Fremont High on Friday night pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the football season, defeating Wilcox 35-19. Firebirds' sophomore quarterback Phillip Tran riddled the Chargers' secondary, throwing five touchdown passes.
"Everybody doubted us," Tran told Prep2Prep after. "We knew we had to come out here and execute. We struggled in the beginning, but at the end of the day we pulled off a win."
Yeah it did. And Tran was the catalyst. He's the 10th-grader with Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese blood who has been doubted much of his life.
Asked if he feels any sort of special pride or responsibility being Asian in a sport dominated by other ethnicities, Tran said "definitely."
"It's not a sport many Asians play," he said. "I feel like I need to play to higher standards, otherwise I'll be doubted."
Just two Asians of note have played quarterback for multi years in the NFL -- Roman Gabriel (Filipino and white) of the old Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles and the more recent Timmy Chang (Chinese) who played for four teams.
ASIAN INFLUENCE
There are more Asians playing the sport now then ever before, what with Tran's city of Sunnyvale and nearby communities like Cupertino and Los Altos populated heavily by Asian families. Fremont in a non-league game in September, defeated Woodside and its Chinese-American signal-caller Robert Wang.
Some may not have even paid attention, but Phillip Tran's father, Nathan, did.
"It was (noticed)," said Nathan who is 100 percent Vietnamese-American. "But when I mentioned it to Phillip his reaction was 'Oh dad, he doesn't play defense so it doesn't matter what I do or he does. I'm not playing against him.'"
Nearly two months later, after Fremont's stunning victory against Wilcox to run the Firebirds' record to 9-0, Phillip agreed that playing Wang and the Wildcats was special.
"It was definitely fun to have somebody who plays the same position as me be Asian as well," Phillip said. "But really I just came out and played my game and he played his game."
STUDENT OF GAME
Phillip is special in general, a 6-foot-2 phenom of a QB with a 3.3 grade point average who aces tests in school and can dissect a secondary like a Christmas ham.
Said Tran after the Wilcox upset: "I’ve spent two weeks preparing for these guys – watching their film, breaking their defense down, taking what they give me."
Added Fremont coach Jake Messina: "Phil is special because his mood never fluctuates. He brings a cerebral approach to the game. That attitude is derived from a set of highly supportive parents, his work with (quarterback coach) Adam Tafralis, and especially from his unique relationship with our offensive coordinator Nelson Gifford. They operate as peers on the field. It is a sight to see."
MVP OF HOUSEHOLD
The teen shines beyond the field and classroom -- as a big brother to siblings Allen (13) and Collin (3), especially Allen as the Tran family deals with the diagnosis of colon cancer Nathan was dealt seven years ago.
Nathan is a two-time cancer survivor. Phillip discovered football at 8 years old, roughly the same time his dad was informed he had stage 4 cancer.
"Phillip's love of football came into place when he needed it the most," said mother Haena Tran, who is of Korean and Japanese descent. "I think he realized football is the place where he can deal with such traumatic situations and being the (older) brother he is to Allen. He kind of had to be the man in the house."
No wonder Wilcox's defense by comparison didn't look all that imposing. Phillip has faced stiffer challenges than safety blitzes and Cover-2 defenses in his life, as Haena described.
"Nathan is now seven years cancer free and we have that family bonding like no other," she said. "We're very involved with our kids' passions and dreams. Phillip is not only a great player, but he is the real MVP of the household."
No doubt, but the Firebirds' QB agreed his father's illness was tough when he was young.
"My dad would have chemotherapy and just be at home," he said. "It was hard at a young age to see that he wasn't in the stands at my games and he was home, sick in bed."
TIGHT-KNIT FAMILY
That's all changed now, and the Trans are now air-tight as a family. While the ages-old generation gap is alive in millions of American households, it seems to have missed this hard-working clan.
"We share everything," Phillip said. "We eat together and my parents ask me how I'm preparing for a game and how school is going lately. They have also put in a lot of hard work making sure I have the right training and opportunities to succeed."
Phillip has spent time training with former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer of ESPN fame (he's an Aptos High grad), as well as Dilfer's Elite 11 buddy Tafralis who played in the Canadian Football League and John Broussard who played for San Jose State and played briefly with the Jacksonsville Jaguars. Broussard now trains athletes at Pro Fitness in Mountain View, a haunt of Phillip's.
Some of the training is expensive, Nathan Tran said, but the family can afford it since Nathan is a solution architect for Hitachi Data Systems and wife Haena is an IT engineer for Hewlett-Packard.
The couple met at Moanalua High in Oahu, the school Nathan graduated from after attending Wilcox for two years where he played basketball and was an undersized defensive lineman. The fact most of Phillip's athletic genes seem to come from Haena's side of the family is a humorous irritant to Nathan.
"It's a very tough pill for me to swallow that our kids' athletic ability mostly came from that side of the house," he said. "Her first cousin was in the WWE (pro wrestling) with the stage name of Akio. Another cousin was on the Korean national basketball team."
THE P-WORD
As for prejudice, it exists everywhere including the U.S. -- this being the country that put Japanese-Americans in internment camps after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor during World War II. One of the camps was at the old Tanforan Racetrack in San Bruno, now the location of a shopping mall.
Some stereotypes persist, such as that all Asians are bookworms with 4.5 grade point averages and that Asian kids can't play sports.
Said Nathan: "(Prejudice) exists but we don't acknowledge it. One of the first things one of Phillip's trainers told me is Phil is going down the path less traveled."
He's been fairly skipping down that path in fact, completing nearly 60 percent of his passes this season for more than 1,700 yards with 22 touchdowns and two interceptions.
VERY SUPERSTITIOUS
Stereotypes are one thing and tradition is another, according to the Trans.
"Superstition is a big part of our culture," Nathan said. "We give out red envelopes of money during our new year (lunar). In most cases there is a $2 bill inside. We believe great things always come in pairs."
That's why all of the Tran boys have two "L's" in the middle of their names. It seems Haena's mother believes many smart people such as Bill Gates and Bill Clinton have the double-L combination.
Hmmmm. Whatever works.
Phillip is more pragmatic than his parents, though he does like his routine when it comes to football. He'd probably eat chicken feet before every game if it produced a victory.
"His mother made spam musubi -- a favorite in Oahu -- before a game against Monterey Trail a few years ago when we were in Sacramento," Nathan said. "He was knocked out of the game and sent to the hospital after a big hit. He banned his mother from making spam musubi again."
Got it. So no spam musubi for the Trans this week as Fremont tries to nail down a 10-0 season Friday against visiting Homestead.
Regarding Phillip's football prospects -- Division I colleges are circling -- and the future in general, Nathan Tran cancer survivor is philosophical.
"Whether he fails or succeeds I feel like the journey is already a victory -- for both him and myself."
John Murphy is the Web Content Editor of Prep2Prep.com. Reach him at jmurphy@Prep2Prep.com and follow him on Twitter at @PrepCat
