The San Francisco 49ers Foundation's Charlie Wedemeyer Memorial Coach of the Week award for week six goes to Darrell Williams from San Jose High School.
When one makes their passion a profession, the potential to achieve the seemingly impossible quickly becomes a reality. Coach Darrell Williams of San Jose High School has mapped the path to do just that through his reformation of the San Jose High football program. Once a UPS driver for over twenty years, Williams has now made the shift from delivering boxes to delivering victories.
After finishing the 2011 season with a 2-8 record, the new San Jose Bulldogs improved their record to 4-0 last Friday as they drove full force into a 19-0 shutout over the James Lick Comets. Senior Tarik Ballard led the offense with two touchdowns as tight end, as well as the defense with eight tackles as linebacker. Quarterback Gabriel Miranda found Ballard in the Bulldog's first possession to obtain a 7-0 lead early in the game. In the second quarter, running back Frank Ruiz had a 12 yard touchdown run to widen the gap heading into the second half.
The 6'4", 235 lb. Tarik Ballard, along with defensive back and wide receiver Romey Rodriguez, continued to hold the Comets' offense and force punts, while also making their mark offensively. The Bulldogs went on to amass 250 yards with another contribution from Ballard as he caught a 50 yard pass from Miranda in the third. 19-0 with no time left on the clock marked another 2012 sweet Bulldogs victory.
"We played as well as we have all year, and our defense continued to play incredible," said Williams, quickly crediting Defensive Coordinator Javier Gudevara, "The offense set the table, and the defense sat down to eat."
The Bulldogs defense has been devouring every plate put in front of them, only allowing an average 7 points per game. This marks the defense at number one in the area, and also helped the team improve a nationwide-best 100 spots in Max Preps rankings.
The recipe for success did not begin when Coach Williams personally invested in new equipment, Nike uniforms, home and away-game helmets, or Charter buses for the team. It began with a promise to return another year. The San Jose Bulldogs have gone through seven head coaches in the last decade. After the team was upgraded with all new assets, Williams realized the greatest asset to his players was going to be his commitment.
Having returned for a second year, Coach Williams has been able to implement what he knows the football program needs. Off the field, Williams is driving his students to achieve above a 3.0 GPA, and become respectful individuals in the classroom and in the community. On the field, he continues to teach the team to lead physically and build the path towards a Division 1 school.
Coach Williams spends the majority of his time dedicated to football, thus when he is not on the high school field, he is drawing up plans for a San Jose youth football organization. By establishing a youth football program, Williams hopes to expose individuals to the sport at a younger age and provide a strong foundation for his future high school athletes.
"I love being a full time coach," stated an enthused Darrell Williams, "A coach can always make things better by mentoring, teaching, and wanting more for his athletes on and off the field. I am very blessed to be doing what I truly love to do."
In addition to being named Coach of the Week, the San Jose High football program will receive $1,000 from the 49ers Foundation. Coach Williams will also be featured in a KRON 4 interview with Gary Radnich, receive two tickets to a 49ers home game where he will be recognized on the field before the game, as well as an article on 49ers.com. In the weeks leading up to the on-field recognition, Williams will be invited to visit the 49ers training facility in Santa Clara to watch a private practice and receive a certificate from 49ers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh.
