The California School for the Deaf made history Friday, playing and winning their very first semi-finals game.
The Riverside Cubs beat the Avalon High School 62 to 51.
“My heart is so bursting with pride. Many of these students were mine when I was an elementary school principal. To see them thriving like this is really exciting. I’m proud,” said Janelle Green, a middle school principal.
All the players and coach are deaf and they compete against hearing teams.
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“Doesn’t matter if they win or lose, the heart they played with has been beautiful, that's what inspired all of us, staff, parents, everyone. We are just thrilled,” Green said.
It was the first time in the school’s nearly 70 year history that any sport, not just football, has made it to a semi finals.
“At this point I think I’m speechless. I'm on cloud nine. I was like seriously? This has happened? It’s amazing,” Keith Adams, the head coach said. “They did a fantastic job. I couldn't even be more proud. I can’t even sign at this point I’m out of words.”
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Many of the players and their families say they woke up with butterflies in their stomachs Friday morning.
“So now, with this particular season, this is further than we’ve ever gone. So we are all so very excited. This morning when we got up we all had butterflies in our stomach, ready to go,” said Scarlett Valencia, one of the parents.
“We wanted to show we can do it and if people think we cant it doesn't matter. We proved that we can excel to the championships,” said Phillip Castaneda, a Riverside Cubs player.
The Cubs move on to the finals next weekend.
