players.

Coach Anderson will also tell you, Mr. Speaker, that when they started the season, they weren't thinking about a State title. They just wanted to win.

As someone who played football at Carmel High for all 4 of his high school years, I understand that attitude, but I admit that we didn't even come close to winning a league title, let alone a State title.

So, I stand here, Mr. Speaker, not just as the proud Representative of California's 19th Congressional District, but I am also a proud Padre, a proud Padre parent, and absolutely honored to say congratulations to Carmel High, to their State champion football team, and to all the Carmel Padre community.

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