LONG BEACH — The Long Beach Wilson High football team used an explosive offensive attack and staunch defense to dominate Portola, 27-0, in a nonleague season opener on Friday night, giving Travis Clark his first win as the Bruins’ new head coach.
Despite it being his first career win as a head coach, Clark was modest and wanted to give the credit to his players for putting forth a tremendous effort, while remaining focused on improving.
Wilson head coach Travis Clark talks about getting his first career win with a 27-0 rout over Portola but said “it was about the kids” and was “proud of their effort” @BeachVarsity @SoCalVarsity @johnwdavis @WilsonBruins pic.twitter.com/Hs61Z2vZse
— Chris Camello (@Chris_Camello) August 24, 2024
“I’m just happy for the kids, they worked hard, they’ve been working hard all spring, all summer,” Clark said. “(It’s a) new regime, new system, so I’m just proud of them coming out here and putting together a great effort and they got the victory. We had big plays, we’ve got to get better in a lot of areas, we’ve got to improve rapidly. … We just got to get better. I’m just happy for the kids. I was a little disappointed in some of our mistakes, but we’ll clean that stuff up.”
Wilson (1-0) was led by receiver Maxwell Barbee (185 all-purpose yards), who scored the first of his three touchdowns in the early minutes of the game. When the Bulldogs punted on fourth down, Barbee collected the ball and returned it 55 yards for a touchdown to give the Bruins an early 7-0 lead.
Minutes later, on Wilson’s their first offensive series of the game, quarterback Mack Cooper connected with Barbee for an 85-yard touchdown pass, and Wilson took a 14-0 lead before the halfway mark of the first quarter.
Barbee added his third score on a 16-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter that extended the lead to 21-0.
Wilson receiver Maxwell Barbee talks about what playing for coach Travis Clark and assistant coach DeSean Jackson is like and his 3 touchdown performance in the Bruins win @BeachVarsity @presstelegram @SoCalVarsity @WilsonBruins pic.twitter.com/TPy76EPhlF
— Chris Camello (@Chris_Camello) August 24, 2024
Barbee finished with 130 receiving yards on four catches, and credited the new coaching staff for instilling more confidence in him.
“It’s just about confidence, I’ve always had the ability,” Barbee said. “I think this new coaching staff has instilled that confidence in me, saying ‘You need to be the best player on the field at all times,’ so when it started to happen, especially early in the game, it’s a great feeling.”
Barbee continued to heap praise on his new head coach and new receivers coach/offensive coordinator DeSean Jackson, a 14-year NFL veteran and three-time Pro Bowl receiver, for changing the culture of the team.
“He’s probably the best coach I’ve ever had,” Barbee said of Clark. “He’s instilling a new culture. Transfers didn’t even play in this game. This is the same personnel, same players we had last year, but the difference is the culture I think.”
“It’s all about the details,” Barbee said of Jackson. “He has so many little details I can implement into my game and he also just has a certain swag to him that rubs off on the whole offense.”
Wilson coach Travis Clark also spoke about Barbees 3 touchdowns, the great defense that shutout Portola, and scoring in all 3 facets of the game @BeachVarsity @presstelegram @SoCalVarsity @WilsonBruins pic.twitter.com/qaKcSFeMLA
— Chris Camello (@Chris_Camello) August 24, 2024
The defense was also impressive for the Bruins, shutting out a Portola team (0-1) that struggled to get any momentum throughout the game despite having more time of possession.
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Wilson intercepted Bulldogs quarterback Nash Luper twice and sacked him once. Wilson receiver/linebacker Jaden Frauchiger returned one of those interceptions 99 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
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