Good Sports: Mission Oak Hawks looking for first state title win

TULARE COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Three Tulare County football teams will compete for a high school state title on Saturday.

One of those programs will be Tulare's Mission Oak Hawks.

The hawks are prepping for their first state title appearance in program history.

"We're ahead of schedule. We've been here 17 months, and you know, it usually takes you 3-5 years to get it to where you want it to be," said head coach Marty Martin.

Martin has been on the sidelines for 40 years.

"This will be my last gig," Martin said.

Racking up 200 wins from Clovis West to Kerman, Mt. Whitney, and eventually Mission Oak for the past two seasons.

"They've just bought in. They really care about each other, they have a lot of fun with each other.

"That's the main thing. You gotta build a connection before anything," said Hawks senior Kenny Jackson.

That connection would lead the Hawks to a D-3 Central Section Championship against Kerman.

"People don't give you a chance right out of the shoot, you know, it's kinda like okay, we're gonna show you," Martin said.

With a 34-14 win over the Lions, the Hawks would grab the program's first-ever section championship.

"My son said Dad, I thought you'd be more excited after the valley championship game and I said Son, we're not done yet.

The following week -- the hawks found themselves hosting Rio Hondo Prep for a So-Cal regional championship.

With Kenny Jackson igniting the crowd from the jump.

"In my head, I'm like, 'wow, they're actually kicking me the ball,'" said Jackson.

"I just remember seeing a huge hole open up. I was like, no, he shoots the hole and took it. No better way to start a game, beautiful way to start the game," recalled Hawks senior Isaiah Rivera.

Jackson would return the opening kick, helping write another chapter for the Hawks history books en route to a 29-14 win.

And a chance to face Palma out of Salinas for a Division 4-A state title at Pasadena City College.

It's also huge for Coach Martin, who's having more fun coaching now than he ever has.

"He said Dad, you're completely different. I said what do you mean? He goes you're just like everything's okay," Martin said.

But as Coach Martin reminds everyone, they're not done yet.

"We're not satisfied; we just want to continue going, and we can be satisfied at the end of the season when we have a state belt," said Rivera.

"Not only would it mean a lot for this team, it would mean a lot to the county we're in right now," Jackson added.

A state title that could be the first in the city of Tulare's history.

"Since we made it this far, let's just win," Jackson said.

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