The Spartans reclaimed the Valley Trophy as they beat the rival Bulldogs 17-16 with a late fourth quarter touchdown run.
Fresno State (4-8, 2-6 MWC) had won the previous two Valley Trophies.
With the graduating seniors having completed their final game, the upset victory set a precedent for future San Jose State teams to continue the upward trend.
While questions remain for which players will take on leadership roles in the months to come, the Spartans (5-7, 2-6 MWC) are savoring the victory.
Chants and screams of victory from the locker room interrupted the postgame press conference as the players began to celebrate and reflect on a challenging yet rewarding season.
Head coach Brent Brennan eventually talked about what inevitably tipped the game in favor of the Spartans.
“There’s a certain amount of chemistry between your guy throwing [the ball] and the group of guys catching it and the best way to develop that is on July 10th,” Brennan said.
Brennan was referring to the development of a relationship that had taken months to build between the players in order for the team to succeed.
“I love this football team and they’re fun to coach . . . even when we didn’t win, they stayed together and our coaches stayed together,” said Brennan. “And we kept working to find a way and then for it to finish like this, we know who we are.”
Senior linebacker Ethan Aguayo’s admiration for coach Brennan runs deep.
“I’m just super thankful for him, coming in the first couple years we didn’t get to the point where we wanted,” Aguayo said. “But now I couldn’t thank him any more.”
Aguayo praised his coaches and fellow teammates alike, having high hopes of where the momentum of this massive victory will take the team in the future.
“Obviously the last couple weeks didn’t go the way we wanted it to, but we fought to the very end,” Aguayo said. “Hopefully this win will catapult us into the next season.”
Brennan highly praised senior quarterback and team leader Josh Love’s work ethic and his constant drive to improve, referring to him as “everything a coach would want in a college quarterback.”
Love, who has been a part of the Spartan football program for five years, points to his drive to improve as what led him to be where he is now.
“I kept pushing and putting my head down and kept believing that God has a plan,” Love said.
Love also addressed the locker room following the victory, as he reflected on what the team was able to accomplish together.
“It means everything, I can’t imagine how I would feel right now if I lost this game,” he said. “This will be a day that I remember for the rest of my life.”
Senior running back DeJon Packer reflected on his own relationship with coach Brennan and the rest of the coaching staff.
“They helped me along the way a lot, [Brennan] supported me immensely,” Packer said. “I wouldn’t want it any other way, they are great guys and they’ve supported me for the entire ride.”
Like the rest of the team, Packer said he felt a fire in his stomach to put everything into the last game of the season and finish things with a bang.
“I do it for the guys next to me, we go to war every week and it just felt natural to finish everything the right way,” Packer said.
The season finale proved to be a testament to the relationship cultivated between the coaching staff and the student-athletes, as the Spartans lifted the Valley Trophy for the fourth time in seven seasons.
