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2007 Metro Conference
Prep Football Preview
| CIF Kick Off Classic: South Bay League spotlight: |
Are you ready for some South County high school football?
Posted Aug. 30, 2007
Perhaps to no one’s surprise, Carlsbad, Oceanside and Helix have earned recognition as the top three ranked teams to kick off the 2007 high school football season. Likely with good reason.
Carlsbad is the defending San Diego Section Division I champion and is currently working on a 20-game unbeaten streak. The Lancers enter the season ranked 13th in the state by CalHiSports.com.
Oceanside is the section’s defending Division II champion and is the owner of three consecutive division titles, 13th straight semifinal appearances and six CIF titles overall in the program’s illustrious history — a mark that stands among the section’s most elite squads. The Pirates enter the 2007 season ranked 25th in the state.
Helix finished second to Oceanside in last year’s Division II title game, losing 14-7. The Highlanders finished 10-3 overall last season after going 5-0 in Grossmont South League play. The Scotties are ranked 43rd in the state to open the season.
All three teams rate to be power houses once again.
Carlsbad returns All-Avocado League selections Vince Ewing, a first team defensive pick, Justin Morales and Nick Pascarella, both second team offensive picks.
Oceanside returns four all-league selections: Sam Brenner (first team offense), Lamont Enyard (second team offense), Matthew Segi (second team defense) and Frankie Zimmerman (second team defense).
Helix dominated last year’s All-Grossmont South League team with 17 selections (first or second teams). Among them were junior linebacker Chris Peterson and sophomore linebacker Anthony Larceval, both first team defensive picks, and junior defensive back Jamar Taylor (second team defense). Taylor is ranked among California’s top 100 players entering this season.
What other teams seem worthy of earning top 10 rankings to kick off the 2007 campaign — specifically what about South County teams?
Mesa League
In the South Bay, Eastlake could be the top team. The Titans, led by quarterback Derek Witte (named among the top 50 QBs in the nation) and All-CIF defensive back Dyson Waddles, are coming off an appearance in last year’s Division II semifinals (losing to top-seeded Oceanside), finishing 8-4 overall. Eastlake, which moves up to the Division I level this season, will test Steele Canyon on the Cougars’ turf on Sept. 21 in what should be one of the most highly-anticipated matchups in non-league play.
Chula Vista and Otay Ranch, which shared last year’s Mesa League title with Eastlake, also look to be highly competitive again. Chula Vista is anchored by one of the section's top backfields in tailback Matt Stacy and fullback Taimi Tutogi while Otay Ranch is led by second team all-section quarterback Marcus Vasquez -- one of the Metro Conference's top collegiate recruits.
The Mesa League sent four teams to last year's playoffs and the Bonita Vista Barons appear in the mix to once again make a post-season appearance.
South Bay League
There could be a changing of the guard this season. Defending league champion Castle Park lost heavily to graduation and enters a rebuilding mode. The Trojans enter the season not as favorites but could likely determine the order of finish -- or whether more than one team will share tghis year's title. That leaves the Montgomery Aztecs and rechristend Mater Dei Crusaders as the teams to beat this season. The Aztecs increased their win total from three to five in the past two seasons and could finish with a winning record this season behind the strong rushing tandem of Brandon Meredith and Juan Moriel. Roman Owens, one of the league's top rushers last season, returns to command attention for the Crusaders.
Around the section
In the City Conference, St. Augustine, Point Loma and Mission Bay all made it to Qualcomm Stadium last season. St. Augustine topped Point Loma for the Division III title while Mission Bay, which earned the No. 1 seed in the Division IV playoffs, finished runner-up to Santa Fe Christian.
Top returners for St. Augustine include Leighland Koonce (second team offense) , Nick Sowa (second team defense) and Derek Holsapple (second team defense) while Point Loma is driven by three All-Western League underclassmen picks in 2006: Josh Wade (first team offense), Josh Canup (second team defense) and Alex Blair (second team defense).
Wide receiver Dillon Baxter (second team offense) returns as an All-CIF pick for Mission Bay. The Bucs had five more underclassmen earn all-league honors last season: Evan Taylor (first team offense), Mike Kennedy (second team offense), Gavin Boger (second team offense), Chase Bove (second team offense) and Victor Johnson (second team defense).
Point Loma shared last year’s Western League title with Mission Bay and Hoover while Mira Mesa edged St. Augustine for the Eastern League banner and Coronado won last year’s Central League title.
North County powers include Escondido (Valley League champion and Division I semifinalist), La Costa Canyon (Palomar League champion and Division I semifinalist), Poway (Division I runner-up), Mission Hills (Division II semifinalist) and Torrey Pines (Division I quarterfinalist).
El Camino, led by All-CIF pick Nelson Rosario at wide receiver, tied Carlsbad for last year’s Avocado League championship. Besides Rosario, the Wildcats finished the season with two other underclassmen who earned all-league honors: Ian Moore (first team offense) and Justin Williams (first team defense).
Other top returning North County top players include Mission Hills senior defensive end Jamaar Jarrett, Poway senior tight end Ryan Deehan, Oceanside senior defensive lineman Marcus Williamson, Santa Fe Christian senior defensive back Danny Breihan, Poway senior defensive back Jared Relyea and Valley Center junior defensive back James Johnson.
In the Grossmont North L:eague, the defending champion El Capitan Vaqueros lost a lot — 13 first and second team all-league and four all-section picks — to graduation but will still have a solid foundation on which to build. But it seems unlikely that the Lakeside team can duplicate last season’s electrifying 10-0 regular season run. Chasing Helix in the Grossmont South League standings will be improving Granite Hills and Steele Canyon squads.
Christian, an El Cajon-based school that competes in the Coastal League, returns to defend its Division V championship.
Friday Night Lights
Channel 4 San Diego will showcase prep football once again but the schedule moves from Thursday to Friday nights this season in an effort to broadcast the best matchups. The local sports cable channel has announced the lineup for the first five weeks and, perhaps not surprisingly given their run of success in recent years as well as more affluent population base, it is heavily slated toward North County teams.
The TV game of the week kicks off Aug. 31 with a non-league matchup pitting Division I champion Carlsbad against Division III champion St. Augustine (at Mesa College). Division II champion Oceanside visits defending Palomar League champion La Costa Canyon on Sept. 7, followed by Carlsbad’s prime time collision at Helix on Sept. 14, a North County battle pitting defending Valley League champion at Rancho Buena Vista on Sept. 21 and an all-East County matchup featuring Grossmont at Valhalla on Sept. 28.
All five games will be telecast immediately following Padres games.
The sports channel’s remaining schedule will be announced at a later date as the standings in the section’s various leagues take shape. Visit www.4SD.com.
Metro Conference Team Previews
Mesa League
Will Eastlake Titans carry torch for Metro teams?
Last year, one South County football team advanced to the San Diego Section semifinals, with the fourth-seeded Eastlake Titans ending their season with a 45-7 loss to the top-seeded (and eventual Division II champion) Oceanside Pirates.
It’s been a while since a Metro Conference team made it to the finals. The last area team to take the field at Qualcomm Stadium was Marian Catholic in 2003, the last of four consecutive appearances by the Crusaders. Castle Park won the 1996 Division II title and was second in 1997. Chula Vista finished runner-up in 1998.
Who will carry the torch in 2007?
The Titans might be a good choice to make a run at a Qualcomm Stadium appearance, though Chula Vista, Otay Ranch and Bonita Vista should have enough remaining firepower to challenge for a playoff berth.
Eastlake, along with Chula Vista and Otay Ranch, shared last year’s Mesa League title in a rare tri-championship.
“Every year our goal is to win the league championship, which is the goal of the other teams as well,” Titan head coach McFadden said. “Our big team goal is to get to the stadium. If we stay healthy and get the luck of the Irish, we might get there.”
The Titans return to Division I status this season after competing at the Division II level last year. However, McFadden said that doesn’t necessarily mean his team has reduced its chances of advancing deep into post-season play simply by moving up to a higher enrollment bracket.
“I don’t know if you’re going to get any two tougher teams than San Pasqual and Oceanside back-to-back in the playoffs in any division like we did last year,” McFadden said of Eastlake’s quarterfinal and semifinal draws in last season’s Division II playoffs. “I think our preseason schedule this year will have us fully prepared.”
The Titans bowed to Oceanside, 45-7, in the semifinals. The Pirates went on to capture their third consecutive division title with an ensuing 14-7 victory against Grossmont South League champion Helix in the finals at Qualcomm Stadium.
Eastlake, with much returning talent, rates to stand as one of the section’s top teams this season. McFadden intends to make sure his team receives as much challenge as possible throughout the season in preparation for post-season competition. The Titans, in fact, may possess one of the section’s toughest schedules with opening non-league games against playoff qualifiers Poway, Torrey Pines, Brawley, Steele Canyon and Oceanside.
Torrey Pines and Brawley both advanced to the quarterfinals in their respective divisions while Poway and Steele Canyon made it as far as the semifinals.
This is McFadden’s eighth season at the Titans’ helm. It could be his most rewarding.
Eastlake, which finished 8-4 overall last season, looks to build on a highly successful summer during which it compiled a 19-2 record in passing league competition, winning two tournaments.
The Titans defeated reigning Palomar League champion La Costa Canyon and defending Central League champion Coronado to win the South County passing league tournament at Southwestern College (in which they went 7-0).
“This was definitely the best passing and pass defense we’ve played over the summer,” McFadden said.
While Eastlake has fielded successful teams in the past (read three league championships in the past five years), the key to putting together a breakthrough campaign could lie with this year’s squad.
“In the past, we’ve had teams with solid defenses and not as solid offenses and teams with solid offenses and not as solid defenses. This year, we’re pretty solid on both sides of the ball,” McFadden said. “I’m excited for the team.”
Eastlake finished with the top-rated scoring defense in the section two years ago. This year’s Titan squad could be as good as that one, if not better, McFadden said.
Stepping up should not be a problem for the players on this year’s squad with its returning depth and experience. A bevy of seniors supplies the core leadership on the team.
“We’re fairly senior-oriented,” McFadden said. “We have a lot of seniors. We have a lot of leaders. I could name off about 10.”
Seniors include Sal Adame (wide receiver/defensive back), Jeremiah Andujo (slot/free safety), Chris Bagley (defensive lineman), Joshua Brechbiel (punter), Marco Carr (tight end/linebacker), Dennis Clay (wide receiver/defensive back), Will Duka (running back/strong safety), Austin Hardman (linebacker), Michael Holt (wide receiver/defensive back), Alex Johnson (offensive/defensive lineman), Michael Kelley (wide receiver/defensive back), Jordan Koopman (running back/defensive back), Lakeem Lewis (defensive end/tight end), Enrique Quirk (right tackle/defensive tackle), Henry Simon (tight end/defensive tackle), Dyson Waddles (strong safety/running back) and Derek Witte (quarterback).
Duka and Andujo join Waddles as a returning first team all-league selections while Witte, Johnson and Kelley were second team all-league picks in 2006.
Waddles earned honors as last year’s Mesa League Defensive Player of the Year.
Juniors linebacker Patrick Jarin and sophomore linebacker/running back Tony Jefferson round out the team’s top returning talent.
Andujo, whose older brother Victor is rated second at his defensive back position on this year’s SDSU team, is a rare fourth-year varsity player, having played on the varsity unit since his freshman year. Adame, Carr, Duka, Koopman and Witte are all entering their third year on the varsity team.
Andujo earned honors as the team’s Most Valuable Player in 2006 after rushing for 737 yards, catching 40 passes for 664 yards and scoring a total of 13 touchdowns for a team-leading 78 points.
Duka earned recognition as the team’s Best Offensive Player of the Year after rushing for a team-leading 1,057 yards, catching 12 passes for 189 yards and scoring a total of 10 touchdowns.
Witte received the team captain award — a first for a junior — after completing 62 percent of his passes (93 of 165 attempts) for 1,421 yards and 10 touchdowns (against four interceptions). He is rated among the top 50 players at his position in the nation and, with Simon, is among the team’s most recruited players.
“We’ve got a lot of guys who have played together for a while. That makes a big difference,” McFadden said.
The road to potential post-season glory will start with the quest to repeat as league champions. The Titans lost one league game last year — against Chula Vista — while defeating Otay Ranch and Bonita Vista, Sweetwater and San Ysidro in settling for a three-way tie at the top of the Mesa League standings with a 4-1 record.
“It’s going to be tight this year,” McFadden said. “I see the same three teams once again fighting for the championship, plus Bonita. They have some good linemen coming back. Sweetwater and San Ysidro will be better. Otay Ranch and Chula Vista will be loaded again. It think it will be a lot of fun.”
The Titans kick off the regular season with an Aug. 31 game at Poway in the second annual “Clash of the Titans.” Before that, Eastlake will meet Horizon Christian on Friday, Aug. 24, in a 5:30 p.m. scrimmage contest as part of the fifth annual Kick Off Classic at San Ysidro High School.
Mustangs’ new coach has same vision: league title
When Gene Alim relinquished control of his position as head coach of the Otay Ranch High School football team following the conclusion of a record-breaking season for the Mustangs, he did so with the knowledge that his successor — then defensive co-ordinator Brad Burton — would continue to build on what had developed into one of the strongest programs in the Metro Conference.
Prior to joining the Mustangs, Burton had spent five years as an assistant coach at Grossmont College, winning one national championship and twice playing for the state title.
“Some pretty good credentials,” Alim said in reference to the new Otay Ranch coach upon announcing his retirement.
Burton leads the Mustangs into new territory: defense of the team’s Mesa League tri-championship it won last season. Otay Ranch finished 8-4 overall last season, winning its first-ever playoff game and advancing to the Division I quarterfinals. The Mustangs — keyed by standout quarterback Marcus Vasquez — tied Eastlake and Chula Vista with a 4-1 league record.
With Vasquez returning as one of the South County’s most highly-recruited seniors, Otay Ranch looks to have much success on the gridiron again this season.
“Coach Alim has built a solid program,” Burton said. “He was a fantastic head coach and as an athletic director, has kept the program up. My personal goal is to build on the success he had. We made it to the second round in the playoffs. We tied for the league championship. We have a lot of good players back. We should do at least the same as we did last year.”
If so, the Mustang defense should lead the way. Top defensive returners include outside linebacker Sean Rush and three inside linebackers: Julian Samson, Mike Azhocar and Bobby Mark. Returning cornerbacks include Scott Catlin and Niko Salazar. Anchoring the defensive line are returning starters Angelo Diaz and Daniel Akpa.
Both Rush and Catlin are returning First Team All-Mesa League defensive selections while Azhocar was a second team all-league pick.
“The defense should be the strongest part of our team,” said Burton, whose brother Mitch, another former Grossmont College assistant, serves as the Mustangs’ offensive co-ordinator.
Vasquez, the Mesa League’s reigning Offensive Player of the Year and a Second Team All-San Diego Section selection, is unquestionably the team’s top offensive player but he will be leading a slightly less experienced offensive unit this season. Burton pointed out the Mustangs have the potential to showcase a number of solid offensive players this season, however.
Among those expected to shine are wide receiver Jekiel Garvey and running back Shannon Daniels, both up from last year’s junior varsity team. Burton calls both “explosive players.”
“Our task is to rebuild the offense line — getting people to step into the shoes of some very good players who graduated,” Burton said. “But this is solid group. They’re impressive.”
Otay Ranch kicks off its season with an Aug. 31 game in El Centro against defending Imperial Valley League champion Central Union, then hosts Rancho Buena Vista on Sept. 14 in another non-league encounter.
Spartans are united in banner quest
By J. Carlos Rico
Sports intern
All the players are on the practice field suited up and ready to go 10 minutes before practice begins at 3:15 p.m. Five minutes later, one player yells “Let’s go, line ’em up,” and, as a unit, they get ready to start practice five minutes early and before the coaches even get to the field. You get the sense the Spartans of Chula Vista — last year’s Mesa League tri-champions — are on a mission to redeem themselves for last year’s home playoff loss to Rancho Buena Vista, and it shows on the practice field.
Throughout Tuesday’s practice in advance of Friday’s 2007 home opener against Castle Park, the players not only worked hard to perfect their game plan, but also had fun. During warm-ups, stretches and drills, players sang, joked and motivated each other to the point where you got a feeling of unity and unselfishness, but at the same time, motivation.
“We have the mentality to know we can be the best,” quarterback/free safety Taylor Julio said. “We just have to work hard and encourage one another.”
“The way you play Friday is a reflection of how you practice,” head coach Judd Rachow said.
With a high percentage of returning players on the offensive side of the ball, the Spartans expect the team’s strength this season to be on offense, especially the running game.
Chula Vista may possess one of the most talented backfields anywhere in the county in speedy tailback Matt Stacy and bruising fullback Taimi Tutogi (who will also play defensive end). Stacy rushed for 1,046 yards and 13 touchdowns to rank as the Metro’s No. 4 ground gainer last season.
Julio moves to take over the quarterback reins this season while also seeing duty at free safety. Offensive linemen Oscar Perez, Nick Parisi and Andrew Qaradaghi, as well as linebacker Daniel Felice, who Rachow said has made great strides to contribute to this team, also are being counted on as impact players, along with tight end Ruben Solorio.
There is a strong sense of camaraderie and respect on this year’s team. Players not only want to win, but also to win for the person next to them.
“We are coming together as a family,” Julio said. “Everything is starting to click.”
There appears to be no shortage of leaders on this team, either. Players talk about how everyone takes some kind of leadership role and how this helps the group.
“I learned from the seniors ahead of me and brought that to this year’s team,” said Tutogi, a third-year starting senior. “That way the sophomores and juniors can learn and they can be leaders.”
The Spartan squad carries its on-field connection off it as well. During the summer, players attended weekly team meals to encourage team bonding.
Julio offered to reward his offensive line with a free meal if he is well protected in games.
Overall, the mood one senses about the 2007 Spartans is one of a team with a common goal. Players talk about teamwork and what it will take to win the league title and go deep in the playoffs. Everyone wants to set the bar even higher than the previous year and improve on last year’s 6-4 record.
San Ysidro Cougars set sights on a return to CIF playoffs
The San Ysidro Cougars kick off their second season under head coach Gary Pugh and look to be an improved team — one worthy of qualifying for the San Diego Section playoffs on their own merit.
The Cougars finished 3-7 overall last season, 1-4 in Mesa League play with a lone victory against Sweetwater.
San Ysidro made its first playoff appearance the year before Pugh’s arrival when the Cougars finished 1-4 in South Bay League play, 5-6 overall, with a 64-0 loss San Pasqual in the Division II playoffs.
Pugh envisions a return to the playoffs this season — and a better showing.
“We expect to win more games this year than last and go to the playoffs,” he said. “Our problem is numbers which equals a lack of depth. Injuries and grades could impact us. A lot of players will be going both ways. Our non-league schedule should help us with games against San Marcos, El Cajon Valley, Madison, Olympian and Kearny — no more Valhallas and Vista Murrietas. The schools we play in non-league games are similar to us in history and numbers. Last year we finished 3-7 and finished fifth in the Mesa League.”
Top returners include senior running back/linebacker Berhane Tsegai, senior offensive/defensive lineman Roland Joarnt, senior quarterback/free safety Diego Guevara, senior offensive lineman/linebacker Omar Coronel, senior wide receiver/linebacker Frankie Alvarez, senior running back/linebacker Wilfrido Carbajal and junior running back/defensive back Josh Morrison.
Tsegai was a 2006 First Team All-Mesa League pick on defense while Carbajal was an all-league honorable mention selection.
Impact newcomers include senior wide receiver/defensive back David Neely and sophomore wide receiver/defensive back Tremaine Cargo.
The Cougars will get an early barometer reading on this season when they engage defending Division V champion Christian Friday, Aug. 24, at 8 p.m. as part of the section’s fifth annual Kick Off Classic. The San Ysidro-Christian contest is scheduled to kick off at 8 p.m. at San Ysidro High School.
General admission is $6.
The Cougars kick off regular season play with a non-league game Aug. 31 at San Marcos and host El Cajon Valley Sept. 7.
San Marcos, despite finishing 0-10 in regular season play last season, gained admittance to the Division IV playoffs and nearly shocked Central League champion Coronado in its opening-round game, losing 27-21.
El Cajon Valley finished 3-7 last season after advancing to the Division II championship game in 2005 under the guidance of CIF Player of the Year Abraham Muheize.
Mesa League: Quick hits
Bonita Vista Barons
The Barons dropped match-ups against each of the Mesa League’s tri-champions last season. A couple of bounces here and there and Bonita Vista might have been in on the championship party as well. The Barons, with a healthy roster, could be crashing that party this year.
Bonita Vista finished 2006 with a 5-6 record, including a loss to Castle Park in the opening round of the San Diego Section Division II playoffs. D.J. Shields (tight end/defensive end) is likely the team’s top returner. He is joined on this year’s roster by a number of experienced players. Among them are Josh Boyd (kicker), Christian Mua (halfback/linebacker) and Liam Sharkey (defensive end). Other impact players include offensive tackle Kyle Kmet, defensive back Alex Mangubat, offensive/defensive lineman Collin Cummins, wide receiver Mike Cagigas, center Marc Bureaud, defensive end Jarrett Billbray and tight end/defensive tackle Donnie Gomez.
Bonita Vista kicks off its season in Hawaii, continuing a tradition of traveling out of the area under veteran coach Carl Parrick. The Barons will get a gauge of where they stand when they host Division IV runner-up Mission Bay Sept. 14 at Southwestern College.
Sweetwater Red Devils
Given the long-standing tradition at the National City school, it’s difficult to imagine a season in which a Red Devil football team finishes 0-10. But that is exactly what happened last year.
Head coach Tony Garcia expects the rebuilding program to deliver some benefits this season despite the loss of two dozen seniors to graduation, including 10 starters. This year’s Sweetwater team is speckled with top talent in Fred Fells (safety/tight end), Marcus Pierce (wide receiver/defensive lineman), Sergio Estrada (wide receiver) and Ruben Enriquez (wide receiver). Outstanding speed defines the team’s receiving corps, with Fells possessing the ability to step in and direct the offense if called upon.
The Devils kick off their season Aug. 31 at El Cajon Valley.
South Bay League
New horizons beckon Olympian Eagles
There are no expectations to win a league championship or play in the CIF finals for the Olympian Eagles High School football team. Head coach Gil Warren and his gridiron warriors are approaching their first season of varsity play with realistic expectations resulting from not yet having a senior class.
Instead the Eagles have a few minor goals — signposts along the highway to building a successful program in the future.
“Our goal is to make the playoffs,” Warren said. “It’s a real challenge. But things are looking up.”
Olympian, with an enrollment of 850 students (freshmen, sophomores and juniors) will compete at the Division V level this season. There are a total of 18 teams in the San Diego Section classified as Division V schools this season. Twelve of those 18 teams qualify for the playoffs.
The Eagles will get an inkling right off of how they stack up in the division when they kick off their season Aug. 31 with a non-league game at Mountain Empire High School.
The Redskins finished 2-8 last season.
While the student enrollment at the Sweetwater Union High School District’s newest high school is nearly double that of last year, Olympian still does not have a senior class. Warren said the absence of seniors will have a big impact on the team’s inaugural varsity campaign.
“The maturity and experience level are way down,” said Warren, who won three CIF titles (1968, 1994, 1996) in his long coaching stint at Castle Park. “Very few players have played at that level. No one has played at that level (for us). We don’t have any varsity athletes competing at the varsity level. There is a big jump between the 11th and 12th grades. Other teams have had to do the same thing (playing their first varsity seasons without seniors). We just have to do the best we can.”
Still, enthusiasm makes up for what the program may lack in overall experience. There are 49 players on the freshman team, 32 players on the junior varsity team and 32 players on the varsity squad.
But building a program will obviously take time. Olympian got its start last year at the junior varsity and freshman levels. The Eagles won one JV game.
Sophomore quarterback Ryan Van Nostrand, whom Warren rates among the varsity team’s top players, said the Eagles will have to be patient and build each week on positive developments.
“We’re a young team. We’re going to have to use our strengths to our advantage,” he said.
Those strengths include quickness, speed, agility “and heart,” Van Nostrand was sure to add.
If any team can overcome adversity, it just might be the Eagles, who were forced to train off-campus last season because of delays in building on-site athletic facilities.
“Almost all our players were first-year players last year. We also had to practice at another facility (Eastlake Middle School),” Van Nostrand said. “It was a 30-minute bus ride to practice. We’d get at the field at 3:15 and have to leave the field at 5 — leaving us an hour and a half to practice.”
Van Nostrand said those first-year trials helped the team bond together.
“We have a group of hard-working guys,” the Olympian signal-caller said. “We’re not the largest team (in terms of numbers and physical size) but if we want to be the largest, we can’t do it as individuals We have to be a team.”
Joining Van Nostrand as leaders on this year’s inaugural varsity squad are junior running back/defensive back Julius Miller, junior linebacker Gabriel DeAnda, sophomore wide receiver Hollis Hulin, junior offensive linemen Brandon Rodgers and Mario Cedano, sophomore offensive lineman Rashed Karram and junior offensive lineman/linebacker Christian Munoz.
While the Eagles may still lack that all-important field experience, the team’s coaching staff may be one of the best around with the addition of quarterback coach Paul Van Nostrand (former head coach at Castle Park) and former Trojan defensive co-ordinator Bing Dawson. Jorge Mancillas, who serves as the school’s athletic director, returns as the team’s offensive co-ordinator.
That can only bode well for the future of the program.
The Eagles play their first-ever home game on Sept. 7 against McNally Secondary from Alberta, Canada. Kick-off is 7 p.m.
Change comes again for Hilltop Lancers
By J. Carlos Rico
Sports intern
Imagine this: Just three days before the start of spring practice in May, the Hilltop High School football team had no coaches. All the coaches from last year’s team either left or stepped down. Now with an all-new staff led by head coach Mike Martinez, the Lancers appear ready to change the course of last year’s 2-7-1 finish.
“Hilltop is a good school with a good student body,” said Martinez, who joined the Lancers from Southwest. “The job here is to better last year’s record and ultimately make it to the playoffs.”
After Martinez came in, the team went through a typical August practice month that included the dreaded Hell Week, and two-a-days. But with a whole new coaching staff, the players have had even more hurdles to overcome than other teams in the South Bay League.
“These kids have a lot to learn because it is a brand new system,” Martinez said. “But they have come in … dedicated to learn.”
The Lancers come into this season with more juniors than seniors on the squad, but Martinez said the team still has a good mix of players, with a quarterback (senior Mike Alcala) and safety/tailback (senior Jose Rivas) whom fans should watch.
Alcala is not only a big and strong kid, but has the brains to complement his brawn. He is an AP (advanced placement) student and visited the Harvard University campus over the summer. Offensive coordinator Leroy Dailey said Alcala is like having an extra coach on the field.
“Our quarterback has the talent to go to the next level,” Dailey said succinctly.
On the defensive side of the ball, Rivas has opened eyes on the field. He plays in the secondary for the Lancers, but also is used on the offensive side, carrying the football. Coaches said he “plays smart.”
“All these kids are football savvy and they have heart,” Martinez said.
According to Dailey, the Lancers offense will mostly operate out of the I-formation with an emphasis on running the football. But Dailey said he wants to give his quarterback options. “We want him to make reads, choose the right play and count on his teammates to make plays,” he said.
Fans might see a smaller playbook, but one with more disguises and a lot of movement in formations.
Martinez was not only able to bring Dailey, but also most of his coaching staff with him from Southwest. Their goal is to instill a philosophy of readiness and a winning attitude.
“We have to change the mentality into being prepared,” Daily said. “We need to try to do things right the first time and that will lead into success.”
The Lancers will have their first chance to put into play what they have learned from the new coaching staff when they open up the season at home against Monte Vista on Sept. 7.