The562’s football coverage for the 2025-26 school year is sponsored by Long Beach Poly alums Wendell “WoWo” Moe, Jr. & Tyson Ruffins.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.
Back in August when Wilson coach Raudric Curtis leaned toward the microphone at the Moore League media day, there wasn’t much fanfare around his words. The Bruins hadn’t won an outright Moore League football championship since 1991 and few outside their locker room expected that to change. But Curtis’ message wasn’t about predictions, it was about process.
Three months later, that “one day at a time” mantra became something historic. With a big win over Lakewood last Friday, the Bruins clinched their first outright Moore League title in 34 years during a regular season that began with belief and ended with hoisting the Moore League trophy.
“I had a group of seniors, and was lucky enough to get a top-rate staff that just believed and put it together one day at a time,” Curtis said. “Even as we were playing Lakewood for the championship, the goal and the messaging for us is to be better than we were yesterday.”
Now, as Wilson prepares for their CIF Southern Section Division 4 playoff opener against Paraclete, the Bruins are sticking to the same confident mentality that fueled their rise.
Curtis, in his first year with the team, helped build Wilson’s success with a “brick by brick” approach focused on accountability, consistency and small daily progress.
“It doesn’t sound like magic,” Curtis said. “It was never some intricate plot. It was always about the foundational bricks, one at a time. Solid foundation wide and now you’re seeing us reach our peak toward the end of the season.”
That consistency showed up in the Bruins’ demeanor as much as their play. Curtis and his staff introduced weekly reflections, team leadership exercises, and something he called the “body language game,” a reminder that how players carry themselves matters just as much as the scoreboard.
“It’s 100 percent buy-in,” Curtis said. “Little things like the body language game — we are to always win that.”
Ask Curtis about his influences, and he’ll point to his roots in Bellflower, where he learned under a coaching tree that includes Mayfair’s Derek Bedell and Mark Ziegenhagen, a former Wilson head coach.
“When I tell people who my mentors are – Jason Negro, Jack Williams – I think they just kind of laugh,” Curtis said. “But those are my guys. I’ve had family ties to the Negroes going back to when I was seven years old.”
That lineage helped shape his confidence and the philosophy that guides Wilson’s success, something Curtis calls “Game Theory.”
“There’s three rules,” he explained. “The first rule is knowing the rules and is about preparation and discipline.”
“We probably won a game because the other team had a touchdown called back for not having enough men on the line,” Curtis added. “Our guys check in with the refs, communicate and support each other. That’s part of our game theory. Controlling what we can.”
The second rule is, have fun and when you’re on the Bruins’ sideline you can see that it’s a big part of the team’s culture.
“I’d argue our sideline has the most fun in the league,” Curtis said. “We play with joy, and that means we’re emotionally and physically safe. We’re not punishing mistakes. We’re reframing them as growth.”
The third rule is micro improvements, which is about turning setbacks into strength. After an early-season loss to Dana Hills, the Bruins adjusted, learned, and haven’t lost since.
“Our ability to capture deficiencies and reapply them as strengths, that’s what makes us better every single week,” Curtis said. “All my kids know the three rules,” he said. “They live by them.”
That approach shows up in the team’s leaders, including their young core like sophomores Kyle Harris and Jemel Grigsby, who Curtis praised for their work ethic and selflessness.
“It starts with the way they carry themselves in the classroom,” Curtis said. “They really value their roles. Everybody does.”
Wilson’s rise didn’t come without skepticism. After years of struggle, the Bruins weren’t viewed as contenders which is something the players took personally.
“I mean, we took it to heart,” senior Zachariah Salcedo said. “Everybody thinks Wilson’s not good at football. We decided we’re not going to let that happen.”
That belief now radiates through the program.
“He’s got that underdog mentality,” senior QB Mack Cooper said of Curtis. “He’s a confident guy, and that rubs off on all of us.”
Wilson’s 2024 season wasn’t just about breaking a title drought it was about reshaping the culture. The Bruins will look to continue to rewrite the Wilson’s history books on Friday.
“We expected to be here,” Curtis said. “That’s what makes the difference. You don’t stumble into a championship. You build it.”
