Good Sports: Edison Tigers

FRESNO, Calif (KFSN) -- As Division One Valley Champions, the Edison Tigers have nothing left to prove on the football field, except to one very important group of people: themselves.

"The number one thing, in fact we had it printed on our shirts, and that's family," Edison head coach Matt Johnson said. "And if your family was in trouble, let's just paint football as a metaphor for life, if your family is in trouble, would you come to their rescue?"

For the first time in a long time, the Edison players bought in. The Tigers have long had a reputation for as one of the most talented teams around, but hadn't turned it into a valley championship at the highest level since 1975.

"And in those 39 years, there's been tons of athletes," senior running back Khai Williams said. "And if they didn't have that unity, it'll fall apart late in the season, like something will happen. So we just brought it together and said, 'hey, we just have to love each other.' Bad play or good play, we love each other."

The philosophy was tested back in the middle of October when the top-ranked and unbeaten Tigers fell to CMAC rivals Sanger.

"And from that point on I think everybody bought in that are you going to believe and trust now that hard work, responsibility, attitude, character, all that counts," Johnson said. "And they did."

"That week is was a wild week of practice, because you know, it was our homecoming," senior cornerback Ju'Wan Murphy added. "So everybody was unfocused, but after that, we tightened down. No more distractions as a team; we just came together. After that we just kept on rolling and kept getting those W's."

And now that the season's main goal of winning Valley is checked off the list, Edison is now relishing the opportunity to represent Fresno and the entire Central Valley down south at Oceanside Friday night.

"They're probably thinking of us like, 'oh they're a bunch of country folk about to come out here,'" Williams said. "And see what we do out here so I think that game's going to test us even more. Like when all our chips are down everybody has looked away at us, how we just uprising and we show up to play football."

"We've been in this spotlight, we know what it's like," Murphy said." We know they're going to make plays, we just have to make them back. We just have to bounce back. Doesn't matter it's in a different city. It doesn't change who we are. As long as I got my brothers behind me, it's like we in Fresno again just playing a different game in another town."

So is anyone picking against Edison? This family isn't either.