The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: Whitney Mccoy

  • Orion and Louis Cosce, brothers from Humboldt County, fight for UFC notoriety

    Orion and Louis Cosce, brothers from Humboldt County, fight for UFC notoriety

    Accessing the professional world of sports is an astonishing feat, an outcome many strive to accomplish yet fail. But for the Cosce brothers, not seeing their dream of fighting become a reality was frankly not an option. Growing up in Weitchpec, California, a small town located within the Yurok reservation in Humboldt County, the Cosce brothers were exposed to a cruel world of drugs and dropouts. This ultimately led to their relentless determination in taking control of their outcome at an early age and guiding them into greater depths of personal goals and success. Louis Cosce opened up in an interview with MMA Junkie about the pressures they faced early on.

    “[Drug use] was everywhere,” Louis said. “It was in our family, and still is. It’s still really bad. As a kid, you don’t really recognize it. You’re living in that fantasy life where you’re out catching bugs, playing with your friends.”

    Though they faced adversity early on in life both agree that without their admiration, accountability and support for one another they may not be in the position they are in currently. While Orion Cosce grew up it wasn’t all bad, but it also wasn’t all good as they lived with different families throughout their childhood. However, he feels that has helped shape them into the men they are today.

    “I believe if it weren’t for Louis and I pushing each other to chase our goals, we wouldn’t be where we are today.” Orion said.

    In a press conference at the Dana White’s Contender Series, Orion Cosce points out his name, Orion, is written in the stars, having that belt is within him. Still, he doesn’t underestimate the hard work it has taken to get to his position.

    “You know, my brother and I, we grew up with nothing,” Orion said. “We were always there for each other and we talked about it every single day, even leading up to this fight we literally nonstop talked about this moment — it’s a big moment for us. We already knew we were going to be destined for greatness.”

    In August 2020, both athletes made major headway in becoming fighters when they secured UFC contracts and just three months later, Louis Cosce, Lost Boys’ very own, made his UFC debut. Louis is hopeful as he looks to prepare for a promising future in the ring of fighting despite his November debut not going as expected, assuring friends, family and everyone who supports him that he learned a lot from that fight and further understands what he needs to work on moving forward as an athlete. Orion missed his initial November debut due to an injury from overtraining but returned to full training after two months of self-PT, after doctors advised him to take five to six months off to recover.

    “I’ve changed my program to better suit how much I typically train and have already seen a huge increase in my performance,” Orion said. “I’m looking forward to getting a fight lined up now for my debut.”

    Arcata’s Lost Boys Gym took to their social media to congratulate the young men.

    “We could not be more proud of Louis and Orion,” they said. “It’s been amazing to watch you grow into the incredible athletes you have become these last seven years. Even bigger moments to come from these two!”

  • HSU Alum is a Super Bowl champion

    HSU Alum is a Super Bowl champion

    Humboldt State University alum Alex Cappa did not play with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in this year’s Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs. However, after being a valuable piece in the Buccaneers offense throughout most the season, he will be going home with his first Super Bowl ring of his young career.

    Cappa has now played two seasons for Tampa Bay, but suffered a fractured ankle on Jan. 9 in the Wild Card game against the Washington Football Team. Though he was out for the Super Bowl, Cappa started in all 17 games of the regular season as quarterback and seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady. This is a huge accomplishment for Cappa, one of HSU’s very own, in assisting Tampa Bay towards a Super Bowl Championship.

    Strength and conditioning coach Drew Peterson, who has been with the Athletic Department since 1991, remembers the first time he saw Cappa during one of their recruiting weekends. He recalls him being an unassuming, quiet and humble guy coming up from Dublin, California.

    “It was a big deal, you know, you have these large diverse groups of parents and potential players coming up here,” Peterson said. “And you know for two to three months it was every weekend. I remember his particular recruiting weekend there was a huge group of people, he was standing up in the back and he was this tall, skinny guy, with long, straggly blonde hair and I thought he was somebody’s family member.”

    Jonathon Rowe, an assistant offensive line coach at the University of Washington and former offensive lineman for the HSU Jacks from 2011-2015 shared his first impression meeting Cappa on his recruiting trip.

    “He was very soft-spoken and a little shy,” Rowe said. “But I found out rather quickly how hard of a worker he was, especially in the weight room. He came in at 245 lbs and by his redshirt freshman year he was 294 lbs.”

    Cappa spent a total of four years at HSU from 2013-2017. He studied kinesiology and did an internship his senior year with Coach Peterson, where Peterson recalled him becoming everyone’s favorite quite early on.

    “He was just always taking time with them, working with them and telling them what to do,” Peterson said. “He’s just this larger than life figure, and he was not anymore this tall straggly kid. He was a 300lb, sculpted football player.”

    It was during the 2018 NFL draft that he was picked up by Tampa Bay in the third round as the 94th pick overall. Cappa was originally projected to be a fifth round pick. This followed after his time playing in the 2018 Reese’s Senior Bowl and attending the scouting combine in Indianapolis.

    “My initial reaction when he was drafted to the Bucs was that I couldn’t have been more excited,” Rowe said. “Because I knew how hard he had worked just to get to that point.”

    It was a year later in 2019 that Tom Brady retired himself as a New England Patriot after winning the Super Bowl, leaving New England behind and looking toward Tampa Bay. This resulted in Alex Cappa becoming right guard to Brady himself.

    “I was even more excited when I found out he would be playing with probably one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game,” Rowe said. “I’m extremely proud of him for how far he’s come and the position he’s put himself in. He’s only going to get better from here.”

    According to the NCAA, there are over 1 million students playing high school football in the United States. Of those students, about 73,000 actually participate in the NCAA and only about 16,000 of them even become eligible for the NFL draft. Only a mere 254 of those players are drafted, actually landing themselves a spot in the NFL.

    To play professionally is one of many young and collegiate athletes’ biggest dream. To be playing in the big leagues, sometimes alongside your childhood icons, can feel like an unattainable goal with the odds staked against you.

    But for Cappa, by putting one foot in front of the other, working hard and striving to beat those unimaginable odds, he did it. He accomplished what every young football player dreams of.

    “What a journey you know, to be passed over by everybody and [his] only place to go was Humboldt State,” Peterson said. “Pretty much every time they scan the camera on Tom Brady, you see Alex Cappa. All these highlights of Brady, I see Cappa. All these regular season highlights — there he is, number 65.”

    Looking back at his second season statistics as a starting guard, Cappa has been an integral player to Tampa Bay’s offensive, with over 1,000 snaps at the guard position and part of an offensive line group that held defenses to only 18% of Brady’s pass attempts pressured.

    Notably, he also took part in an offensive line that finished second in the NFL in sacks allowed per pass play and Cappa helped the Buccaneers’ offense rank at the third best offensive line in the NFL. It is an unfortunate moment for Cappa, Tampa, and HSU, that he didn’t get a chance to finish out the season with his team in the Super Bowl. But although he didn’t participate in Sunday’s big game, it’s important to recognize the magnitude of what he has accomplished since his recruiting weekend at HSU those years ago. He beat unimaginable odds, worked extremely hard and continues to be a tough, dedicated player with his eyes steadfast on success and accomplishment within the game of football. Brady attests to his strong-willed personality and grit through his first season playing with Cappa.

    “[He’s] one of the toughest guys we’ve had on our team,” Brady said in a press conference after Cappa was injured. “We’ve had a really great group up front, [including] guys who have filled in at different times. Cap has been there really the whole year, had a tremendous year. [He’s] a tough, hard-nosed football player.”

  • How to throw a COVID friendly Super Bowl party

    Though Super Bowl may look and feel different this year, it is not to say there isn’t fun to be had and an array of commercials to be watched. Anyone reading this truly only care about the commercials? We thought so. To all you football fans and commercially driven spectators, we are here to give you the ultimate guide to throwing your first ever pandemic-friendly Super Bowl party.

    First thing first, the big game between Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers will air Sunday, Feb. 7 at 6:30 p.m. ET (3:30 p.m. PT) and will be held at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. This serving as a first in Super Bowl history where a team will play at their home field. Also, this will be marking a historic moment for Buccaneer Quarterback Tom Brady, as this will be his first Super Bowl not playing for the New England Patriots. Brady previously played a total of 20 seasons for the Patriots and won 6 Super Bowl championships, the most of any quarterback.

    Alright, alright. Enough about that. You want to know how to throw a COVID friendly Super Bowl party. That is why you’re here, we get it. Look no further. There are many ways and options you can tackle this, no punt intended.

    1. Host a virtual watch party:

    You may do this a few different ways. One is with our beloved Zoom. If you don’t know what Zoom is in 2021 then I really don’t know what to tell you other than you must live under a rock. To watch via Zoom, simply have all participants stream the game while Zooming one another. CBS will be streaming the game for free at their website. We’d suggest utilizing app services like DoorDash, UberEats, Postmates, etc.. or supporting a local restaurant that is offering delivery, that way all participants can order from the same eatery, making it feel as though you’re together. You may also host/join watch parties from sites like Hulu Watch Party or Teleparty.

    2. Host an outdoor watch party:

    This option is obviously weather dependent. If you plan to host an in-person party be sure to check the CDC guidelines for how to do so safely. If you’re offering food, which we assume you are, we suggest cooking something easy like burgers. But make sure to plate the food yourself, as the host, following proper protocol. Make sure you have hand sanitizer stations and that people wear their masks whenever possible. Opt for foods like shish kabob’s, burgers or sliders, make individual hummus veggie dips in their own mason jars, or set aside small individual cheese boards for each attendee. You may also consider a BYOP (bring your own picnic) party, so kind of potluck but not really.

    3. Play games and don’t forget to make it memorable:

    Have Super Bowl predication bets going, try to guess the commercials, what the overall theme of commercials will be, or opt for a Super Bowl Commercial Bingo and offer a prize for the winner or play Super Bowl trivia and assign teams. The options are endless so have fun with it. But most importantly, stay safe.