Half Moon Bay hypes Cougars

Ultimately, however, I shouldn’t have been that surprised. Half Moon Bay fans make the Coastside campus the best place in the Peninsula Athletic League to watch a sporting event. There may be schools with more student participation, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a community that supports the school more than Cougars fans.

And it’s not just home games. Half Moon Bay fans are among the most diehard in the PAL and they travel better than nearly every other fan base on the Peninsula.

I lucked out and found a parking spot near the gym about 15 minutes before tipoff and by the time I got in the gym, it was nearly full. By the fourth quarter, it was standing-room only.

And they were involved the entire game, even when the Cougars fell behind 15-0 to start the game.

But the Cougars clawed their way back, eventually claiming a 52-44 win and capturing the program’s first-ever girls’ basketball Bay Division title.

“We’re this tight-knit community. We’re family — every single one of us,” said Zoey Lemoge, Half Moon Bay’s senior post following a double-double that saw her score 18 points and grab 14 rebounds.

“It’s so supportive. We have a lot of spirit.”

You hear people wax poetically about “Friday Night Lights” in Texas, or how communities shut down in middle America as the town supports the local high school team.

The city of Half Moon Bay doesn’t shut down, but there is a tremendous community spirit. Maybe because there are so many generations that have grown up, and more importantly, stayed on the coast. I’ve seen the same names cycle through the school over the past 25 years — the Rochas, the Sarabias, the Hofmanns, the Bautistas.

There is also the agricultural influence that seems to influence Half Moon Bay athletes, as well. They drive and want to put in hard work, knowing that it will result in success. The Lady Cougars basketball team, twice this season, had to rally from first-half deficits to beat M-A to capture the Bay Division championship. That’s not an accident.

I told Half Moon Bay head coach Megan Smith, after the Cougars’ 51-49 win over the Bears Jan. 23, that Half Moon Bay athletes are just built different. The same could be said of the Half Moon Bay community, as a whole.

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For those clamoring for state championships in sports other than football and basketball, you’ll be pleased to know that not only is it in the works, but we’ll see the addition of a state soccer championship for the first time this year.

Regional championships have been held in Southern California since 2008, with Northern California regional championships coming online beginning in 2018. And after being approved last April by near unanimous vote, 55-6, soccer will crown state championships this season.

“It’s only one more game for a small number of teams,” said Steve Sell, Aragon athletic director and a member of the CIF executive committee.

“In April, we’re going to vote on baseball and softball.”

The state championship soccer matches are scheduled for March 13 and 14 at Natomas High School in Sacramento — which is the same weekend and same city as the state basketball championships.

Nathan Mollat has been covering high school sports in San Mateo County for the San Mateo Daily Journal since 2001. He can be reached by email: nathan@smdailyjournal.com.