After months of wondering if they’d ever put on helmets and shoulder pads again, months of endless emotions about the fate of their season, high school football seniors across the Bay Area found normalcy this weekend.

They practiced in full pads, most for the first time in more than a year.

\Practicing in pads for the first time since the pandemic shut the season down last year, the Los Gatos High football team takes the field, Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) 

One week after Gov. Gavin Newsom eased COVID-19 guidelines for outdoor youth sports, clearing the way for high school football’s return throughout California, seniors were so fired up to get started that some strapped on pads at home the night before they hit the field.

“It’s long overdue,” said Jake Kern, the quarterback at Clayton Valley Charter High School in Concord.

The Bay Area News Group reached out to seniors who are preparing for a season that seemed unlikely to happen until Newsom’s announcement.

Here are their stories:

Lu-Magia Hearns, De La Salle

Lu-Magia Hearns didn’t have a sense of urgency about this football season. The De La Salle defensive back wanted to play but given that he signed in December to suit up for Cal next fall, he knew there was life on the field after he leaves the Concord powerhouse.

As the delay for a high school season continued, Hearns made the decision not to play this spring. He planned to show support by attending a few practices but thought it would be best to rest for college.

Then came Newsom’s green light, the start of practice and a conversation with De La Salle’s defensive coordinator.

Hearns changed his mind.

“I can’t turn down football,” he said.

Hearns hadn’t put on pads since De La Salle lost to St. John Bosco in a state championship game 14 months ago.

On the eve of Friday’s first practice in full pads, he couldn’t wait a minute longer.

“I have been walking around the house in my pads already,” Hearns said Thursday night. “As soon as I got home, I put all my pads on.”

— Darren Sabedra

Jake Kern, Clayton Valley Charter

Jake Kern reached a mountaintop of high school football in December 2019. That night, the Clayton Valley Charter quarterback and his teammates won a state championship.

There will be no repeat this spring.

Clayton Valley Charter’s quarterback Jake Kern throws a pass during practice in Concord, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) 

His team’s truncated season will include six games and no playoffs. But Kern doesn’t mind, not after the rollercoaster ride of emotions that stretches back nearly a year. He still can’t believe that he is actually preparing for a season.

Thursday, Kern slipped on his state championship jersey over his shoulder pads to make sure he had the right size for a new one.

A day later, he was back on the field.

Clayton Valley Charter School football player Jordan Barbadillo catches a pass during practice in Concord, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) 

“The first day of pads is always exciting because usually it’s been a while since you’ve been in pads,” Kern said. “You might feel a little uncomfortable in your gear. But the energy, hearing the shoulder pads and the helmets collide, people screaming and yelling, the energy is high. It just brings a smile to your face.”

Kern started high school at De La Salle. He spent a semester there as a freshman, then transferred across town to Clayton Valley.

In mid-April, Kern’s high school football career will end, at home, against De La Salle.

“Oddly enough, it’s kind of what I thought,” Kern said. “When I pictured myself sophomore year, how would it end, I just always thought about playing De La Salle because I know they’re going to be there at the end of the day.”

— Darren Sabedra

Jackson Bundy, Palo Alto

Conditioning drills at Palo Alto High were noticeably more upbeat Monday, senior lineman Jackson Bundy noted. It was the first time the Vikings had been together since receiving the news that they would be in pads by the end of the week.

Offensive lineman Jackson Bundy practices with his Palo Alto High football teammates in Palo Alto, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) 
Members of Palo Alto High School football team practice as the full moon rises in the horizon seen from their football field in Palo Alto, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) 

“It was kind of a shocker,” Bundy said. “Our (Feb. 19) practice was really relaxed, people were at other sports, it was in the morning, it was really short, we were just messing around. Then Monday came and everyone was serious, like everyone was there. It was a complete 180.”

Friday evening, the Vikings took the field for a full practice for the first time since November 2019. Bundy was limited with a torn labrum, but he was excited to get a taste of football after more than a year away.

He said he plans to give it a go this season, despite the injury. This might be his final year of competitive football, and he’s hoping to soak in what remains of his senior season.

“This really could be my last chance to play football for the rest of my life,” Bundy said. “Losing that opportunity kind of hit me hard, and being given it back is just such a great feeling.”

— Evan Webeck

Christian Pedersen, Serra

Though he signed with Louisville in December, Serra tight end Christian Pedersen had no hesitation about playing with his high school teammates this spring.

“I was always going to play my senior year with my boys,” Pedersen said.

The only question: Would there be a season?

As his high school coach, Patrick Walsh, helped lead the campaign to convince Newsom to soften the coronavirus restrictions, Pedersen called on spirituality to get him through many months of waiting.

“I knew it was out of my control, so I just left it in God’s hands,” Pedersen said. “I said prayers every night.”

Serra will play five games this spring, against the West Catholic Athletic League’s three San Francisco schools, plus St. Francis and Valley Christian.

“Pumped up,” Pedersen said. “Can’t wait. Have some games we’ve got to win.”

— Darren Sabedra

Noah Short, The King’s Academy

Noah Short, the dynamic two-way senior star at The King’s Academy, put his pads on for the first time since a semifinal loss in the Division 5-AA state playoffs, more than 14 months ago. Like many of his peers, he long thought that might be his final high school game.

Like all of us, Short was starved for physical contact and ready to hit somebody.

On Friday, he finally got his chance. Before practice, he described his favorite drill run by coach Pete Lavorato.

“It’s like a bag drill, it’s pretty much two dudes suited up on either end of the bag, and one just has to push the other one back past the end of the bag,” Short said. “Everyone really gets excited about that. Guys get fired up. You start to hit, the plastic connecting, it’s … fun.”

After more than a year away, Short returned with a newfound perspective.

“COVID changed everybody’s life in some sort, so it’s bigger than football,” he said. “But I’m just super happy to get one last ride with my brothers.”

— Evan Webeck

Josh Zeising, Monte Vista

Josh Zeising, a Monte Vista middle linebacker and tight end, considers himself fortunate. He knocked off the rust this winter playing club football, which the California Interscholastic Federation said this month won’t cause eligibility issues because at the time there was no high school season.

Monte Vista High football player Josh Zeising takes part in a drill during practice in Danville, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) 

Now back with his Monte Vista teammates, Zeising was ready to go Friday night when full-padded practice began for the Danville school.

“The majority of our team has been waiting for this opportunity and it’s finally here,” Zeising said. “For a lot of guys, it’s their first time being on a varsity sports team. Everybody is really excited to finally be out there to compete.”

Zeising noted that his team was highly motivated in workouts last fall, but the optimism faded as the delay lingered.

Monte Vista High football players practice in Danville, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 26, 2021.  (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) 

“During the winter we kind of lost hope and lost motivation,” Zeising said. “But the approval came out of nowhere, and we definitely gained motivation back very quickly.

“It’s going to be surreal knowing that we’re playing football during COVID. But we definitely know we can’t take it for granted. We know we have to appreciate every day we have out here with our team because who knows? At any moment, something could happen and it could go away.”

— Darren Sabedra

Kyle Pinkham, Los Gatos

Los Gatos wide receiver Kyle Pinkham had just gotten done with his first practice in pads Friday. It was after 7 p.m., and he was describing what it felt like.

Los Gatos wide receiver Kyle Pinkham (15) stands ready for drills during the Los Gatos High football team’s first practice, Friday, Feb. 26, 2021, in Los Gatos, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) 

“It felt great being back out there with all the boys, just hitting people and having fun,” Pinkham said. “It was amazing. There were definitely a lot of smiles. Very excited to get back out there.”

Pinkham said he plans to go to college for academics, so this is his last shot on a football field.

“It’s definitely sad that we didn’t get a full season,” Pinkham said. “But I am definitely glad we ended up getting anything at all.”

— Darren Sabedra

Kaleb Elarms-Orr, Moreau Catholic

At Moreau Catholic in Hayward, players just picked up their helmets this week, senior defensive end Kaleb Elarms-Orr said. The Mariners were still mostly going through conditioning drills Friday, despite the relaxed restrictions, he said.

Since the last time he played for Moreau Catholic, Elarms-Orr finished up his recruiting process and signed with Cal, all through a historic pandemic.

The Division I-bound defensive end had no qualms about not ramping up to full contact immediately.

“We’re just going to ease into it, you know,” he said. “Start with (just) helmets, then go helmets and shoulder pads, and then full pads some time by the end of next week.”

— Evan Webeck