2002 Football Team
The 2002 football team completed a perfect 13-0 season, winning the EBAL and North Coast Section championships and earning recognition as California Division II state champions by Cal-Hi Sports. Led by head coach Craig Bergman, the Mustangs went 10-0 in the regular season, scoring 517 points while allowing 222.
Senior quarterback Kyle Wright, the nation’s consensus No. 1 recruit, led the explosive offense, throwing for 2,827 yards and 37 touchdowns with just four interceptions. He was named the 2002 Gatorade National High School Football Player of the Year before going on to play at the University of Miami.
The season’s defining moment came November 15 against undefeated crosstown rival San Ramon Valley before more than 10,000 fans. Trailing 44-40 with 44 seconds remaining, Monte Vista drove 71 yards in 40 seconds, capped by Wright’s five-yard touchdown pass to Sam DeSa with four seconds left. A spectacular 60-yard catch and run from Wright to Kale Turner set up the winning score. Wright finished with 371 passing yards and six touchdowns in the 46-44 victory, which secured Monte Vista’s first EBAL championship since 1992.
Monte Vista defeated San Ramon Valley again, 35-14, in the NCS championship game at the Oakland Coliseum, completing its undefeated season and capturing its second consecutive NCS title. Wright threw three touchdown passes to DeSa, Tommy Haug rushed for well over 100 yards, and the defense recorded nine sacks.
The roster featured numerous college-bound players, including DeSa, who won the Fred Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top high school wide receiver before playing at the University of California, Berkeley. The 2002 season remains a defining chapter in Monte Vista football history.
