Riverside Cubs, Deaf Football Team, Achieves Historic First Championship Victory

— Players slowly advance toward the football on the field.

The Riverside Cubs football team from the California School for the Deaf, Riverside (CSDR), has won their first-ever state championship title in the school’s 68-year history. Turning what many saw as a handicap into their greatest strength, the team overcame long-held prejudices with unshakable unity and determination, capturing national attention as they made history.

Breaking the Long Silence

Since their founding in the 1950s, the Riverside Cubs had long struggled, enduring decades of losing seasons. As a team composed entirely of deaf players, they often faced prejudices suggesting that success in sports was beyond their reach. Season after season, they failed to achieve a winning record, with some years passing without a single victory.

However, following the cancellation of their season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the team experienced a profound shift. In the fall of 2021, the longing for camaraderie, long suppressed by isolation, ignited on the football field. Under the leadership of Head Coach Keith Adams, the players endured intense training and found new strength in their shared identity, believing deeply that they could succeed — together.

The Unfinished Business of 2021

In their comeback season, the Cubs astonished everyone with an undefeated regular season. Using American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate plays quickly and precisely, they toppled some of the strongest teams from hearing schools.
Yet in the 2021 state championship game, the Cubs fell just short of victory. The loss stung deeply, but it planted the seeds of a renewed mission: what they would come to call their "Unfinished Business."

2022: The Dream Completed

By 2022, the Cubs returned stronger and more determined. Despite being moved up to a higher division, they once again completed a perfect regular season and advanced to the championship game — against the very team that had defeated them the year before.
This time, however, the outcome was dramatically different.
Led by quarterback Trevin Adams and wide receiver Jory Valencia, and fueled by the inspiring perseverance of co-captain Christian Jimenez — who played through a serious leg injury — the Cubs delivered a commanding performance.
The final score: 80–26. The Riverside Cubs had secured their first-ever state championship title, etching their names into the school's history.

A Silent Roar Heard Everywhere

This quiet yet fierce story continues to touch lives, perhaps still sparking small miracles somewhere today.
For those who wish to experience every moment of the Riverside boys' extraordinary journey more deeply, opening the pages of The Boys of Riverside might just be the perfect place to start.