SAN LORENZO — When Landon Devoe-Krowicki told people he played football at Redwood Christian, the responses were usually followed by a raised eyebrow and a smirk.
“Where’s that?” is the usual response he would get – half-joking and half-dismissive.
Even on his own campus, the chatter wasn’t much kinder with most assuming the ragtag team was destined to be a punchline.
Just over a year later, no one is laughing.
In just its second varsity season, Redwood Christian has gone from an overlooked experiment to one of the Bay Area’s surprise success stories. After going 1-6 in 2024, the Eagles have won their first five games, flipping the narrative while forcing people to take notice of the small San Lorenzo school punching above its weight.
“I think building this program up from Year 1 to now is a unique experience unto itself,” said Devoe-Krowicki, a senior running back/linebacker. “Half of our team are freshmen and sophomores. But our principal, our coaches had a vision for this program and I think the learning experience itself has been incredibly unique.”
The vision for Redwood Christian goes beyond this season.
For a school that hasn’t fielded a varsity program in its 55-year history, Redwood Christian’s push to establish a football team is rooted in giving East Bay kids a reason to stay close to home.
Now, with a winning record to match the ambition, Redwood Christian is proving it can compete – and even thrive – against more established programs.
“I think with the talent we have in this area, we have the opportunity to be a powerhouse,” coach Tolo Faumuina said. “You look at these other rosters of these so-called powerhouses around this area, and they’re littered with kids from this area. Hayward, San Lorenzo, Oakland, kids that are 10 to 15 minutes away from our campus.
“I coached youth football for some time and I helped a lot of these kids go to Serra, De La Salle, Valley Christian. I always thought the fact that you can be on that WCAL, EBAL stage means you’re going to be seen and get the opportunity to get out of here. But the reason why I took this opportunity is so that kids don’t have to get on a train and leave this talent-rich area. But if we could keep half of those kids here, give them a place where they can go to practice and get home at a decent time … I think it will entice them to stay.”
Redwood Christian is a combined middle and high school with a small student population (roughly 700). The school hadn’t fielded a football team until principal Justin Redemer took the job in 2022.
Redemer was previously the head football coach at Hayward High from 2011 to 2020. When he took the position to become Redwood Christian’s principal, Redemer wanted to explore what it would take to bring a football team to the small San Lorenzo school.
Building a football program from scratch with no prior history was a challenge.
“I think there was some concern about if money from the athletic program (would) be taken away from other sports to go to the football team,” Redemer said. “So one of the things we promised was to raise all the money to start the program from current non-(Redwood Christian) donors, which we did.
“We had to go through all the different aspects of what football could bring to the table, along with the positives of creating an environment for young men to experience physical competition, but within the Christian context. Then we talked through what it would look like and ultimately, the school stakeholders voted to say yes.”
When creating his vision for the program, Redemer knew exactly what he wanted the team’s first coach to be. After serving as an assistant and defensive coordinator at Hayward under Redemer, Faumuina was the obvious choice to lead the program.
The program started with only a JV team, but added varsity last season. Redwood Christian is not in a league and currently plays an independent schedule.
Faumuina said his first crop of players needed more work than anticipated. He not only had to teach them fundamentals, but also the basics of playing a contact sport.
“It was discouraging at times, not the wins and losses because I don’t really care about that stuff. But it was just like, these kids are so smart and it’s just not happening as quickly as you think it should,” Faumuina said.
The struggles were clear.
In their first year of varsity football, the Eagles lost to Ygnacio Valley – a team that at the time had the state’s longest losing streak and had not won a game in five consecutive seasons.
While competitive, Redwood Christian’s only win came against Richmond at the end of the year.
But after a long offseason and another year of experience under their belt, the Eagles have turned the corner this year.
They opened the year beating Ygnacio Valley by a whopping 47 points. The Eagles followed that up by defeating San Lorenzo, Mills and Gailileo – all in blowout fashion. Most recently, Redwood Christian dominated Berean Christian in a game that HSRatings.com gave the Walnut Creek school a 71% chance to win.
“For us, I think it was just about working hard and putting our heads down,” freshman defensive back Elijah Simmons said. “That’s how we got to where we are.”
While this season has already exceeded expectations, there are challenges that the Eagles must overcome.
Redwood Christian’s campus does not have the space for a football field. The Eagles played all of their home games last season at Chabot College in Hayward, but since that field is currently under construction. So this season, Redwood Christian has played home games at nearby Arroyo High. The Eagles’ game against Berean Christian last week was held at Foothill High in Pleasanton.
For practice, Redwood Christian uses a large unmarked grass field at the back of the school’s campus. That space also doubles as a soccer and baseball field. There’s no goal posts, so the team’s kickers practice field goals using the soccer goals.
Redemer said while he would love to have a home field, the logistics of making that happen are tough. But both Redemer and Faumuina believe that playing every game away from campus builds character.
“We’ve kind of been like orphans,” Faumuina said of the field situation. “But honestly I don’t think they care. … We’ll play ball no matter what.”
Even if the Eagles finish with a solid record, not playing in a league could prevent them from advancing to the North Coast Section playoffs.
Teams that win league titles automatically qualify for the playoffs. The rest of the playoff brackets are filled with dozens of at-large teams.
“If we’re not in a league, we’re always at the mercy of outside powers to determine whether or not we will have the opportunity to participate in the playoffs, even if we have a good record in the process,” Redemer said.
Redemer said he’s in communication with the NCS and the West Alameda County Conference about joining the WACC as soon as next season. According to Redemer, the WACC wants to see if Redwood Christian can field teams at a consistent rate before allowing it to join the league.
For now, Redwood Christian is content with proving it belongs, even if the road ahead is still uncertain.
Whether it’s scrounging for practice space, playing home games on borrowed fields or waiting for a league invitation, the Eagles have had to improvise at almost every step. But in a way, the scrappy identity fits a team that is determined to show it belongs.
“There’s always going to be kids in our area that are going to want to go elsewhere and think they’re better than us or whatever,” Devoe-Krowicki said. “But I think our football program has had a lot of impact on our school and on the area. If you want to stay loyal and true, then this is where you’ll be at.”
