Daily Journal Athlete of the Week: Capuchino’s Billy Ferreira

“I think there was a high chance I’d dislocate it again, which would mean no wrestling and no baseball,” Ferreira said. “But it was a risk we were willing to take.”

Ferreira’s biggest motivator to return was how close Cap got to the Peninsula Athletic League mountaintop last season. With the program having won four previous PAL dual meet championships, all in the lower Ocean Division, the Mustangs came ever so close to ascending to the top of the upper Bay Division in 2024-25 for the first time in program history.

Cap fell short of the 2024-25 dual meet title by virtue of a 51-29 loss to league champ Carlmont — a loss that came after Ferreira’s season-ending injury.

“After we got so close to winning it last year, I couldn’t leave my team hanging like that,” Ferreira said.

Ferreira has been named Daily Journal Athlete of the Week for leading the Mustangs to not one, but two PAL championships this season — the most recent at Saturday’s PAL Wrestling Championship Tournament at Aragon. Cap previously delivered its first-ever PAL Bay Division dual meet championship Jan. 29, with a 41-36 comeback victory over Carlmont.

Ferreira was one of two Cap boys to claim individual PAL championships Saturday at Aragon. The 175-pounder wrestled to a captivating victory via 3-1 decision, fittingly against an opponent from Bay Division nemesis Carlmont. Jesse Chavez also delivered an individual title with a pin against San Mateo at 126s.

“Billy got hurt last year, so he didn’t get to come here,” Capuchino head coach Steve Matteucci said. “And from the day he walked into the room, he’s been our heart and soul. So, when he got hurt last year, it really hurt us before a couple more problems came up.”

Wearing Anaconda brand knee braces on both knees, Ferreira said he is as free of pain as he’s ever been in his varsity wrestling career. And it showed, Saturday. With byes through the first two rounds, the senior debuted in the semifinals at 175s, earning a second-round pin over Half Moon Bay. Then came the true test against Carlmont senior Andrew Dent in the finals.

The championship round wasn’t unlike the performance by the Seattle Seahawks from up the road at Levi’s Stadium 24 hours later in Super Bowl LX; many of the PAL titles were decided by steadfast tactics and intricate schemes, with only four of the championship matches being determined by pin fall, two by tech fall, and one by major decision, leaving half of the 14 bouts going the distance.

In a showing of aggressive defensive mastery, Ferreira’s 3-1 victory was the lowest scoring championship match of the day.

“He put on a show,” Matteucci said. “It was a nice match.”

Ferreira held a 2-1 lead with 30 seconds to go, and, using top position to his advantage, reverse-covered his opponent with a long sprawl using tactical balance through both his legs.

“When I’m on top, I always try to get a wrist,” Ferreira said. “If you think of a table, you’re taking one leg off the table. So, that’s the weak point you hit, too. So, I just tried to maintain a wrist the whole time, and whenever he’s try to base up, I’d try to drive him over to that side. It was tough. That’s a strong dude.”

If there were any doubts about Ferreira’s health, he put them to rest in those closing seconds, as he averted Dent’s attempt to push himself up to earn an escape point and force overtime.

“He did make a more aggressive move to get to his feet at that time,” Matteucci said. “Billy just dropped down, basically to a double leg, but it’s from behind. So, he just sat on him from behind and climbed back up.”

As the final whistle sounded, Ferreira rose to his knees and pointed his fingers to air. It was a subdued celebration for a third-year varsity wrestler who had been denied the chance to compete at the PAL tournament the previous two seasons due to injury. The best, however, was yet to come.

After shaking hands with Dent and the Carlmont corner, Ferreira hugged it out with his Cap coaches. Then came the flood of emotion as he made his way off the mat and ran over to his father Bill — the person with whom Ferreira deliberated his wrestling career through so many difficult days in the offseason.

“It all depended on what my dad let me do,” Ferreira said.

All the painstaking decision making and the grueling rehab seemed worth it in that moment, as Ferreira ran over and jumped into his father’s arms, the first-time PAL champ’s words as innocent and heartfelt as they were loud.

A truly profound victory cry: “I did it, Dad!”