PACIFICA, CA -- There were dark clouds overhead Tuesday at the Terra Nova High football field and a cold wind was blowing in off the Pacific. In the distance the marching band was practicing and a youth football team team was waiting its turn.
"Jumbo, jumbo, jumbo," snapped first-year Terra Nova coach Tim Adams, with an energy belying his 54 years. "C'mon guys, pick it up!"
Exiting the field after practice, Adams glanced at the Pop Warner Tigersharks and and said "That was me, in 1969."
Indeed Adams is a Pacifican through and through, with his father buying a house in 1959 on Rosita Road near the high school. He's been coaching at Terra Nova since 2008 and became offensive coordinator under iconic former coach Bill Gray in 2009. Since '09 the Tigers have won five consecutive league titles and a Central Coast Section championship in 2010. That's why Adams didn't panic when this year's team -- after Gray retired following the 2013 season -- started 0-3.
"We're replacing 20 out of 22 starters and starting quite a few juniors and three sophomores," said the former Serra High and University of Pacific standout. "We're getting better and that's what younger guys should do, is get better."
On the surface, Adams' first three games as coach were duds. But bear in mind they were against two formidable Catholic teams -- Bishop O'Dowd (a 28-22 loss) and St. Ignatius (27-24). The Tigers also fell to BVAL-Mt. Hamilton favorite Pioneer (40-29). All close games. T.N. has since righted itself with wins against a strong Salinas team (38-28) and Sequoia (38-35).
Friday comes the big test, versus visiting Sacred Heart Prep at 7 p.m. The Gators last season won the CIF-State Division III NorCal title with a stunning upset of El Cerrito and advanced to the state D3 playoff bowl title game.
Seated in a cramped coaches' office, Adams was asked if doubt ever crept in this season after his team's lackluster.
"No, because if you look at the five pictures up there on the wall, those are the five years I was offensive coordinator. We won a championship each one of those years and that first year in 2009 we started 0-3."
Even better, Terra Nova -- in Adams' first season as the O.C. in 2009 -- trailed Sacred Heart Prep 21-0 after the first quarter and rallied to win 49-45. What's more it was Terra Nova that defeated the Gators 29-15 in league last season en route to a PAL-Bay title. The Tigers have defeated SHP all five years since Adams has been calling the plays.
Not that any of that will necessarily help TN Friday night. Sacred Heart Prep is 5-0 season and is favored by nine points to beat the Tigers, according to CalPreps.com.
"It's really going to be a challenge, but I'm confident we can play with anybody," Adams said. "We definitely respect them as players and their coaching staff is one of the best in the Bay Area and they have one of the best head coaches (Pete Lavorato) in the Bay Area. But we're just going to come out and play football."
That's all Terra Nova knows. Under the unpretentious Gray and now Adams, the Tigers just toil away and keep moving forward.
Adams learned that work ethic, in part, by watching Gray, a coast-side institution until he announced his retirement. Gray now lives in South Dakota where he coaches defensive backs at Chamberlain High, traveling by bus for a minimum of four hours to each away game.
Gray's resume was built almost entirely in Pacifica, as he coached Oceana from 1979 through 1982 and was the head man at Terra Nova from 1991 to 2013. Along the way he won 256 games, third-best in CCS history. He is now enshrined in an array of peninsula and state hall of fames for his accomplishments as a football and wrestling coach.
Having grown up in Pacifica, Adams is familiar with TN football history and honors it. That includes the reign of the highly successful Bob Lotti (1974 through '86), who preceded Mike Gunning as coach and whose daughter Dorene Basuino is now the Terra Nova principal. Adams reveres both men and is especially close to Gray who he calls several times a week.
"I watched what he did including lining the field when we had grass to fertilizing in the spring and doing the equipment orders," Adams said. "He acted as a counselor and father figure to the kids and a mentor to me. He used to sit next to me in that chair that nobody sits in now out of respect to him. The kids still chant his name after every game; they love him."
Life moves on. Now it's Adams' show to run and he runs it well, directing his up-tempo, spread offense with senior quarterback Anthony Gordon as the trigger man. Gordon has thrived under both Gray and Adams, despite their differences.
"When coach Gray would talk, everyone would stop and listen," Gordon said. "We still listen with coach Adams ... he's fiery and will get on your pretty quick. We've had our ups and downs but at the end of the day, he's well-respected and has a great offense that will help us get to the next level."
