Crusaders Presented Rings Commemorating 2025 Football Championship

PLEASANT LAKE – When Cape Cod Tech won the school’s first-ever football championship last December, it was the culmination of a remarkable in-season turnaround for the program.

The Crusaders had lost four of their first five games, then ripped off eight straight wins, including three underdog upsets in the playoffs, on the way to capturing the vocational small school state title. 

Internally, though, the team had rallied since the summer around messaging that their past didn’t dictate their future. Preseason camp at Joint Base Cape Cod had opened sluggishly. They could barely make it through the first days of practice. But by the end of those early workouts, things were coming together. Their motto became “It's not about how they start, it's how they finish.”

That sentiment was officially commemorated in championship rings for the 2025 season, which were presented to players and coaches July 28 in a ceremony on the football field’s bleachers.

“We wanted to make sure we gave these kids — these student-athletes — something that was meaningful, something that they're going to have and they're going to keep and they're going to cherish,” head coach Calvin Castillias said. “And everything they see in this ring will help them reflect on what this season really meant.”

Cape Tech’s Crusader logo is emblazoned on the face of the rings, surrounded by maroon and black gems. Around that, the front reads “STATE CHAMPIONS.” The rings are customized with each player’s last name, position and jersey number.

Also adorned on the rings is “It's how you finish,” the phrase that came to perfectly summarize their season. Engraved inside the rings is “1-4” and “9-4.” The fourth loss (27-6 at South Shore Tech in early October) is precisely when the Crusaders started holding each other accountable and coming together, according to Castillias.

“That was when they decided that that was not how their year was going to end,” he said.

Cape Tech proceeded to win four straight to get into the small vocational state playoffs as the seventh-seed. They journeyed to the Western Massachusetts outpost of Franklin County Tech and beat the two-seed in a 30-16 comeback. They traveled well west again to take down third-seed Pathfinder Tech 18-16 in another comeback.

After besting Upper Cape Tech 14-6 to win back the Golden Wrench on Thanksgiving, the Crusaders faced the very team they had last lost to, first-seed South Shore Tech, in the vocational small school state championship game. Cape Tech busted out a trick play — a halfback pass — to assemble yet another come-from-behind win (30-24) and put the finishing touches on the Cinderella run.

“It was truly special for us,” Castillias said. “I know it was something special for this team.”

At the ceremony, Castillias introduced each player individually with commentary on their contributions to the program. Players walked down the bleachers to receive their rings and rejoin the rest of their teammates. On those bleachers, two banners now hang: for the state vocational championship and for winning the Mayflower Athletic Conference.

Following the players, athletic trainer Holly Talpey received a ring, then the coaching staff. Athletic Director Alan Harrison was presented a ring for the school’s trophy case.

The rings additionally read “ohana,” which means family in Hawaiian (Castillias is from Hawaii). At the end of every game, at the end of every practice, “family,” to break the final huddle, was what the Crusaders would say.