CLOSER LOOK: Santiago’s Carter Ward & Jake Wilson
Take a closer look at Santiago’s Carter Ward (left) and Jake Wilson you’ll see teammates with a special connection.
The wide receiver and quarterback tandem lit up the night in their CIF-Southern Section postseason debut, filling up the stat sheet as the Sharks (6-5 overall) won a first round game on Friday, Nov. 6.
The 5-foot-11, 180-pound wideout had eight catches for 172 yards and two touchdowns from Wilson, who passed for more than 275 yards and four scores in the win.
Santiago had not won a playoff game since 2017, making this a generational victory for the program.
We caught up with Ward and Wilson after Santiago’s 31-14 win over Elsinore.
InlandFieldhouse.com: How important was it to get out on the right foot and score on your first drive?
Jake Wilson: “It was so good coming out first half. I mean, Carter Ward is a beast making plays (and) the offense, it just clicked on that first drive. Making plays right out the gate and completing passes gave us a good rhythm to keep going.”
IF: Carter took a little hitch 57 yards for a touchdown. Talk us through that play.
Carter Ward: “Shout out to my O-Line. All I did was catch the ball and just to what I do. We practiced it all, and in practice all the time we put in a ton of work and it shows on Friday night, and that’s what we do.”
IF: How were you able to turn the page after a tough league season?
Wilson: “We remember that it’s a long season, right? And we did all that work in the offseason, we do all the grinding, and we remember that the outside noise doesn’t matter. What really matter is within ourselves. It’s all about us and it’s all about Santiago football. And in the the end we know that the big plays happen in November. The big moments happen in November. We had that in the back of our minds and we remember that we’re out here to win a championship.”
Ward: “We have a tough league. We just have to keep making plays, and we’re out here at 6 a.m. every morning, grinding, getting the little thing down that need to happen.”
IF: How does it feel to have made a little bit of Santiago football history with this win?
Wilson: “It’s amazing. I mean a lot of us boys came here to Santiago to make it a better program, and we came here together as a unit to try to change the narrative. That’s here now, and I think with the coach’s help and with the player’s help we were able to do that, and it’s amazing just being able to take the little steps, these little milestones, and get to that goal.”
