"It's just a small stepping stone for us," Carrillo said. "Our goals are much higher than eight games in a row. Our goal is to go all the way."
If they win a CIF title at season's end, they'll look back to where it all started: champ camp, and an economic curveball.
"This year, since we didn't have enough money, instead of going to dorms and eating out of a cafeteria, we went up to Big Bear and roughed it for two nights," Carrillo said. "We were out in the wilderness. The kids had to pitch their own tents, cook their own food and we came together. Not just as a team, but as a family."
With gang activity just a few 100 yards away, the football field is a safe haven for a lot of the team's players that come from single-family homes.
While Carrillo has his son on his staff, he is a father figure to many.
"Coach, he's like a father to me. The father I never had," said senior running back Carlos Duran. "He guides me. He tells me what's right and wrong. And he helps me out."
A perfect season speaks to their success.
But Carrillo has pushed his kids just as hard academically -- they study as a team after practice.
"A 2.0 is too low for us," Carrillo said. "Our goal is to achieve a 3.0 and a lot of guys are working at that. I have 11 guys at 3.0 and by the time we get to 20 weeks we hope that number is raised."
Raising the bar is certainly worth a tip of the cap.
