Football Preview 2016

VARSITY

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2016 • BAKERSFIELD.COM • TBC MEDIA • 56 PAGES

2016 SEASON

PREVIEW

DEREK

CARR

LOOKS TO TAKE THE NEXT

STEP IN HIS NFL CAREER

PAGE 16

COVER STORY

Bakersfeld High

grad looks to

help ‘Gades

rebound

VICKERS

BACK FOR BC

PAGE 12

Liberty coach

continues to

build upon

his success

LIFE OF

BRYAN NIXON

PAGE 6

Get up to speed

on the county’s

35 prep football

squads this season

PREVIEW

ALL OF

KERN’S

TEAMS

PAGE 24

PHOTO:

ZUMA FILE

INSIDE

2 The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, August 25, 2016

DEREK CARR’S

STEEP ASCENT

It wasn’t that long ago that Bakersfield Christian graduate Derek Carr was a rel-

atively unheralded second-round pick best known as David’s little brother. In

just two years’ time, however, Carr has become not only entrenched as the

Raiders quarterback, but also a budding superstar.

• PAGE 16

SOUTHWEST YOSEMITE LEAGUE

Bakersfield Drillers 24

Garces Rams 26

Centennial Golden Hawks 28

Frontier Titans 29

Liberty Patriots 30

Stockdale Mustangs 32

SOUTH YOSEMITE LEAGUE

East Blades 33

Golden Valley 34

Independence Falcons 35

Ridgeview Wolf Pack 36

West Vikings 37

Tehachapi Warriors 38

SOUTHEAST YOSEMITE LEAGUE

Foothill Trojans 40

Highland Scots 41

North Stars 42

Mira Monte Lions 44

South Rebels 45

SOUTH SEQUOIA LEAGUE

Bakersfield Christian Eagles 46

Arvin Bears 48

Shafter Generals 49

Taft Wildcats 50

Wasco Tigers 51

Chavez Titans 52

Kennedy Thunderbirds 52

NORTH KERN SCHOOLS

Delano Tigers 53

McFarland Cougars 53

HIGH DESERT LEAGUE 54-55

Cal City, Desert, Kern Valley, Rosamond,

Frazier Mountain

NFL TEAMS 19

Chargers, Raiders, Rams, 49ers

COLLEGE TEAMS 14

USC, UCLA, Fresno State, Stanford, Cal,

San Jose State, San DIego State

SPORTS EDITOR: Zach Ewing

LEAD REPORTER: Trevor Horn

REPORTERS: Josh Bennett, Jeff Evans, Stephen Lynch

DESIGNERS: John Hornberg and Ron Stapp

PHOTOGRAPHERS: Felix Adamo, Henry A. Barrios,

Casey Christie, Nick Ellis, John Harte, Rodney Thorn-

burg

SECTION HISTORIAN: Bob Barnett

CREDITS

If you follow Kern County high school

sports, you have access to some of the

best media coverage in the country.

That’s our promise at BVarsity. Lead writer

Trevor Horn, sports editor Zach Ewing and

staff are committed to bringing you

results, highlights and great stories from a

high school near you on a variety of plat-

forms.

Start with BVarsity print coverage in The

Bakersfield Californian. There’s high

school sports content in the newspaper an

average of six days a week, with game

stories, features, analysis and photos from

our award-winning visual staff.

We also have a variety of digital products:

• The BVarsity Games of the Week will

again be broadcast live on

Bakersfield.com, with one game on a

weekday and, during the fall, a football

game on Friday night that’s

simulcast on ESPN Bakers-

field 1230 AM. Zach

Ewing and Justin

Roberts are on the call

as we start with the

Bakersfield Christian

vs. Garces game at 7

p.m. Friday.

• Each week, you can

also check out the

BVarsity Preview Show

at 2 p.m. on Thursdays.

It’s an hour chock-full of highlights, inter-

views and predictions for the

weekend to come with Zach

and Trevor.

• Finally, don’t forget

Trevor’s BVarsity Nightly,

designed to bring you

highlights and scores

before you can get them

anywhere else. It’s live at

Bakersfield.com at 10 p.m.

every Tuesday, Wednesday

and Thursday and on

demand any time.

BVARSITY HAS

IT ALL FOR

HIGH SCHOOL

SPORTS FANS

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

THIS PREP SEASON

Our crack BVarsity staff gives you 10 questions that

should be answered, in most entertaining fashion,

during the 2016 season. PAGE 4

NIXON AS STEADY

AS THEY COME

Don’t expect Liberty’s Bryan Nixon to suddenly

change his demeanor after finally breaking through

to an elusive section title. PAGE 6

BVARSITY’S PRESEASON TOP 25

Liberty and Ridgeview finished atop their respective

divisions last year. Where do they begin the new

season? PAGE 8

BIG BOYS, BIG ROLES

Several of Kern County’s top high school teams will

be relying on the braun — and the leadership — of

jumbo-sized linemen. PAGE 10

PIPELINE TO THE MIDWEST

Ridgeview has sent three football players in four

years to Iowa State, of all places. PAGE 11

NO TIME TO LOSE

Speedy Derrick Vickers is back, hoping to help Bak-

ersfield College forget about one of its worst sea-

sons. PAGE 12

‘GADES AT A GLANCE

Bakersfield College’s coaching staff breaks down

the 2016 team’s personnel position by position.

PAGE 13

SWEET RETURNS

For at least one Bakersfield fan, the return of the

Rams to Los Angeles is a real tear-jerker. PAGE 18

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Check up on the seven Bakersfield products on NFL

rosters and what’s in store for their 2016 seasons.

PAGE 20

INSIDE

COVER STORY

USA TODAY SPORTS

TEAM PREVIEWS

Thursday, August 25, 2016 The Bakersfield Californian 3

FOOTBALL FEVER IS

UNIVERSAL FEELING

omething occurred to me in the past

month, perhaps as I was traversing the

state’s freeways, something universal

about the game of football.

Maybe it crossed my mind between here

and Napa, where the Raiders hold training

camp; on the way to Irvine, the new presea-

son home of the Rams; or between many

meetings and high school practices right here

in Kern County as we prepare for the new sea-

son.

I’m not going to sit here and tell you some

hackneyed line about how “football is foot-

ball” no matter where it’s played, because

when you’ve seen youth football practice at

North High and the Oakland Raiders in the

same week, let me tell you, it ain’t the same.

But I can at least see why people say things

like that. It’s because in July and August, when

football season is just beginning, the weather

is still hot and emotions, for everyone from

Jack Frost up to Jack

Del Rio, are about

as positive as you

can imagine.

The Garces

Rams make the

same “Whoop!”

sound after a big hit

as the Los Angeles

Rams do; it just so

happens 3,000 people

show up to watch L.A.

practice (see page

18).

Derrick Vickers has gone from Bakersfield

High School (Page 24, the first of 26 pages of

high school team previews) to Bakersfield Col-

lege (pages 12-13), but he still has that same

excitement in his voice when he talks about

the fall weekends to come.

Maybe with no one is this universal giddi-

ness more clear than with the cover boy of this

year’s BVarsity Football Preview, the one and

only Derek Carr.

It’s an understatement to say Carr has been

around football his entire life; he was 10 years

old when he did his first television interview

during older brother David’s splendid senior

season at Fresno State.

It’s likely not an exaggeration to say Derek

has done thousands of interviews since then,

dozens with me and more with writers better

at their jobs than I could ever hope to be.

And yet, when you listen to Carr speak at a

news conference after the first day of training

camp, beginning his third year as a profes-

sional (cover story pages 16-17), he has the

same pep in his step as when I first spoke with

him, outside the gym before his senior season

at Bakersfield Christian while he tossed the

ball with sophomores.

And if a Pro Bowl quarterback can sound

like a kid taking his very first football out of

the box, why shouldn’t we be amped up, too?

Some teams can afford to be more opti-

mistic than others, of course.

Bryan Nixon and Liberty (pages 6-7) are

looking to defend their Division I section

championship, and they’re picked to win the

Southwest Yosemite League for the third

straight year in a coaches poll BVarsity con-

ducted this month.

Same goes for Ridgeview in the South

Yosemite League and South in the Southeast

Yosemite League. Both the Wolf Pack and the

Rebels were unanimous selections to defend

their league titles yet again.

Bakersfield Christian doesn’t have a title

streak going, but the Eagles are another

defending champion picked to repeat, in the

South Sequoia League.

There are plenty of reasons to be excited

about the new season, of course. You can read

about 10 of them if you turn the page and

more in the pages after

that.

There are 56 of them in all, and we hope

that this magazine does justice to how you

feel about the upcoming football season, or

gets you just as excited as we are.

Zach Ewing is the Bakersfield Californian

sports editor. He can be reached at

zewing@bakersfield.com

IN JULY AND AUGUST, WHEN FOOT-

BALL SEASON IS JUST BEGINNING,

THE WEATHER IS STILL HOT AND

THE EMOTIONS, FOR EVERYONE

FROM JACK FROST UP TO JACK DEL

RIO, ARE ABOUT AS POSITIVE AS

YOU CAN IMAGINE. THE GARCES

RAMS MAKE THE SAME ‘WHOOP!’

SOUND AFTER A BIG HIT AS THE

LOS ANGELES RAMS; THEY JUST

DON’T HAVE 3,000 SPECTATORS.

Zach Ewing

Coaches were asked to

predict their league’s finish

but were not allowed to

rank their own teams.

Votes were tallied on a 6-

5-4-3-2-1, 5-4-3-2-1 or 4-3-

2-1 basis depending on

league size. First-place

votes are in parentheses.

SOUTHWEST

YOSEMITE LEAGUE

1. LIBERTY 24 (4)

2. Bakersfield 21 (1)

3. Centennial 15

4. Garces 13 (1)

5. Frontier 10

6. Stockdale 7

SOUTH YOSEMITE

LEAGUE

1. RIDGEVIEW 25 (5)

2. Tehachapi 21 (1)

3. Independence 16

4. Golden Valley 12

5. East 9

6. West 7

SOUTHEAST

YOSEMITE LEAGUE

1. SOUTH 16 (4)

2. North 13 (1)

3. Highland 10

4. Foothill 6

5. Mira Monte 5

SOUTH SEQUOIA

LEAGUE

1. BAKERSFIELD

CHRISTIAN 35 (5)

2. Chavez 29 (2)

3. Taft 26

4. Kennedy 20

5. Wasco 14

6. Shafter 12

7. Arvin 11

FROM PEEWEES TO PROS, EVERBODY SEEMS TO GET IN ON GOOD VIBES BEFORE ANOTHER NEW YEAR

2016

BVARSITY

PRESEASON

COACHES

POLL

ON BAKERSFIELD.COM

Hear from all the local coaches

as they talk with Zach Ewing and

Trevor Horn about how their

teams look for the upcoming

prep football season.

HENRY A. BARRIOS / THE CALIFORNIAN

Tehachapi’s football team runs through drills during a recent practice. The Warriors were picked to finish second in the 2016 South

Yosemite League BVarsity coaches poll this year.

4 The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, August 25, 2016

VARSITY LIVE

High school football season

flies by, but in 15 weeks we might

be talking about completely dif-

ferent players and teams than we

think we will in August.

Truth be told, even us so-called

experts have no idea what will

happen between now and the

time the weather cools off and

people start holiday shopping.

But we do have questions. Ten

of them, to be specific.

Here are some quandaries that

should be answered during the

2016 season and our best August

guesses at how things will play

out.

ZACH EWING AND TREVOR HORN

Conventional wisdom says that

defending Division I champion Liber-

ty, perennial power Bakersfield and a

healthier Centennial are the favorites

in the Southwest Yosemite League.

But it’s not wise to count anyone

out, and how the other three teams

fare against that trio will decide the

league race. Stockdale is young but

boasts perhaps the league’s best

running back in Elisha Ortiz. Frontier

has added speed and Garces hopes to be much improved.

CAN THE BOTTOM HALF OF SWYL

CHALLENGE THE TOP HALF?

2015 SWYL

STANDINGS

W L

Liberty 5 0

Centennial 3 2

Bakersfield 3 2

Stockdale 2 3

Frontier 1 4

Garces 1 4

Since they joined the Southeast Yosemite League in 2014, the

Rebels have won all eight games, with only one decided by

fewer than 16 points. Buoyed

once again by a bevy of talent at

the skill positions and a hard-

nosed defense that won’t give

away anything easily, South

appears to be a prohibitive

favorite in 2016, too. The other

SEYL contenders? Foothill and

Mira Monte are still looking for a

foothold in their rebuilding proj-

ects, and North loses more

starters than anyone in Bakersfield. Highland, which hosts

South on Oct. 21, appears to be the Rebels’ biggest threat.

Meanwhile, South will hope to go a step further in the Division

III playoffs after bowing out in the quarterfinals each of the

past two seasons.

CAN ANYONE

UNSEAT SOUTH

IN THE SEYL?

9-3

The Rebels’ record last

season (Lost in D-III

section quarterfinals.)

WHAT DO THE PRIVATE PROGRAMS LOOK LIKE

IN YEAR TWO OF NEW COACHING STAFFS?

Garces and Bakersfield Christian experienced varying

degrees of success the year after making splashy

head coaching hires. The Rams, who brought A.J.

Gass from Anaheim-Servite, were just 2-9, but they

won their first Southwest Yosemite League game and

played several tough teams competitively down the

stretch. As for BCHS, it improved dramatically

throughout Darren Carr’s first year. Carr and his

famous offensive coordinator, brother David Carr,

won the South Sequoia League before suffering an

upset loss. With key returners and the stability of

having full offseasons to implement systems, both

Garces and BCHS have reason to think they’ll be bet-

ter in 2016. And, oh, by the way, they open the sea-

son with the first-ever football game between Bakers-

field’s premier private schools.

For years — and in some ways, for decades or

even generations — Bakersfield High was the king

of Kern County football. In recent times, that

dominance culminated with a Division I state

championship in 2013. Since then, however, the

Drillers have lost four of five games to Liberty and

Ridgeview and have been dumped from the play-

offs by double digits in both years. Meanwhile,

the Patriots and Wolf Pack have won a combined

three section titles (Ridgeview twice in Division

II) and were clearly the top two teams in the

entire section in 2015. It’s far too early to say the

west-side schools have relegated the Drillers to

third-wheel status, but there’s also no doubt that

the teams’ rivalry quotient has increased. The

best news? The three teams once again all play

one another in the regular season.

HAS THERE BEEN A

CHANGING OF THE GUARD

IN KERN COUNTY?

A CIF rule change means that Central Section

champions won’t know whether they’re part of

the Southern Cal or Northern Cal regional until

the CIF decides the day after the section playoffs

end. Last season, in the first year of the extended

state bowl system, the champions from Divisions

I, III and V automatically went north — Liberty

played Loomis-Del Oro — and the D-II, IV and VI

champs drew SoCal teams, like Ridgeview against

Harbor City-Narbonne. Section champions from

the Fresno area seem more likely to go north sim-

ply because of geography, meaning Bakersfield

teams might have to fight through a generally

tougher SoCal slate to reach a state champi-

onship bowl game.

WHICH CHAMPIONS WILL

HEAD NORTH?

NO.

RODNEY THORNBURG / FOR THE CALIFORNIAN

BURNING

QUESTIONS

FOR THE

UPCOMING

SEASON

Thursday, August 25, 2016 The Bakersfield Californian 5

300TH

CAREER

WIN

These are the best returning players

in Kern County. Players are listed

alphabetically by last name.

• Zeke Arambulo, jr, QB, Highland

• Johnny Balderas, sr, WR/DB, Lib-

erty

• Cole Beaty, sr, WR/RET, Centennial

• Kurtis Brown, sr, DL, Liberty

• Conor Bruce, sr, QB/ATH, Garces

• Zach Bushling, sr, RB/LB, Kern Val-

ley

• Gabe Cherry, sr, DL, Centennial

• Christopher Coleman, sr, QB,

West

• Robert Cozine, sr, RB/DB, Taft

• Jorge Davila, jr, RB/LB, Kennedy

• Stephen Figures, sr, RB/DB, Bak-

ersfield Christian

• Daniel Flores, sr, WR/ DB,

Kennedy

• Jeremiah Foster, sr, WR, Bakers-

field Christian

• Luke Fringer, sr, WR/ S, Liberty

• Austin Gaines, jr, QB, Bakersfield

Christian

• Manuel Gamboa, sr, LB, Chavez

• Marley Garnett, sr, QB/LB/P,

North

• Hunter Giulietti, sr, RB, Centennial

• Keonte Glinton, soph, QB/DB,

Ridgeview

• Zack Griffin, sr, LB, Liberty

• Aries Harris, sr, QB, South

• Zach Hartsfield, jr, WR/LB, Cen-

tennial

• Tanner Herman, sr, LB, Tehachapi

• Amir Knox, sr, LB/DB, Ridgeview

• JR Layman, sr, QB/ATH, Independ-

ence

• Ricky Leung-Wai, sr, DL,

Ridgeview

• Raymond Marquez, sr, WR/DB,

East

• Isaiah Martin, jr, RB, Garces

• Cameron Meek, sr, RB/LB, Liberty

• Devyon Miller, jr, WR/DB, Bakers-

field Christian

• Clemente Montes, jr, RB, Chavez

• Efrain Morales, sr, LB, Frontier

• Jamar Moya, sr, QB/RB, Ridgeview

• Caden Ochoa, jr, QB/LB, Bakers-

field

• Mathew Oropeza, sr, QB, McFar-

land

• Elisha Ortiz, sr, RB, Stockdale

• Deion Perkins, sr, QB, Chavez

• Jaleyn Prevost, sr, WR, Ridgeview

• Rodney Rhoden, sr, RB/LB, High-

land

• Cameron Roberson, sr, DB, Garces

• Daniel Schoene, sr, OL, Bakersfield

• Keyron Scott, sr, RB, Tehachapi

• Desmond Stancil, sr, RB/LB, Bak-

ersfield

• Sam Stewart, soph, RB/DB, Liberty

• Tyler Thompson, sr, RB, Golden

Valley

• Rafael Velasquez, sr, RB, Arvin

• Jayshaun Ward, sr, RB/LB, Foothill

• Cam Williams, soph, QB/DB, Bak-

ersfield

• Greg Youngblood, sr, QB, Frontier

• Joseph Yubeta, jr, LB, Highland

BVARSITY’S

TOP 50 PLAYERS

NO.

NOT IF, BUT WHEN WILL TEHACHAPI’S

STEVE DENMAN GET NO. 300?

The longtime Tehachapi coach is now entering

his 35th season and is just five wins away from

300 for his career. Tehachapi has won at least

five games in all but two seasons under Den-

man, so there’s a high probability the monu-

mental win comes this season, probably well

before Halloween. Denman does not own the

Central Section record for most wins, because

99 of his wins came when the Warriors were

still in the Southern Section, but he is four wins

away from 200 in the section. That would make him the fourth Kern County coach to

reach the milestone along with legends Goldie Griffith and Paul Briggs of Bakersfield

High and Ned Permenter of Foothill. Target home games Oct. 7 vs. Independence or Oct.

14 vs. East as the most likely nights for No. 300.

295

Steve Denman’s career win total at

Tehachapi in 34 seasons.

We live in an era of recruiting like never

before. Players are being seen by col-

lege coaches at a much earlier age and

college programs are under pressure

more so than ever to lock down players

at a younger age. Already, two players

(Cameron Williams, BHS, and Keonte

Glinton, Ridgeview) have received

scholarship offers before their sopho-

more seasons have started. Recruiting-

wise, this is unprecedented, and Liber-

ty sophomores Sam Stewart and Isaiah

Hill could be next. But before we pro-

claim this Kern County’s next great

class, we should wait and see what

these incredibly talented players can

do at the varsity level.

HOW GOOD IS THIS

SOPHOMORE CLASS?

If Dennis Manning’s excitement for the

team is any indication, then yes, there

is the talent and leadership to continue

this torrid run for the Wolf Pack. With

Jamar Moya, Amir Knox, Ricky Leung-

Wai and company returning, Ridgeview

is just as talented as the previous two

seasons. The non-league schedule is as

tough as ever, including a Sept. 23

home game against Fresno-Central,

perhaps the top Fresno-area team. Get

through that test and there is good rea-

son to believe Ridgeview could be

undefeated and once again a heavy

favorite in D-II. The hurdle then would

be the same one the Wolf Pack has

been unable to clear for the past two

seasons: Beating a regional bowl oppo-

nent and reaching the big stage of the

state championship bowl games.

CAN RIDGEVIEW

GET TO A STATE

TITLE GAME?

WHAT DOES LIBERTY HAVE IN

STORE FOR AN ENCORE?

The Patriots won the first Division I section

championship in program history last year —

and the first D-I title for any local team

besides Bakersfield since West in 1981.

Enough talent returns, including BVarsity

Defensive Player of the Year Kurtis Brown

and thrilling playmaker Johnny Balderas, to

think the Patriots could become the first

team to win back-to-back D-I titles since Clo-

vis West in 1992-1993. But to do so, they’ll

have to find a way to replace quarterback

Jordan Love and running back Quincy Jountti.

HOW WILL THE DRILLERS DO

THIS SEASON WITHOUT A HOME?

For the first time in nearly a century, the

Bakersfield High football team will not call

Griffith Field home. In fact, BHS won’t call

anywhere home this year. With construction

being done to revamp the stadium into a

state-of-the-art facility, the Drillers will be

road warriors in 2016 with “home” games at

BC, West and Centennial. Whether their play

on the field is affected is yet to be seen. BHS

coach Paul Golla, perhaps presciently,

changed the team’s motto to “Be uncom-

mon.” This surely is an uncommon season.

FELIX ADAMO / THE CALIFORNIAN

JOHN HARTE / FOR THE CALIFORNIAN

NO.

6 The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, August 25, 2016

That journey began 21 years ago

when, as a 23-year-old a year

removed from college at Montana

State, Nixon was tabbed as the first

football coach at Frazier Moun-

tain.

Nixon thought he was going to

be the offensive coordinator, but

when John Rome left in the offsea-

son to become the interim head

coach at Citrus College, Nixon was

appointed as the Falcons’ first

coach.

Jarrud Prosser, a Stockdale assis-

tant coach and former Taft head

coach, played for Nixon that sea-

son. Prosser said much of what he

coaches today is a direct reflection

of what Nixon taught him two

decades ago.

“He instilled that into me,”

Prosser said. “Even though it was

short-lived, a lot of what I do today

is because of him and his influ-

ence. I remember how it made me

feel as a player, and you knew he

cared (about) more than what you

did on Friday nights for him.”

Eight months ago, Nixon

coached Liberty to the Central Sec-

tion Division I championship, a

first for both the Patriots and their

coach. Nixon was unsuccessful in

five previous title games with Cen-

tennial and Liberty before the 2015

version gave him the trophy that

long eluded him.

Nixon is quick to explain that

winning a title does not change

who he is as a coach.

“I don’t think that defines our

success,” Nixon said. “Trophies

and rings tarnish. But it’s about

the relationships that you build

with the kids that truly matters.”

Prosser said that was apparent

even 21 years ago, during Frazier

Mountain’s first season.

“He has something about him

personality-wise that we would

run in front a train for him,” Pross-

er said. “It was frustrating for him.

We were raw. But it was the best

thing for us to have the first experi-

ence with football as Nixon as a

coach. He is knowledgeable.”

The connections

After the one-year stint at Fra-

zier Mountain, Nixon went back

home to Shafter and become an

assistant coach for two years

before taking over the program

from 1998-2000.

ryan Nixon’s journey

from coach who

couldn’t win the big

game to dominant

Central Section champion has a

backdrop: How true he stayed to

his roots and beliefs throughout

the years.

Please see PAGE 7

TRUE

HIMSELF

CONSISTENT VALUES HAVE GOVERNED

HOW LIBERTY’S BRYAN NIXON HAS

COACHED THROUGH HIS CAREER

Bryan Nixon won his first

section title in five tries

last season with Liberty.

CALIFORNIAN FILE

BY TREVOR HORN

THE BAKERSFIELD CALIFORNIAN

THORN@BAKERSFIELD.COM

Thursday, August 25, 2016 The Bakersfield Californian 7

That is where his relationship

with Ricky Ishida started.

This one started like more than

a thousand other player-coach

relationships Nixon has had over

the past two decades, but it blos-

somed into a friendship between

friends and, eventually, co-work-

ers.

“He’s a father figure and a

mentor for me,” Ishida said. “I

can always go to him for coach-

ing advice or as a father as well. I

am very fortunate.”

Nixon kept in contact with Ishi-

da over the years, and when Ishi-

da stepped down as Shafter’s

coach last winter, Nixon offered

his old quarterback the junior

varsity coaching position at Lib-

erty.

“It’s awesome. Ricky and I have

stayed in touch,” Nixon said. “He

branched out and then got the

job at Shafter. He’s with us now.

Our families are close. That shows

that it all comes together outside

of football. The game that brings

us all together.”

Shafter is where coaching rela-

tionships really began to take

shape for Nixon. It was also there

that he met Ryan Renz, Liberty’s

defensive coordinator.

Nixon moved in 2001 to Cen-

tennial, where Justin Crane,

another Liberty assistant, played

for Nixon.

For Nixon, building relation-

ships is as important as building

a trophy case.

“It’s about relationships. That’s

the biggest thing,” Nixon said.

“You have to relate to the kids

and get them to work hard and

relate to them on a personal level.

That’s something our staff has

always prided themselves on.

“To have that core group of

guys with you that understand

everything going on, you develop

relationships, your families come

together and it becomes more

than football. You find guys to

grow old with.”

That part of Nixon’s fiber is to

be expected, according to Carl

Bowser, who coached Nixon for

two years when he was Bakers-

field College’s quarterback.

“It doesn’t surprise me that he

went into coaching,” Bowser said.

“It takes a special guy to get into

coaching.”

Bowser and Nixon still talk.

When the longtime BC coach

thinks back to Nixon as a player,

it’s always positive.

“He was really liked by his

teammates and what you wanted

as a quarterback,” Bowser said.

“He was a good leader and well-

liked. He was one who strapped

on his jockstrap and went out

there and worked.”

The losses

After five years at his alma

mater, Nixon decided the job at

Centennial was too good to pass

up.

He went right to work. The

Golden Hawks advanced to the

Central Section D-II title game in

each of his first three seasons but

never emerged with a victory.

It took Centennial another six

years to get back to a title game,

this time against Fresno-Bullard

in the 2009 D-I championship. In

a muddy, rain-soaked game, the

Golden Hawks, led by current

NFL rookies Cody Kessler and

Jared Norris, lost 42-31.

Nixon left Centennial for Liber-

ty after the 2012 season. Two

years later, he had the Patriots in

the D-I title game but suffered

another loss, this time 21-14 to

Fresno-Edison. The losses began

to wear on him.

“You start to think in your head

that it wasn’t meant to be,” Nixon

said. “The journey of the whole

thing is not about that climax of a

Valley championship. It’s about

the relationships. That’s what the

passion is. Yes, everyone wants to

win. But at the end of the year,

only one team does.”

Always one to deflect attention

off of himself, Nixon began to

personally take stock and wonder

if he was the reason for the five

championship losses.

“Deep down, I would be lying if

(I said) it didn’t,” Nixon said. “You

start to look yourself in the mirror

and wonder what I could do dif-

ferent. The kids always bought

into what we preached and did

the best they could. (So) then you

question yourself.”

The big one

In a season that brought more

adversity to his coaches and play-

ers than any Nixon has ever

encountered, 2015 became a year

to remember.

“The expectations were so

high; then we had struggles,”

Nixon said. “We had personal

issues. We had to come together

for family members. That’s what

was special, through everything,

they endured, leaned on each

other and finished with big smiles

on the faces.”

When the clock struck 00:00 on

Liberty’s 56-21 victory over Clovis

in the D-I finals and the Gatorade

poured down on Nixon, all of his

coaching history came together.

There was relief, then celebra-

tion and then realization of the

culmination of two-plus decades

of relationships that synergized.

“It was really humbling from

the people that reached out. It

was Valley wide,” Nixon said. “It

was kids that played for us in pre-

vious seasons. They all reached

out. That was humbling. It let you

know that this is why you do

this.”

Through the wins, the losses,

thousands of players, dozens of

assistant coaches and four pro-

grams, there was one constant:

Bryan Nixon.

“He hasn’t really changed,”

Ishida said. “The only thing that

has changed is him becoming a

better coach. He has always had a

solid program. Anyone that

comes across him, you can ask

them all. They will all tell you the

same.”

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

KERN COUNTY

CENTURY CLUB

Five active coaches in Kern

County have 100 career wins.

(Courtesy Bob Barnett)

Steve Denman

Tehachapi, 196-83 in the Central Sec-

tion, 295-112-4 overall. (Tehachapi was

in the Southern Section until 1991.)

Bryan Nixon

Liberty, 134-79-1

Paul Golla

Bakersfield, 108-31

Dennis Manning

Ridgeview, 103-57-1

Rich Cornford

Frontier, 101-68

1985-88

Shafter

High

Played for team.

1989-90

Played quarterback

1995

Frazier

Mountain

Head coach

1996-2000

Shafter High

1996-97: Assistant coach

1998-2000: Head coach

2001-2012

Centennial

Head coach

89-52-1 record, five league

titles

Division II runners-up, 2001

Division II runners-up, 2002

Division II runners-up, 2003

Division I runners-up, 2009

2013-present

Liberty

Head coach; 28-9 record,

two league titles

Division I runners-up, 2014

Division I champions, 2015

134-7 9-1

Career record

(entering 20th season

as head coach.)

1990-92

Montana

State

1990-91: Played

quarterback

1992: Grad assistant

1993

Centennial Freshman team offensive coordinator

League titles

(Five with Centennial;

two with Liberty.)

Through the wins,

the losses, thou-

sands of players,

dozens of assistant

coaches and four

programs, there

was one constant:

Bryan Nixon.

CALIFORNIAN FILE

Bryan Nixon coached for 12 seasons at Centennial, leading the Golden Hawks to five league titles and

89 wins.

TIMELINE OF BRYAN NIXON’S CAREER

8 The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, August 25, 2016

VARSITY LIVE

PRESEASON TOP 25

ho’s No. 1 in the

Central Section? That

question won’t be

answered until the section cham-

pionships are complete Dec. 3,

and possibly not even then, con-

sidering the presence of different

divisions and regional and state

title games still to come.

But waiting is no fun, so BVarsity

will be publishing its top 25 rank-

ings on Bakersfield.com every

Monday and in The Californian

every Tuesday during the season.

This is the preseason edition.

Where to begin? Well, defend-

ing Division I champion Liberty

and D-II champ Ridgeview are a

good place to start. Last year’s

success guarantees nothing in

2016, of course, but both the

Patriots and the Wolf Pack have

enough coming back to think

they’ll be near the top again —

and their Week 2 meeting will

take on big cross-divisional

importance once again.

ZACH EWING

11. Fresno-Edison

(2015 record: 5-7, lost in Division I quarterfinals)

12. Clovis-Buchanan

(2015 record: 7-4, lost in Division I quarterfinals)

13. Centennial

(2015 record: 6-5, lost in Division I first round)

14. Lemoore

(2015 record: 10-3, lost in Division II champi-

onship)

15. Fresno-San Joaquin Memorial

(2015 record: 9-4, lost in Division III champi-

onship)

16. Fresno-Sunnyside

(2015 record: 8-4, lost in Division II semifinals)

17. Tulare Union

(2015 record: 9-2, lost in Division II quarterfinals)

18. Tulare Western

(2015 record: 9-4, lost in Division III semifinals)

19. Chowchilla

(2015 record: 12-3, won Division IV champi-

onship)

20. Visalia-El Diamante

(2015 record: 5-6, lost in Division II quarterfinals)

21. Frontier

(2015 record: 5-6, lost in Division I first round)

22. Madera South

(2015 record: 5-6, lost in Division IV quarterfi-

nals)

23. Selma

(2015 record: 8-4, lost in Division IV quarterfi-

nals)

24. Tehachapi

(2015 record: 7-3, lost in Division III quarterfi-

nals)

25. Garces

(2015 record: 2-9, lost in Division II quarterfinals)

Next five: Kingsburg, Bakersfield Christian,

Stockdale, Reedley-Immanuel, Fresno-Washing-

ton Union

FRESNO-CENTRAL

2015 record: 4-8, lost in

Division I quarterfinals

An impressive closing stretch to the 2015 season and a

cast of 14 returning starters give the Grizziles high hopes

that they can compete in the TRAC and in the section.

There are always plenty of athletes at the 4,000-student,

two-campus school; here’s two you should keep an eye

on: Explosive receivers Malik White and Nate Howard,

who will give the winner of the quarterback competition

two of the best options in the section.

NO.

CLOVIS NORTH

2015 record: 7-5, lost in

Division I semifinals

There are not a ton back for what was a high-flying Clovis

North team in 2015, including the retirement of longtime

Central Section coach Tim Simons. But his replacement,

Casey Quinn, brings hope of continued success. He had a

successful TRAC tenure at Central last decade, and he

had an immediate impact at Chavez, where he coached

the past two seasons. It’s safe to say he’s working with a

lot more in terms of talents and depth at one of the sec-

tion’s new powers.

NO.

2015 record: 10-2,

lost in Division II

semifinals

Never overlook this pro-

gram under longtime

coach Chuck Shidan,

whose Apaches have

always been solid but

might be primed to leap

into title contention,

both in the County-

Metro Athletic Confer-

ence and in the Division

II playoffs. Quarterback

J.T. Tijerina and line-

backer Miguel Garcia

are two of the section’s

best players on offense

and defense, respective-

ly. Could this be the

team that finally

dethrones Ridgeview?

SANGER

NO.

2015 record: 5-6,

lost in Division I first round

The rule during Paul Golla’s (pic-

tured) 11-year tenure at BHS has

been pretty simple: When the

Drillers have a quarterback who can

effectively run the triple option,

they can be very, very difficult to

beat. When they don’t, they get

into a lot of defensive slugfests and

drop games to elite teams. Last

year was the most extreme exam-

ple yet, as Bakersfield found itself

unable to score enough to compete

at a high level. That could change

this season with the maturation of

a couple of QBs in Cam Williams

and Josh Maran who have led the

underclass team to undefeated sea-

sons.

BAKERSFIELD

HIGH

NO.

CALIFORNIAN FILE

Thursday, August 25, 2016 The Bakersfield Californian 9

CLOVIS WEST

2015 record: 6-5, lost in

Division I quarterfinals

No team in the section had a better stable of young contributors than

Clovis West, which had a productive sophomore QB in Adrian Martinez

(1,672 passing yards, 902 rushing yards) to go with 10th-grade standouts

like twin linebackers Dusty and D.J. Schramm and wide receivers Rod-

ney Wright and Jayden Helms. The question is whether those players as

juniors can step into the voids created by the graduation of five-star

recruits Caleb Kelly and Darian Owens.

NO.

HANFORD

2015 record: 14-1,

Division III section champion,

Division 4-AA state champion

When the Bullpups lost 42-7 against archrival Lemoore to end last regular

season, it was hard to fathom what came next: Suddenly healthy Hanford

got on a roll and kept getting stronger, going on a five-game postseason

run that ended with a state-championship victory against Chula Vista-

Bonita Vista. The return of Juwuane Hughes from injury was a big factor,

and he has graduated. Still, Hanford has quarterback Ryan Johnson

(3,085 yards, 35 TDs, 8 interceptions) among seven returning starters on

offense.

NO.

FRESNO-BULLARD

2015 record: 9-3, lost in

Division I semifinals

Here’s a rare top 10 team with a returning quarterback in senior Jack

Taylor, though he won’t have the security blanket of Charles Williams,

the Bullard running back who terrorized so many defenses over the past

four years. Bullard’s annually strong defense should carry the Knights

through most games, with prolific tacklers Ben Baker and Cameron

Lamanuzzi leading the way.

NO.

CLOVIS

2015 record: 11-2, lost

Division I championship

The electric combination of quarterback Sean Kuenzinger and prolific

receivers J.J. Wills and Coltin Velasquez is gone, but Clovis has good

football players just about everywhere else. The Cougars returns 12

starters, including linebacker Trevor Hartmann and tight end/defensive

end Sean Alexander, and coach Rich Hammond always seems to have

them steady week in and week out. This is the favorite in an open Tri-

River Athletic Conference race, and the TRAC winner very rarely doesn’t

get a top-two seed.

NO.

LIBERTY

2015 record: 10-4, won Division I championship

Finding a replacement for quarterback Jordan Love is going to be the toughest task, especially

behind an offensive line that’s also working in some new bodies. The likely candidate is senior

Bryson Faulconer, who has the confidence of his teammates but has yet to perform well in a

game environment. If he can make his share of plays, the rest of the roster remains stacked.

That’s most true on defense, where two-way playmaker Johnny Balderas (pictured), Luke

Fringer and Zach Griffin are stars and Kurtis Brown is transcendent, affecting nearly every

play from his defensive tackle spot.

NO.

RIDGEVIEW

2015 record: 13-1, won Division II championship

The Wolf Pack proved its credentials against Division I teams early last season and then never let

up, all the way to its third D-II championship in four years and a second straight trip to the CIF

SoCal regional game. This year, the Wolf Pack would like to take things a step or two further and

win a state title. Replacing Lawrence White and Darius Smith is going to be a huge obstacle on

that path, but this program has developed to the point where one or two departures aren’t going

to matter that much. Jamar Moya and Jaleyn Prevost (pictured) are due for breakout seasons,

and look out for sophomore Keonte Glinton.

CALIFORNIAN FILE

10 The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, August 25, 2016

BY TREVOR HORN

The Bakersfield Californian

thorn@bakersfield.com

Linemen in football don’t

always get noticed because what

they do sets up highlights for

other players.

But there is a group of local

linemen — big in size and per-

sonality — sure to garner plenty

attention this fall.

These guys talk about what

cleats they like to wear and the

excitement of new uniforms and

gloves. But don’t get it twisted:

These large creatures that roam

the football fields on Friday

nights are all about that action.

It all starts with a foursome of

seniors who have all attracted big

college attention.

• Kurtis Brown is a three-year

starter for Liberty and is verbally

committed to Arizona.

• Gabe Cherry is a mammoth of a

man at defensive end for Centen-

nial and is committed to Cal.

• Bakersfield High’s Daniel

Schoene is the biggest of them all,

6-foot-6 and 305 pounds. He has

interest from San Jose State and

Fresno State with more to follow.

• Ricky Leung-Wai is a Ridgeview

speed rusher with power to boot.

He has an offer from San Diego

State on his resume.

These four big boys occupy the

line of scrimmage and are eager

to gain the attention of fans,

opposing coaches and players

and college recruiters.

“It’s great to be finally in the

spotlight and be in the newspa-

per as the big stars instead of

those running backs and those

little guys,” Brown said.

It’s not as if these four are new

to the scene.

Brown was the BVarsity Defen-

sive Player of the Year in 2015,

with 25 quarterback hurries, six

sacks and a team-high 96 tackles

coming off the line.

Schoene is the unquestioned

leader for Bakersfield on offense.

He was a first-team All-Area line-

man as a junior and second team

as a sophomore.

Leung-Wai is the smallest of

the foursome at 6-2, 240, but he is

as ferocious off the ball as any

defensive lineman in the section,

leading Ridgeview with six sacks

last season and garnering a first-

team All-Area selection.

Cherry, at 6-5 and 280 pounds, is

the one who was lost in the shuffle

last season. He wasn’t nominated

for all-Southwest Yosemite League

honors despite eight tackles for

loss with four sacks.

Cherry continues with an old-

school approach to the season.

“I really am a quiet guy that

likes to take care of business,”

Cherry said. “I like to work hard

and just be the best me.”

Brown might edge out Cherry

by the slimmest of margins in

terms of big-time recruiting this

offseason, but his current posi-

tion wasn’t on his radar even as

recently as three years ago.

“I was a little skeptical at first,

because I liked playing middle

linebacker; that was my spot,”

said Brown, who lined as a scout-

team cornerback for fun during

one preseason practice — and

then broke up a perfect pass. “But

coaches really took me under their

wings and said D-end was the

focal point on a defense. I took

that to heart and it’s been good.”

A spot on the defensive line

was something Cherry wanted

early in his football endeavors.

“From Day 1 when I started

playing football, I wanted to be a

defensive lineman,” Cherry said.

“I wanted to sack the quarter-

back, and I wanted to get in peo-

ple’s faces. I wanted to bust up

the line of scrimmage. That is

something I’ve wanted to do

since I was a sixth-grader.”

Schoene also has a passion for

being a leader on the line. In the

Drillers offense, the guard posi-

tion is responsible for lead block-

ing on running plays, and he rel-

ishes the chance to lead the

charge on each play.

“The biggest pride for me is

just knocking someone on their

butt or (to) get to a linebacker,”

Schoene said. “It’s about getting

down there in the dirt and the

mud and getting dirty and beat-

ing the crap out of people.”

That word pride: It’s something

needed for a lineman. They rarely

get to plan a touchdown celebra-

tion, but the importance of a

dominating line can be the lead-

ing factor in a winning season.

“Coaches always talk about it.

Lines always win games,” Brown

said. “Whoever is the most physi-

cal in the trenches will win that

game no matter what.”

BIG MEN ON CAMPUS

UNHERALDED LINEMEN LOOK TO LEAD THE WAY THIS SEASON FOR BAKERSFIELD’S TOP TEAMS

These four big boys

occupy the line of

scrimmage and are

eager to gain the

attention of fans,

opposing coaches

and players and

college recruiters.

From left, Bakersfield’s

Daniel Schoene, Liber-

ty’s Kurtis Brown and

Centennial’s Gabe

Cherry are expected to

anchor their respective

lines this season.

HENRY A. BARRIOS /

THE CALIFORNIAN

Thursday, August 25, 2016 The Bakersfield Californian 11

FOOTBALL BOWL SUBDIVISION

• Krys Barnes, fr, LB,

UCLA (Liberty)

• Josh Boyd, fr, DB,

Wyoming (West)

• Kamari Cotton-Moya, jr,

DB, Iowa State (Ridgeview)

• Sheldon Croney, RFr, RB,

Iowa State (Ridgeview)

• Andrew Daugherty, jr,

WR, Air Force (Centennial)

• Nathan DeJager, fr, K,

Fresno State (BCHS)

• Colton Foster, soph, DL,

Colorado State (Frontier)

• Ruben Guerra, RFr, OL,

UTEP (Liberty)

• Brandon Jones, soph,

QB, San Diego State (BCHS,

Ventura College)

• Timothy Lele’a, fr, OL,

Fresno State (Ridgeview)

• Jordan Love, fr, QB, Utah

State (Liberty)

• Anthony Mariscal, RFr,

S, Arizona (Liberty)

• Michael Martens, sr,

WR, Fresno State (Centen-

nial, Azusa Pacific)

• Cole Mazza, sr, snapper,

Alabama (Liberty)

• Asauni Rufus, soph, DB,

Nevada (Bakersfield)

• Braylin Scott, soph, DB,

Colorado State (Liberty)

• Khalin Smith, sr, LB,

Idaho (Bakersfield College)

• Matt Smith, RFr, RB, Air

Force (BCHS)

• Keoni Taylor, jr, OL, San

Jose State (Garces)

• Justin Verrell, sr, long

snapper, Fresno State

(Garces, BC)

• Lawrence White, fr, DB,

Iowa State (Ridgeview)

FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

SUBDIVISION

• Darren Adjei, jr, DB, Cal

Poly (Liberty, BC)

• Shaquan Baines, soph,

DE, Northern Colorado

(Ridgeview)

• Marcus Bruce, soph, DB,

Sacramento State (BHS)

• Reagan Enger, jr, TE, Cal

Poly (Centennial)

• Dominic Frasch, jr, DB,

Cal Poly (Garces, BC)

• Alex Galland, soph, K/P,

Yale (Liberty)

• Corbin Jountti, soph, RB,

Northern Arizona (Liberty)

• Quincy Jountti, fr, RB,

Sacramento State (Liberty)

• B.J. Nard, sr, DB, Cal Poly

(Frontier)

• R.J. Oliver, soph, TE, Yale

(BCHS)

• Jeremiah Reddick, soph,

TE, Sacramento State

(BHS)

• Fondereaux Wilson,

soph, WR, Idaho State

(West)

LOCAL

COLLEGE

PLAYERS

BY TREVOR HORN

The Bakersfield Californian

thorn@bakersfield.com

Four years ago, Kamari Cotton-

Moya was excited for the opportu-

nity to play college football in the

Big 12 Conference and experience

a new environment right out of

high school.

These days, he seems like a

trailblazer now that he is joined by

two other former Ridgeview foot-

ball standouts at Iowa State: Shel-

don Croney and Lawrence White.

“I’ve known those guys, I’ve

played with them for a long time,”

Cotton-Moya said.

Cotton-Moya was the conference

freshman of the year in 2014 and

was one of the leading tacklers for

the Cyclones last season before an

injury cut his season short.

Heading into his redshirt junior

year, Cotton-Moya was one of two

team representatives at the con-

ference media days in July and is a

veteran leader on defense at safety

after an injury shortened his

sophomore campaign.

“I am ready to go. I feel good, I

have healed fast,” Cotton-Moya

said.

Croney enters his redshirt fresh-

man season with the possibility of

seeing the field at running back

despite an unsuccessful attempt

from the former Iowa State coach-

ing staff to move him to defense.

When Matt Campbell became the

Cyclones’ coach, he kept Croney

in the backfield.

“It has been easy for me. My

position coach stayed,” Croney

said. “He knows us, and we know

him. I am happy about that.”

White becomes the third

Ridgeview standout to Iowa State

this year after being named the

BVarsity Football Player of the Year

in 2015. Cotton-Moya earned that

honor his senior year at Ridgeview

in 2012. Croney was the 2013

Offensive Player of the Year as a

junior at Garces and again in his

senior year in 2014 at Ridgeview.

It’s always impressive for one

high school team to have three

players in four years go to a major

college football program, but for

all three to go to the same team in

three different seasons is uncom-

mon.

“Me and Kamari talked about

it,” Croney said. “We talked about

three kids that graduated from

Ridgeview. It would be cool for the

town.”

Both Cotton-Moya and Croney

credit the teaching of Ridgeview

coach Dennis Manning for instill-

ing a sense of “toughness” learned

while at Ridgeview. White was

unavailable for comment because

of a rule keeping incoming fresh-

men from speaking to the media.

“Manning always preached that

we would be tough,” Croney said.

“That’s one thing that coming

from Ridgeview that you learn to

work through things.”

No way to tell if more Wolf Pack

players will follow to Ames, Iowa,

but Cotton-Moya knows there has

been plenty of talent on campus

at Ridgeview for the opportunity.

“Of course I could imagine it,

because we have talent at

Ridgeview,” he said. “It has been

wonderful.”

Love for their city

Asauni Rufus knows exactly

what Anthony Mariscal is heading

into this fall.

A year ago, Rufus, the BVarsity

Player of the Year in 2013 after

leading Bakersfield to the CIF

Division I state championship,

was working to become a starter

at safety for Nevada. It didn’t take

long, and Rufus finished the year

leading the Wolf Pack with 105

tackles as a redshirt freshman.

“This year, it goes from playing

a reliable spot on the team to

actually lead the defense and be

one of the vets, because we have a

young defense,” Rufus said.

For Mariscal, the 2014 Player of

the Year at Liberty, this season

feels a lot like last year’s did for

Rufus; he’s got a shot at getting

quality reps in at Arizona at safety.

“I am just going in with the mind-

set to take in every detail my coach

says ... and do whatever is supposed

to be done,” Mariscal said.

As the two continue to embark

on productive careers at college

programs, their affection for their

hometown is ever present.

“I take pride being from Bakers-

field, because no one knows

what’s here and what it’s all

about,” Mariscal said. “All of the

athletes here are tremendous; we

just don’t get enough action.”

Some people in Reno might

think that Rufus is an unofficial

spokesman for the city.

“Everybody that knows me in

Reno knows that I rep Bakersfield

to the fullest,” Rufus said. “No one

better not say anything bad about

Bakersfield, ever, when I am

around.”

Kern’s

college

pipeline

THREE RIDGEVIEW ALUMS ESTABLISH

BAKERSFIELD’S LINK TO IOWA STATE;

OTHERS EXCEL AT BIG SCHOOLS

Kamari Cotton-Moya addresses the media during

Big 12 media day in July. The junior, who graduat-

ed from Ridgeview, is expected to be a key part of

Iowa State’s defense this season.

USA TODAY SPORTS

Nevada’s

Asauni Rufus

tackles a

San Diego

State player

last season.

The sopho-

more and

BHS grad led

the Wolf

Pack in tack-

les last sea-

son, and is

one of the

team’s top

returners.

USA TODAY

SPORTS

12 The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, August 25, 2016

Bakersfield College’s

2016 football sched-

ule. Opponents’ 2015

records in parenthe-

ses.

Sept. 3: at Allan

Hancock (4-6), 3

p.m.

Series: BC leads 23-7

Last meeting: Hancock

39, BC 35, Sept. 26,

2015

Sept. 10: Chaffey

(7-4), 6 p.m.

Series: BC leads 1-0

Last meeting: BC 23,

Chaffey 10, Nov. 22,

2014 in Western State

Bowl

Sept. 17: at River-

side (8-3), 6 p.m.

Series: Tied 2-2

Last meeting: Riverside

33, BC 14, Sept. 5, 2015

Sept. 24: L.A. Har-

bor (0-10), 6 p.m.

Series: BC leads 19-0

Last meeting: BC 49,

Harbor 10, Sept. 29,

2007

Oct. 1: at El Camino

(3-7), 6 p.m.

Series: BC leads 25-23

Last meeting: BC 28, El

Camino 0, Oct. 12, 2013

Oct. 8: Bye

Oct. 15: at Moor-

park (5-5), 6 p.m.*

Series: BC leads 17-6-1

Last meeting: BC 31,

Moorpark 15, Oct. 17,

2015

Oct. 22: Cerritos

(8-3), 6 p.m.*

Series: Tied 15-15

Last meeting: Cerritos

28, BC 0, Oct. 24, 2015

Oct. 29: at Santa

Monica (11-0), 6

p.m.*

Series: BC leads 38-9

Last meeting: BC 43,

Santa Monica 0, Sept.

19, 2009

Nov. 5: Ventura (8-

3), 1 p.m.*

Series: BC leads 27-9

Last meeting: Ventura

37, BC 28, Nov. 14, 2015

Nov. 12: Canyons

(6-4), 1 p.m.*

Series: Tied 8-8

Last meeting: Canyons

20, BC 14, Oct. 3, 2015

* — National North-

ern League game

2016 BC

FOOTBALL

SCHEDULE

WATCH

THESE

GAMES

LIVE

Go to

Bakersfield.com on

game day to watch

all of these games

live with Vance Palm

and Kirk Bowyer.

GETTING BACK

UP TO SPEED

Missing a year of football has Derrick Vickers

appreciating the game more than ever.

“It was really hard, just sitting there and watch-

ing the team play without me,” said Vickers, a

sophomore wide receiver at Bakersfield College.

“I felt I could’ve helped them.”

No doubt that’s true.

Vickers’ absence, combined with several other

shortcomings, contributed to a 2-8 season last

year, the worst full-season won-lost record in the

Renegades’ history, which dates to 1922.

Vickers had a solid and sometimes

spectacular freshman season in 2014,

when he helped BC to a 7-4 record

and postseason bowl berth.

His hope of continuing his career

last season was derailed by a broken

left wrist during his freshman season

that wasn’t fixed until he underwent

surgery in June 2015.

“I wasn’t cleared fast enough for

me to come back and play,” Vickers

said.

Now healthy and bulked up from a

busy off-season in the weight room,

Vickers is primed for what he hopes

will be a memorable sophomore sea-

son.

Along the way he’s gained maturi-

ty, which his BC coaches have

noticed.

“He’s a completely different guy,”

head coach Jeff Chudy said. “He’s

turned it around in everything he’s

doing. He’s got attention to detail.

He’s getting it done in the classroom.

He’s getting it done in the weight

room. He’s getting it done on the

field. He’s getting it done in the lock-

er room. Now he’s got a sense of pur-

pose.”

That wasn’t the case two seasons

ago, when Vickers was fresh out of

Bakersfield High School.

“I realize a lot more now,” Vickers

said. “I’ve buckled down. I’ve got my

schoolwork in order. I have priorities.

I have a son. I have stuff that I’m

doing this for. It’s made me work a

lot harder, knowing I have a son, so

I’m not just doing it for myself any-

more.”

His son, Derrick Jr., will celebrate

his first birthday Sunday.

“I see him a lot, every day,” Vickers

said. “He’s always with me. He’s

made a big impact on me. That’s

who I do it for.”

While football remains a priority,

Please see PAGE 13

AFTER AN INJURY COST HIM HIS 2015 SEASON, DERRICK VICKERS LOOKS TO REBOUND FOR ‘GADES

BY JEFF EVANS

The Bakersfield Californian

jevans@bakersfield.com

CASEY CHRISTIE / THE CALIFORNIAN

One of the key weapons BC hopes to use against opponents this season is Derrick Vickers, a Bakersfield High alum who was a key offensive

weapon in 2014’s 7-4 campaign.

Thursday, August 25, 2016 The Bakersfield Californian 13

“

Bakersfield College hopes

to rebound from a miser-

able 2015 season, one of

the worst in school history,

with a lot of returners and

a few fresh faces, too.

As head coach Jeff Chudy

and his Renegades try to

scale back to the top of the

California junior-college

rankings, here is a position-

by-position rundown of

BC’s team with comments

from position coaches.

JEFF EVANS

OFFENSE

QUARTERBACKS

Coach Brent Paul says:

Dalton Gallis (pictured) is back (57-of-

96 passing, 799 yards, 6 TDs). He has

experience, he’s seen the defenses, he’s

seen the blitzes. Dalton

didn’t miss a day in the

weight room all spring

and all summer. He’s

won over the team.

He’s proven he’s ready

to carry this team. That

being said, we do have

a quarterback competi-

tion. Cesar De Leon

from Centennial is really pushing Dalton.

He’s picked up the offense quickly. He’s

got a lot of leadership abilities. In the

aspect of controlling the offense, he acts

like a veteran. We also have Hector Lopez

from Mira Monte and Michael Nava from

Cesar Chavez.

RUNNING BACKS

Coach Tony Silver says:

It’s a real young group with very little col-

lege experience, and we’ve got a long

way to go. (Bakersfield High graduate)

Lameshio Hill (pic-

tured) was hurt before

our first game last year

and ended up redshirt-

ing. We’ve got a kid

named (Chris) Sierra,

who’s back from last

year, a backup who got

to play a game or two.

Freshman Isaiah

Jones from Porterville

(2,376 yards, 8.6 average, 28 TDs last

season) has got some pretty good cre-

dentials. At fullback, we’ve got Deonte

Willis, who played at Hancock 3-4 years

ago, and another kid, Eder Tavera, who

was in (military) service for six years. And

we’re going to have Derrick Vickers.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Coach Vince Van Horne says:

We’ve got a good group of guys com-

pared to years past. We’ve got six or

seven guys who will play for us. Derrick

Vickers (pictured) is definitely back on

pace after taking last year off (Vickers

had 42 catches for 638

yards and 11 TDs in

2014). Faizon Knight

is back (37 catches,

342 yards, 2 TDs). He’s

another guy like Der-

rick. The talent is

there. He’s been taking

some big steps. We’ve

also got Mehki Ayers

from Burroughs and a couple of transfers

from Long Beach City College who red-

shirted there, Carlton Bowman and Alex

Henderson. Mehki’s got a lot of talent.

We just have to sculpt them.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Coach Carl Dean, who is also the

offensive coordinator, says:

We’ve got a good group. We don’t have a

lot of depth, so we’re hoping to stay

healthy. Our returners (include) Jacob

Allen, a guy who was supposed to have

played with us last year but tore his ACL

in camp. Chris Her-

nandez, our starting

center, is back. He’s

going to play guard for

us. Also returning is

Dalton Jones, who

was a backup for us.

At center is Lino

Medrano (pictured,

above), who’s from

South and went to

Mid-American

Nazarene out of high

school and redshirted

there. The rest are

freshmen, all local

guys. Kobe Wright

from Frontier, Jarrett

Diaz from Mira Monte,

Carlo Balmet (pictured, below) from

Highland, Blake Bryant from Liberty,

Elias Solis from Liberty. We’re trying to

figure out who the top five are. We’re

moving kids around.

TIGHT ENDS

Dean says:

Logan Soto is a returner from last year,

and I think he’ll be the guy they watch

and learn from. A kid from Stockdale,

Joseph Mclemore, is doing a good job.

And we’ve got a kid who moved over

from quarterback, Andre McCall, who’s

figuring it out. We’re not real deep there.

DEFENSE

DEFENSIVE LINE

Coach Clint Carter says:

We have five guys. Mykeil (Clayton) is

coming back; he’s our only interior line-

man coming back. (Dom) Demarco

from Frontier, a freshman, is looking

good. Others are

Tyrrel (Eddington)

(pictured) from East

High and Justin

Holmes from Liberty.

Nigel Brooks from

BHS has come back to

join us (he’s a bounce-

back from Northern

Colorado). We have a

solid group of returners, and we have

some freshmen coming in who are buy-

ing into what we’re doing. We’re playing

like a team.

DEFENSIVE ENDS/

OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS

Coach Jack O’Brien says:

I’ve got six or seven guys with two return-

ing starters: Oscar Avila at (outside LB)

and Mason Grantz at D-end, and Peyton

Solf is a defensive end who was an out-

side ‘backer who’s really helping out. Oth-

ers are Joe Fonseca from Foothill,

Dominic Brooks and Alex Bolden from

Washington Union (in Fresno). We’re

going to be pretty solid there. We’re at

least three deep, and all of them can play.

INSIDE LINEBACKERS

Coach Reggie Bolton, who is also the

defensive coordinator, says:

We have seven kids, with three returners

who played a lot. Solomon Ajayi did a

good job for us last year, and we’re look-

ing for big things from him this year.

Justin Nieto took last year off because

he had a shoulder injury, but he played a

lot the year before. He has a lot of expe-

rience. And Colby Sheridan will play the

middle linebacker position. He played a

little bit and has had a lot of improve-

ment since last year. Cameron Pacheco

is the other returner. Kevin Frith from

Liberty is at weak outside linebacker.

Another is Jaylin Simpkins (West High).

SAFETIES

Coach James McGill:

We’ve got about eight kids but no

returning starters. It’s a talented group.

(Justin) Cash played a lot of nickel and

dime packages. As for the new guys,

we’ve got (Matt) Hubble from Liberty

— he’s going to be pretty nice — (John-

ny) Iakopo from Taft and (Mason) Saba

from Centennial. It’s a big learning curve

for them. They go from playing man-to-

man in high school to coming up here,

where you’ve got to know the defense

and you’ve got to know what’s going to

happen next.

CORNERBACKS

Coach Tyler Thompson says:

We’ve got seven, no returners, all fresh-

men. Our top four guys are pretty even.

We’re just getting them as many reps as

we can. Cristion Brown from Ridgeview is

a really good athlete. (There’s) Bobby

Robinson from South High, Lenny

Richards (from New Jersey) and Zion

Williams from Stockdale. And there’s Juan

Rodriguez from Delano, Malcolm Jordan

from Arvin and Elijah Russell from

(Porterville-) Monache. The first four guys,

physically, are a little ahead. It’s a matter of

who figures it out first, because they’re all

good in their own ways. They’ll be running

all over the place chasing fast guys.

KICKING GAME

Coach Matt Alvarez says:

We’ve got two new guys and two return-

ers. Jacob Young from Liberty is the

only one with game experience. He was

our kickoff guy. Abraham Katona from

Tehachapi will probably start at punter.

Young and Katona have two of the big-

ger legs I’ve seen in a while. The two

new guys are Andrew Meza from West

and Rey Garza from Ridgeview. They

have some work to do. Our long snap-

pers are all new, Sam Findley and Ryan

Chapman. Both need work, but both

have gotten so much better since Day 1.

and something Vickers hopes will be his tick-

et to a higher-education degree, there are

other avenues available to him.

A criminal justice major, Vickers said he is

looking at a career as a correctional officer

and then a counselor when his football

career ends.

“He’s really turned it around in the class-

room,” said Vince Van Horne, BC’s wide

receivers coach. “He’s picked it up and he

understands that if you’re going to get to the

next level, you’ve got to take care of business

in the classroom first. And with all these new

rules and regulations, you really need to step

up. And he’s doing that.”

Some notable four-year universities have

contacted him, Vickers said, identifying

Texas A&M,

Washington,

Washington State,

San Diego State

and Nevada.

“That’s all up in

the air now,” he

said. “I want to go

to a school that

throws the ball a

lot. That’s my

main goal. I’ll go

anywhere where I

can get my

schooling.”

But first there’s

this season.

Vickers is pro-

jected to return to

the role he

excelled in two

seasons ago: wide

receiver who will

move into the

offensive backfield at times and get carries as

a running back.

Vickers’ explosiveness is a weapon BC

plans to use by getting the ball into his

hands as often as possible.

The best example of Vickers’ game-chang-

ing skills came two seasons ago against

Moorpark, when he caught a short pass and

made a spectacular move near the goal line

to score the game-winning touchdown with

15 seconds remaining in a 50-47 BC victory.

That was Vickers’ fifth scoring catch of

that game, with the five TDs thought to be

the most by a player in one game in BC’s

history.

“He’s a difference-maker,” Chudy said.

“He has the ability to do things not a lot of

guys can do. His skill set is different from the

average kid playing at our level.

“For us, we’ve got to take advantage of

that skill set and utilize him in every which

way we can. Get him the ball, keep him

healthy and have him be a guy who forces

people to defend him, which will open it up

for other guys.

“And when they don’t defend him, he’ll

make them pay the price.”

Two seasons ago, Vickers led BC with 11

touchdowns, all receiving. He had 42 catches

for 638 yards and added 380 yards as a run-

ning back on 67 carries.

That came on the heels of his senior sea-

son at Bakersfield High, when he helped the

Drillers win the Division I state title.

“Coming in as a freshman, I was nervous.

I didn’t know what to expect,” Vickers said.

“I knew the game was going to be much

faster than when I was at BHS. I came in

with a chip on my shoulder knowing I was

just going to work hard. I had to get my start-

ing spot.

“This year I just feel like I’m way faster and

stronger, smarter. I’m good to go.”

At the end of his freshman season, Vickers

said he weighed 168. He’s at 193 now.

“Right now I’m working on bonding with

my team,” he said. “We need to be a team,

buy into the system and be coachable.”

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

VICKERS’

EXPLOSIVE-

NESS IS A

WEAPON BC

PLANS

TO USE BY

GETTING

THE BALL

INTO HIS

HANDS AS

OFTEN AS

POSSIBLE.

‘GADES AT A GLANCE

14 The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, August 25, 2016

OTHER CALIFORNIA

D-I TEAMS

STANFORD

2015: 12-2, 8-1 Pac 12 (beat Iowa

in Rose Bowl, 45-16)

COACH: David Shaw, sixth season

with team, 54-14

OUTLOOK: With 2015 Heisman

candidate Christian McCaffrey

back, things should be all right on

the Farm this season. The biggest

question is who will replace Kevin

Hogan at quarterback: sophomore

Keller Chryst or junior Ryan Burns.

The Cardinal faces a daunting early

season, with three of the Pac-12’s

top teams in its first four games

(USC, UCLA and Washington.)

SCHEDULE: Sept. 2, Kansas State;

Sept. 17, USC; Sept. 24, at UCLA;

Sept. 30, at Wash.; Oct. 8, Wash.

State; Oct. 15, at Notre Dame; Oct.

22, Colorado; Oct. 29, at Arizona;

Nov. 5, Oregon State; Nov. 12, at

Oregon; Nov. 19, at Cal; Nov.26,

Rice.

CALIFORNIA

2015: 8-5, 4-5 Pac-12 (beat Air

Force in Armed Forces Bowl, 55-

36)

COACH: Sonny Dykes, fourth sea-

son with team, 14-23

OUTLOOK: With star quarterback

Jared Goff the presumptive future

of the Los Angeles Rams and

other big losses, Dykes must

break in a new set of starters this

season. Jake Spavital is the team’s

new offensive coordinator after

leaving Texas A&M. Finding Goff’s

replacement will be the key to the

early going.

SCHEDULE: Aug. 27, Hawaii in

Australia; Sept. 10, San Diego

State; Sept. 17, Texas; Sept. 24, at

Arizona State; Oct. 1, Utah; Oct. 8,

at Oregon State; Oct. 21, Oregon;

Oct. 27, at USC; Nov. 5, Wash.;

Nov. 12, at Wash. State; Nov. 19,

Stanford; Nov. 26, UCLA.

SAN JOSE STATE

2015: 6-7, 4-4 MW (beat Ga.

State in Cure Bowl, 27-16)

COACH: Ron Caragher, fourth

season with team, 15-22.

OUTLOOK: San Jose State is one

of the few Mountain West teams

not seeking a new quarterback,

with Kenny Potter looking to have

a breakout season. Coach Ron

Caragher can’t afford another

mediocre season after two

straight off years, despite last

year’s bowl game. Key for the

Spartans this season is finding a

way to stop the run (200.8 yards

allowed in 2015, 102nd in the

country.)

SCHEDULE: Sept. 3, at Tulsa;

Sept. 10, Portland State; Sept. 17,

Utah; Sept. 24, at Iowa State; Oct.

1, at N. Mexico; Oct. 8, Hawaii;

Oct. 15, Nevada; Oct. 21, at San

Diego State; Oct. 29, UNLV; Nov. 5,

at Boise State; Nov. 19, Air Force;

Nov. 26, at Fresno State.

SAN DIEGO STATE

2015: 11-3, 8-0 MW (beat Cincin-

nati in the Hawaii Bowl, 42-7)

COACH: Rocky Long, sixth season

with team, 43-23

OUTLOOK: The Aztecs enter the

season as the favorites in the MW

West, and by some metrics the

favorite to win the conference

over Boise State. They return last

year’s Mountain West offensive

player of the year Donnel

Pumphrey, and sophomore Chris-

tian Chapman was a strong quar-

terback when he started the last

two games last year.

SCHEDULE: Sept. 3, New Hamp-

shire; Sept. 10, Cal; Sept. 17, at N.

Illinois; Oct. 1, at S. Alabama; Oct.

8, UNLV; Oct. 15, at Fresno State;

Oct. 21, San Jose State; Oct. 29, at

Utah State; Nov. 5, Hawaii; Nov. 12,

at Nevada; Nov. 19, at Wyoming;

Nov. 26, Colorado State.

Gone is Centennial gradu-

ate and current Cleveland

Brown quarterback Cody

Kessler, but there is still

plenty of firepower for the

USC Trojans in 2016.

Kessler’s replacement has

the advantage of throwing

passes to Juju Schuster-

Smith, one of the top

receivers in the nation, and

Zach Banner, a mammoth of

a man, protecting the blind-

side at left tackle.

Clay Helton’s first full sea-

son as the skipper for the

Trojans will all be about

finding a way to stay kings

of La La Land.

The NFL Draft took a big

toll with eight Bruins draft-

ed, but sophomore Josh

Rosen’s golden right arm

could keep UCLA in the mix

in the Pac-12.

On defense, bruising

defensive lineman Eddie

Vanderdoes returns after

suffering a season-ending

knee injury last September.

The 305-pound junior is

back at full strength and

will be leader for what

could be a stellar defense

that could bring UCLA back

to the top of the conference

and provide a chance at a

New Year’s Six bowl game.

The Bulldogs have lacked

stability at quarterback

since BCHS alum Derek

Carr was drafted two years

ago. Now, with a new offen-

sive coordinator in Eric

Kiesau from Alabama and a

bevy of young hopefuls

under center, Fresno State is

hoping to rebound from a

down 2015 season.

The contenders at quarter-

back include Kilton Ander-

son, Chason Virgil and Zach

Kline. Fortunately for the

QB competition’s winner,

the Bulldogs bring back a

young and talented receiv-

ing corps.

2015 at a glance: 8-6 overall, 6-3 (tied

first in Pac-12 South), lost 23-21 to Wis-

consin in Holiday Bowl

2015 at a glance: 8-5 overall, 5-4 in

Pac-12 South, lost 37-29 to Nebraska in

Foster Farms Bowl

2015 at a glance: 3-9 overall, 2-6

Mountain West-West division, no bowl

game.

KEY PLAYER | CHASON VIRGIL

Quarterback

The redshirt freshman played in parts of

three games last season before going down

with an injury that ended his year. A lot is

riding on whether Virgil can nail down the

starting position. The Bulldogs may be able

to bridge the gap for one more year with the

arrival of grad transfer Zach Kline from Cal or

incumbent starter Kilton Anderson, but the

hope is that Virgil becomes a dynamic threat

under center sooner rather than later.

KEY PLAYER | JOSH ROSEN

Quarterback

The 2015 freshman campaign for Rosen went

better than expected, so the bar has been set

very high for the prototypical signal-caller,

nicknamed “Chosen Rosen.” Bruins coach

Jim Mora hand picked a new offensive coor-

dinator to better suit his superstar quarter-

back. The only red flag for Rosen is whether

he has matured enough to become a Holly-

wood darling, but he doesn’t personally seem

concerned once on the field.

KEY PLAYER | ADOREE JACKSON

CB/Ret/WR

The do-it-all superstar is likely heading into

his last season at USC with a sight on the

NFL Draft and the shot of becoming the first

primarily defensive player to win the Heis-

man Trophy since Michigan’s Charles Wood-

son in 1997. Jackson is a shutdown corner-

back and an explosive return man and will

see time again at receiver as well.

SEASON OUTLOOK

SEASON OUTLOOK SEASON OUTLOOK

CLAY HELTON

Second season with team, 6-4, 0-1 in bowl

games.

HEAD COACH

JIM MORA JR.

Fifth season with team, 37-16, 2-2 in bowl

games.

HEAD COACH

TIM DeRUYTER

Fourth season with team, 29-23, 0-3 in bowl

games.

HEAD COACH

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

USC TROJANS

UCLA BRUINS

FRESNO STATE BULLDOGS

Sept. 3: at Nebraska

Sept. 10: Sacramento State

Sept. 17: at Toledo

Sept. 24: Tulsa

Oct. 1: at UNLV*

Oct. 8: at Nevada*

Oct. 15: San Diego State*

Oct. 22: at Utah State*

Oct. 28: Air Force*

Nov. 5: at Colorado State*

Nov. 19: Hawaii*

Nov. 26: San Jose State*

* - Mountain West Conference games

2016 SCHEDULE

Sept. 3: vs. Alabama in Arlington, Texas

Sept. 10: Utah State

Sept. 17: at Stanford

Sept. 23: at Utah

Oct. 1: Arizona State

Oct. 8: Colorado

Oct. 15: at Arizona

Oct. 27: California

Nov. 5: Oregon

Nov. 12: at Washington

Nov. 19: at UCLA

Nov. 26: Notre Dame

* - Pac-12 Conference games

2016 SCHEDULE

Sept. 3: at Texas A&M

Sept. 10: UNLV

Sept. 17: at BYU

Sept. 24: Stanford

Oct. 1: Arizona

Oct. 8: at Arizona State

Oct. 15: at Washington State

Oct. 22: Utah

Nov. 3: at Colorado

Nov. 12: Oregon State

Nov. 19: USC

Nov. 26: at California

* - Pac-12 Conference games

2016 SCHEDULE

Thursday, August 25, 2016 The Bakersfield Californian 15

16 The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, August 25, 2016

Taking

next level

it to the

Derek Carr has established himself as an NFL starting

quarterback. What’s in store for the BCHS grad’s future?

Derek Carr cele-

brates after the

Raiders beat the

Chargers at the

O.Co Coliseum last

December. Carr has

established himself

as a starting quar-

terback, and is try-

ing to take the next

step: a playoff push.

KIRBY LEE /

USA TODAY SPORTS

Thursday, August 25, 2016 The Bakersfield Californian 17

NAPA

t wasn’t even two years ago that

the Oakland Raiders

team store did not have

a single Derek Carr jer-

sey, even as the Bakersfield

Christian quarterback made his

first start for the Silver and Black.

The astounding reality now:

The NFL Shop online has an

entire page devoted to Carr. You

can buy jerseys, hats, men’s

shirts, women’s shirts, kids

shirts, V-necks, onesies, socks

and even a Derek Carr jersey for

your dog.

In short, Derek Carr, ready to

begin his third year season in

Oakland, has become a star not

just for the Raiders but for the

entire league.

Normally, developing a young quarterback in the

NFL is about as straight-forward as putting togeth-

er IKEA furniture without instructions. Yet the

Raiders and Carr have managed it. His progression

as a quarterback has been so steady, so unyielding

and so consistent that it’s almost as if it was drawn

up in a playbook: From BCHS phenom to Fresno

State star to promising rookie to last year’s Pro

Bowl.

“The progression that he’s making ... talented

guys that work hard will improve,” Raiders coach

Jack Del Rio said at the team’s training camp in

Napa. “There’s no question that he took a signifi-

cant step forward last year, and we think there’s a

lot of room for growth in front of him. We’re excited

about continuing to develop him.”

The next step for Carr is difficult to define after a

year in which he completed 61.1 percent of passes

for 3,987 yards, 32 touchdowns and 13 intercep-

tions. Sure, the stats could get better; of the num-

bers listed above, only the touchdown total ranked

in the NFL’s top 10.

“I’ve got to be more efficient,” Carr said. “That’s

so finite, and I could pick it apart in eight different

columns. But the biggest thing is I know the

offense. I know those things: What are the details of

the offense now? What are things I can say in the

huddle, ‘Versus this (defense), you do this’? It’s just

about growing.

“We have the meat and potatoes down. Now the

extras, all the sides, I’m trying to figure those out

and really work on those.”

The Raiders drafted Carr early in the second

round of the 2014 draft, meaning nearly every team

in the league passed on him.

He began to immediately prove them wrong,

winning the starting job in Napa that year and

throwing for 3,270 yards and 21 touchdowns as a

rookie. Last year, he bettered both of those titles,

and the Raiders more than doubled their win total

from three to seven in Del Rio’s first season in Oak-

land.

Carr was selected as a replacement player for the

Pro Bowl and was well on his way to stardom. And

yet, when training camp started for rookies this sum-

mer, five days before veterans had to report, there

was Carr, lifting weights, going through drills and

instructing rookie wide receivers on their routes.

“I need to train as if I’m still that rookie training

for that starting job,” Carr said. “Even though they

told me, ‘Oh, you’ll start down the road.’ I still want

that same mindset, that same chip on my shoulder.

There’s still that second-round thing. That still

bugs me. I still let those little things drive me. It’s

not what I play for, but it’s little things that make

me want to be better all the time.”

So what’s next?

Carr, who declined one-on-one interviews dur-

ing camp but spoke regularly in news conferences,

could theoretically grow as a leader, but that’s

already an area in which coaches and teammates

consider him an expert.

“If there was any doubt he

was our leader last year,

which I’m not sure there

was much, all of those

doubts are gone now,” said

Raiders quarterbacks coach

Todd Downing. “Early in the

season last year he was still

the young guy; a couple of

the vets looked at him as the

young buck, but boy, he

erased that pretty early.

“He’s doing a great job of

leading this team, not just

the offense but the organi-

zation as a whole, and we

couldn’t ask for a better

man of character to do

that.”

There’s no doubt Carr’s

biggest area for growth is

team success. The Raiders

drafted safety Karl Joseph

out of West Virginia and

signed a trio of big-name

free agents in linebacker Bruce Irvin, cornerback

Sean Smith and offensive lineman Kelechi

Osemele. All fill positions of need, and all make the

Raiders a trendy pick around the NFL to greatly

improve last year’s 7-9 record and end a 14-year

playoff drought.

“This team right here ... is very talented,

extremely talented,” Carr said. “Obviously we’ve

seen most of these guys play and seen what they

can do, and now they’re all together on one team.

All those things are great. Compared to last year,

obviously, we’re better. Hopefully our record will

show that, what we earn.”

Increased expectations certainly amp up the

pressure on Oakland’s poster boy, but that’s never

really concerned Carr, from his days as a high

school senior in Bakersfield, at Fresno State or

under the bright lights of the NFL.

“I am the hardest person on myself at all times,”

he said. “... I want it to be perfect, man. I put so

much pressure on myself that I don’t get caught up

in, ‘Oh, we expect this or expect that.’ I already

expect greatness.”

AND YET,

WHEN

TRAINING

CAMP STARTED

FOR ROOKIES

THIS SUMMER,

FIVE DAYS

BEFORE

VETERANS HAD

TO REPORT,

THERE WAS

CARR, LIFTING

WEIGHTS,

GOING

THROUGH

DRILLS AND

INSTRUCTING

ROOKIE WIDE

RECEIVERS ON

THEIR ROUTES.

BY ZACH EWING

The Bakersfield Californian

zewing@bakersfield.com

Oakland

Raiders quar-

terback Derek

Carr shares

some closing

remarks at

the end of

the Carr Elite

football camp

in July. He

has run the

camp for the

last several

years in Bak-

ersfield.

NICK ELLIS /

FOR THE

CALIFORNIAN

10-22

Record (two seasons)

59.6%

Completion percentage (698 for 1,172)

53-25

Touchdowns-Interceptions

Derek Carr

has started

all 32 games

since he was

drafted by

Oakland 36th

overall in the

2014 draft.

USA TODAY

SPORTS FILE

CARR’S CAREER STATISTICS

18 The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, August 25, 2016

Eric Placencia, 46,

right, and his wife,

Annette, are lifelong

Rams fans who were

devastated by the

team’s move to the

Midwest 20 years ago.

They are excited to see

their favorite team

return to Southern Cali-

fornia.

CASEY CHRISTIE /

THE CALIFORNIAN

BY ZACH EWING

The Bakersfield Californian

zewing@bakersfield.com

IRVINE — It’s been nearly 22

years since Christmas Eve, 1994,

but Eric Placencia can still feel the

tears flowing down his cheeks.

That was the day the Los Angeles

Rams ceased to be Los Angeles’

Rams, when the final whistle blew

on a 24-21 loss to Washington at

Anaheim Stadium to end an other-

wise forgettable 4-12 season.

“I was devastated,” said Placen-

cia, a Kern County employee in the

income review unit and a lifelong

Rams fan. “That last game they had

at home, we’re walking out, and

they had a bunch of boxes of glass-

es that said ‘Los Angeles Rams.’ I

grabbed four or five and walked out

with tears.

“I just knew we would never get

them back.”

There are similar stories across

Southern California, fans spurned

by then-Rams owner Georgia Fron-

tiere’s plan to move the team to her

hometown of St. Louis.

For those fans, salvation has

come, and it’s no different in Bak-

ersfield, where Placencia, the vice

president of the Kern County chap-

ter of fan club Rams World Order,

and other members of what they

call the “Ram-ily” have their salva-

tion.

On Jan. 12, NFL owners voted

30-2 to move the St. Louis Rams

back to L.A., where they’ll eventual-

ly move into a $3 billion stadium in

Inglewood. In the meantime, they’ll

play at the Los Angeles Memorial

Coliseum downtown. Either way,

it’s been emotional news for fans

whose allegiance never swayed

during all those years in the Mid-

west.

For Placencia, who’s 46, hearing

the Rams were back triggered a

response similar — and yet com-

pletely different — to the one he

had on that sad December day so

many years ago.

“My level of excitement, my

emotional state of mind, honestly, I

can’t explain it,” he said. “I was cry-

ing like a big baby.”

Given that response, it’s easy to

see why the Rams have enjoyed

such tremendous public response

in their first preseason back in L.A.

Their training camp sessions at UC

Irvine had the feel of a carnival,

with food vendors, bounce houses

for kids and autograph sessions.

Practices have drawn more than

2,000 fans regularly, even on week-

day afternoons, and the Rams’ first

preseason game, against the Cow-

boys on Aug. 13 at the Coliseum,

set a domestic NFL preseason

record with 89,140 in attendance.

“They stayed until the fourth

quarter of a preseason game and

were on their feet for the whole

fourth quarter, so you can kind of

tell what it means to them and how

exciting it is to have a team back

here,” said quarterback Jared Goff,

whom the Rams took out of Cal

with the first overall pick of this

year’s draft. “When we ran out of

the tunnel, how excited everyone

was. The national anthem and

everything was just really cool, and

you could tell that the atmosphere

was just awesome.”

The result of that game (the

Rams won 28-24) clearly was of

secondary importance, but soon

that won’t be the case. The Rams’

fan base in Southern California has

already reached a fever pitch, but to

keep it that way, they’ll have to win

more games.

In St. Louis, the Rams hadn’t had

a winning season since 2003 and

have been nothing but mediocre

during coach Jeff Fisher’s four-year

tenure: 7-8-1, 7-9, 6-10 and 7-9.

There is hope for a turnaround,

perhaps, if Goff can quickly devel-

op (Case Keenum has been taking

first-team reps in practice) and a

potentially dominant defensive line

stays healthy a year after All-Pro

end Robert Quinn battled injuries

all season.

“I seen them going about 10-6 at

the worst, maybe 11-5 or 12-4

would be the high,” Placencia said.

“They have to win to bring in fans

for the 2019 opening of their new

stadium. Everyone knows they

have to win. They have to put a

product on the field.”

Fans will be watching, that’s for

sure. Placencia has tickets to the

home opener Sept. 18 against the

Seahawks, and he has tickets to

four more home games. For the

rest, he’ll gather at Mountain

Mike’s Pizza at Stine and Harris

roads with the rest of the local RWO

chapter.

Formerly known as the Kern

County Rams Booster Club, the

organization was formed by Pla-

cencia and Ernie Leyva, the presi-

dent whose work currently has him

displaced in Cleveland. It has

grown from those two friends into

a group of 80 or 90, and Placencia

said he expects that number to

grow quickly once the first season

back in L.A. starts; the first meeting

is for Monday Night Football

against the 49ers on Sept. 12.

Membership in the club costs

$25 for life, or $50 per family. Costs

go toward T-shirts and travel to

events with other RWO chapters.

“It’s a good mix; we probably

have slightly more men, but there

are a lot of families,” Placencia said.

“A connection is what we’re trying

to get, so they can all be part of the

Rams and have a place to go and

gather to watch the games.”

That’s just fine with the players.

“One thing we know is they

gonna be here on Sundays, and

that’s the main thing,” said wide

receiver Tavon Austin after a train-

ing camp practice. “We’ll handle

the dirty work here, and on Sun-

days, it’s good that they’ll come

out.”

And when it’s NFL Sunday in Los

Angeles again for real, it’s certainly

possible there will be more tears.

“I have pictures of me with Rams

sweaters on from when I was 4

years old,” Placencia said. “This is

such an emotional high. Everyone

else is ecstatic. It impacted me to

where I shed tears. It’s part of my

livelihood. My wife knows, my

daughter knows; they’re Ram-

heads too.”

‘EMOTIONAL

HIGH’ FOR

RAMS FANS

LONGTIME FANS EXCITED TO HAVE TEAM BACK IN

LOS ANGELES AFTER TWO DECADES IN THE MIDWEST

Thursday, August 25, 2016 The Bakersfield Californian 19

2015 RECORD: 5-11

DIVISIONAL RECORD: 1-5

COACH: Chip Kelly, 1st season with 49ers; 4th sea-

son as NFL head coach, 26-22 overall; 0-1 postsea-

son

STARTERS RETURNING: 20; 9 offense, 11 defense,

kicker, punter

OFFSEASON STANDOUT: QUARTERBACK BLAINE GABBERT.

The 49ers’ spring was all about Colin Kaepernick, and the incumbent

quarterback seemed just fine with that. Gabbert finished 2015 as the

starter, and unfazed by the carnival surrounding him, he demonstrated

a level of calm and consistency during OTAs and minicamp that

stamped him as the type of player that could lead the club into the

Chip Kelly era. He outplayed Kaepernick during the three-day mini-

camp, which was expected being that the former Super-Bowl starter

was coming off three surgeries. But it nonetheless identified a clear-

cut leader headed into the stretch run of the competition during train-

ing camp.

NEWCOMERS

A closer look at the 49ers’ picks (11):

ROUND 1/7: DEFOREST BUCKNER, DE, 6-7, 300, OREGON

The 49ers featured quantity, but not necessarily quality, along the

defensive line in the wake of DE Ray McDonald’s termination and DE

Justin Smith’s retirement the last two seasons. Last year’s top pick DE

Arik Armstead struggled as a rookie, but could develop into a future

bookend for Buckner, who is a much more highly decorated prospect.

Buckner earned Pac-12 Player of the Year honors last season after

recording 10.5 sacks and 10 pass deflections.

ROUND 1/28: JOSHUA GARNETT, G, 6-5, 325, STANFORD

After taking the Pac-12’s top defensive player, the 49ers went to the

other side of the ball and secured the conference’s top offensive line-

man. In fact, Garnett was rated as all of football’s top offensive lineman

in 2015, earning the Outland Trophy as well as unanimous All-America

honors. The 49ers struggled at right guard last season, and lost their

left guard, Alex Boone, to free agency in the offseason. But the addi-

tions of Garnett and free-agent G Zane Beadles give new head coach

Chip Kelly two immediate plug-in replacements.

ROUND 3/68: WILL REDMOND, CB, 6-0, 186, MISSISSIPPI STATE

The 49ers didn’t get the shutdown cornerback they dreamed of locking

up in the draft, but Redmond figures to jump right into the pass-cover-

age mix nonetheless. That is, if he’s healthy enough to do so. 49ers

general manager Trent Baalke continued a recent trend of using rela-

tively high picks on injured players, with Redmond having suffered a

season-ending torn right ACL in October. He is expected to be ready for

training camp, however.

ROUND 4/133: RASHARD ROBINSON, CB, 6-1, 163, LOUISIANA STATE

That’s correct: 163 pounds. Suffice it to say, Robinson is not a powerful

force in the run game. Nor does he appear to be disciplined, having

been suspended once and eventually kicked off the LSU team. But he

did start 12 games for a very good LSU squad in 2013, at which point

he surely projected to be higher than a fourth-round NFL pick. The

49ers are hoping that’s the player that shows up at training camp.

ROUND 5/142: RONALD BLAIR, DE, 6-4, 270, APPALACHIAN STATE

Blair is considered a run-stopping defensive end despite having record-

ed 7.5 sacks last season. His 19 tackles for loss last season are what

caught the eye of most NFL scouts. He would be considered a nice tag-

team partner for DE Arik Armstead if last year’s No. 1 draft pick were to

be used more this season as a pass-rush specialist.

ROUND 5/145: JOHN THEUS, T, 6-6, 303, GEORGIA

Like fourth-round pick Rashard Robinson of LSU, Theus probably would

have been a much higher choice if he had been eligible to enter the

draft after an impressive freshman season, during which he started

every game. He went on to start a total of 48 at Georgia, making him, if

nothing else, plenty experienced.

ROUND 5/174: FAHN COOPER, T, 6-5, 306, MISSISSIPPI

Using the same logic that led them to Georgia’s John Theus 29 picks

earlier, the 49ers snatched the Southeastern Conference-experienced

Cooper with their third pick of the fifth round. Cooper is known as the

guy who replaced tackle Laremy Tunsil while the standout was on sus-

pension for the first seven games of the 2015 season.

ROUND 6/207: JEFF DRISKEL, QB, 6-4, 234, LOUISIANA TECH

Would head coach Chip Kelly and quarterback Tim Tebow have been a

good pairing? 49ers fans could find out now that "the next Tim Tebow"

has been added to a shaky quarterback mix.

ROUND 6/211: KELVIN TAYLOR, RB, 5-10, 205, FLORIDA

49ers fans will find Fred Taylor’s son not to resemble his dad all that

much. The younger Taylor is considered more of a change-of-pace

back, something the 49ers will be looking for in training camp to com-

plement starter Carlos Hyde. Taylor did rush for 1,000 yards last sea-

son.

ROUND 6/213: AARON BURBRIDGE, WR, 6-1, 208, MICHIGAN STATE

Burbridge disappeared in Michigan State’s biggest games last season,

which led some to conclude he’ll have trouble competing against top-

flight competition at the NFL level.

ROUND 7/249: PRINCE CHARLES IWORAH,

CB, 5-10, 192, WESTERN KENTUCKY

Iworah is your classic undersized cover corner who lacks size but has

the desired speed to potentially compete at the NFL level.

PLAYERS ACQUIRED

• G Zane Beadles: Team’s top free-agent signing was 2012 Pro

Bowler; poised to replace Alex Boone at left guard.

KEY LOSS: G ALEX BOONE (13/13)*

Boone was the fourth starting offensive lineman to leave since 2014.

The Vikings gave him the payday he’d long sought from the 49ers, who

have cast his replacement in first-round pick Joshua Garnett.

OTHER LOSSES: WR Anquan Boldin (14/13), RB Reggie Bush (5/1), G

Jordan Devey (15/9), TE Brian Leonhardt (4/0)*

Total games played/started lost: 51/36

2015 RECORD: 7-9

DIVISIONAL RECORD: 4-2

COACH: Jeff Fisher, 5th season with Rams, 27-36-1

overall; 21st full season as NFL coach, 174-162-1

overall, 5-6 postseason

STARTERS RETURNING: 18; 10 offense, 8 defense,

kicker, punter

OFFSEASON STANDOUT: QUARTERBACK JARED GOFF

Goff might not have been the best player during the Rams’ three weeks

of OTAs, but as the top pick overall in last April’s draft and the quarter-

back the Rams have hitched much of their future to, he was clearly the

most scrutinized.

Making the transition from Cal and the Pac-12 to the NFL — and work-

ing against an upper-echelon defense every day - there were clearly ups

and downs throughout workouts. All of which was expected and antici-

pated. But by the third week of practice, Goff was flashing much more of

the skill set, poise and accuracy the Rams were enamored with in mak-

ing him the first pick overall over North Dakota State quarterback Carson

Wentz, who went second overall to the Philadelphia Eagles.

On the other hand, he finished OTAs Thursday looking anything but

sharp while throwing three interceptions.

Again, the ups and downs are apparent.

Nevertheless, Goff sensed a comfort level developing over the course of

practicing.

“I think the first half of it, there was a lot of learning; a lot of thinking,”

Goff said. “About halfway through last week, started to become more

playing and more just feeling natural and feeling more comfortable every

day, getting more comfortable. Now, through practices, I feel fairly more

comfortable. I’m excited about continuing to make more steps and con-

tinuing to feel more comfortable and all of that. But I think overall, I feel

100 times more comfortable and ready than I was at the beginning.”

Needless to say, the speed and talent level of the NFL jumped out at

Goff.

“You definitely can notice it. I think there’s definitely a higher speed,

especially when you’re with that group of ones on defense,” he said.

“It’s definitely a difference in speed. Like I’ve said a couple times now, as

time went on through practices, through the last eight practices, it’s

starting to slow down. At first it was fast and then you get more com-

fortable and you see stuff more often, you see the looks a few more

times and it starts to slow down a little bit. I feel pretty good about it.”

NEWCOMERS

A closer look at the Rams’ picks (6):

ROUND 1/1: JARED GOFF, QB, 6-4, 215, CALIFORNIA

Goff leaves Cal with just about every passing record in school history

after starting all three years he played in Berkeley, and is now expected

to be the face of the Rams’ new life in Los Angeles. The Rams insist they

won’t rush Goff onto the field, and after some obvious ups and downs

during OTAs, Case Keenum was announced the starter heading into

training camp - but considering the investment they made by trading all

the way from No. 15 to No. 1 - including four picks this year and a first

and third next year, it’s almost guaranteed Goff will see the field sooner

rather than later this year.

ROUND 4/110: TYLER HIGBEE, TE, 6-6, 249, WESTERN KENTUCKY

After averaging 15.5 yards per catch in his four seasons at Western Ken-

tucky, Higbee was regarded as a possible second-rounder this year. But

an arrest three weeks before the draft in which he was charged with

second-degree assault, second-degree fleeing for evading police, and

public intoxication. The Rams are taking a gamble, but if Higbee stays on

the straight and narrow they could have a bargain.

ROUND 4/117: PHAROH COOPER, WR, 5-11, 203, SOUTH CAROLINA

The 5-foot-11, 203-pounder had 66 catches for 973 yards and eight touch-

downs last season. He also threw for a touchdown. Cooper was a standout

during OTAs while flashing speed, athletic ability and an advanced understand-

ing of the playbook - and has a chance to see the field early as a slot receiver,

or special teams player as a punt and kickoff returner.

ROUND 6/177: TEMARRICK HEMINGWAY, TE, 6-5, 244,

SOUTH CAROLINA STATE

The 6-foot-4, 244-pounder finished last season with 38 receptions for

418 yards and a touchdown. A big, strong, smooth pass-catcher who

can also run upon catching the ball, Hemingway has a chance to develop

into a asset for the Rams down the field.

ROUND 6/190: JOSH FORREST, LB, 6-3, 249, KENTUCKY

Forrest has been knocked for his instincts and tackling, but there is no

doubt he passes the eye-ball test and with his speed, can run in cover-

age and stay on the field on third down. But he’s a project that needs to

refine his game, get stronger and add savvy and football instincts to all

those physical skills.

ROUND 6/206: MICHAEL THOMAS, WR, 6-1, 193, SO. MISSISSIPPI

Has good size and a great vertical leap (36 inches), but lacks high-end

speed and the ability to create distance between himself and his defend-

er. His hands have also been a concern. Thomas did finish with 71 recep-

tions for 1,391 yards and 14 touchdowns last season, so there is some-

thing to work with.

PLAYERS ACQUIRED

• DE Quinton Coples: Rams hope change back to more comfortable 4-

3 unleashes him.

• DT Dominique Easley: Washed out in New England, but talent, if not

motivation, is present.

• CB Coty Sensabaugh: Free-agent signing will add a veteran presence

to a young secondary.

KEY LOSS: S RODNEY MCLEOD (16/16)*

The Rams didn’t just lose a productive player in McLeod, they lost the

quarterback on the back end of their defense. Replacing him will be diffi-

cult in body, spirit and intelligence.

OTHER LOSSES: LB Daren Bates (15/0), TE Jared Cook (16/12), DT Nick

Fairley (15/0), CB Janoris Jenkins (15/15), LB James Laurinaitis (16/16),

DE Chris Long (12/5), WR Wes Welker (8/0), DT Doug Worthington

(2/0)*

Total games played/started lost: 115/64

*Number in parentheses is games played/games started in 2015

LOS ANGELES RAMS

SAN FRANCISCO 49ers

2015 RECORD: 4-12

DIVISIONAL RECORD: 0-6

COACH: Mike McCoy, 4th season as Chargers/NFL

head coach; 23-27 overall; 1-1 postseason

STARTERS RETURNING: 16; 9 offense, 7 defense,

kicker

OFFSEASON STANDOUT: RUNNING BACK MELVIN GORDON.

When word leaked that Gordon’s knee surgery included a microfracture

component to repair the damaged cartilage, many thought the worst.

Gordon struggled his rookie season and now to be coming back from a

knee injury that was more significant than many believe didn’t bode

well for last year’s top pick.

But Gordon had an outstanding minicamp and looked good in the OTA

sessions leading up to it. He’s making the cuts. He’s running with a

purpose. He’s eager to show last year was an aberration and not a

trend of what to expect in his NFL career.

If Gordon can show the skills he displayed in minicamp, the Chargers’

longtime running woes could finally be solved.

NEWCOMERS

A closer look at the Chargers’ picks (8):

ROUND 1/3: JOEY BOSA, DE, 6-5, 269, OHIO STATE

The Chargers claim they never came off of Bosa as being the pick,

despite the flurry of trades with the picks above them. Bosa is going to

be asked to rev a pass rush that has been underwhelming. He will also

help fortify one of the poorest run defenses in the NFL.

ROUND 2/35: HUNTER HENRY, TE, 6-5, 250, ARKANSAS

The top tight end in the draft heads to the Chargers, addressing a clear

need. While Antonio Gates remains on the roster, it’s clear his time is

almost done. Just maybe Gates passes the torch to Henry, an All-Amer-

ica pick and the winner of the John Mackey Award that goes to the

nation’s top collegiate tight end. Henry set career highs last season

with 51 receptions and 739 yards. Quarterback Philip Rivers could have

another favorite target on the underneath routes with Henry.

ROUND 3/66: MAX TUERK, C, 6-5, 298, SOUTHERN CAL

Since Pro Bowler Nick Hardwick stopped playing early in the 2014 sea-

son, the Chargers have been seeking his replacement. They might have

secured that player in Tuerk, although his path to being a starter was

clogged when the team signed veteran Bears free agent Matt Slauson.

The Chargers were decimated by injuries along the line last year, work-

ing 24 different combinations. Tuerk will be given every chance to

prove that he can contribute, but it will most likely be in a backup role.

He has experience in other spots along the line, something the Charg-

ers embrace. Tuerk hurt his knee in October after being an All-Pac 12

selection in 2014 and is still rounding into shape.

ROUND 4/102: JOSHUA PERRY, ILB, 6-4, 254, OHIO STATE

It’s cliche, but the Bolts’ brass said it was surprised the run-stuffing

Perry was available after 101 picks. With Manti Te’o and Denzel Perry-

man returning, Perry will have to earn his stripes on special teams.

ROUND 5/175: JATAVIS BROWN, OLB, 5-11, 227, AKRON

Brown might add some zest to the pass rush, but it’s a long depth

chart to climb. Still, he could steal some snaps from Kyle Emanuel

and/or Jerry Attaochu. Brown seems a tad undersized, but he

impressed the Chargers with his quickness and deceptive strength.

ROUND 6/179: DREW KASER, P, 6-2, 212, TEXAS A&M

Kaser was rated by most as the draft’s top punter. Kaser just might join

former teammate Josh Lambo to make up the other leg in the team’s

kicking game. With returning punter Mike Scifres scheduled to make

$3.6 million next season, Kaser could be a more economical option.

ROUND 6/198: DEREK WATT, FB, 6-2, 236, WISCONSIN

Watt could lead the running plays for a former Wisconsin star and

teammate in Melvin Gordon. Watt is the brother of the Texans’ J.J.

Watt, but he’ll be asked to clear holes and not clean clocks. Watt’s

selection reveals how the Chargers misfired last year in drafting Gor-

don without a fullback.

ROUND 7/224: DONAVON CLARK, G, 6-4, 315, MICHIGAN STATE

Clark has his work cut out to make the team; then again he comes to a

unit that has been beset by injuries along the offensive line the past

two years. Interior starters D.J. Fluker and Orlando Franklin are blocking

Clark’s path: for now. But team likes his size and ability to run-block.

PLAYERS ACQUIRED

• WR Travis Benjamin: This speedy target will supply a deep threat

and valuable yards on punts.

• CB Richard Crawford: He has a history with the team, most of it

being on the practice squad.

• TE Jeff Cumberland: He had over 1,000 passing yards and 10

touchdowns with Jets in four seasons.

• CB Casey Hayward: Hayward comes from Green Bay where he

started 16 games and contributed 65 tackles.

• S Dwight Lowery: With the lack of depth at safety, Lowery could be

in a position to start.

• DL Brandon Mebane: Huge offseason acquisition to aid Chargers’

shoddy run defense.

• QB Zach Mettenberger: Picked up on waivers thanks to connection

with coordinator Ken Whisenhunt, who was in Tennessee last season.

• C/G Matt Slauson: Mostly a guard, but expected to stabilize center

for the Chargers.

KEY LOSS: FS ERIC WEDDLE (13/13)*

It’s hard to discount what Weddle meant to the Chargers. Not just

through his stellar play, but he was responsible for lining up his team-

mates and was an emotional sparkplug as well.

OTHER LOSSES: RB Donald Brown (10/2), LB Donald Butler (16/9), LB

Kavell Conner (10/3), WR Malcom Floyd (15/13), TE Ladarius Green

(13/11), TE David Johnson (16/4), T/G Jeff Linkenbach (10/0), DE Ricardo

Mathews (16/7), LB Joe Mays (9/0), TE John Phillips (16/5), DE Kendall

Reyes (16/15), CB Patrick Robinson (16/10), CB Brandian Ross (0/0), P

Mike Scifres (16/0), CB Cassius Vaughn (2/0), C J.D. Walton (4/0)*

Total games played/started lost: 198/92

*Number in parentheses is games played/games started in 2015

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS

2015 RECORD: 7-9

DIVISIONAL RECORD: 3-3

COACH: Jack Del Rio, 2nd season with Raiders, 7-9

overall; 11th season as NFL head coach, 76-82 over-

all; 1-2 postseason

STARTERS RETURNING: 18; 10 offense, 8 defense,

kicker, punter

OFFSEASON STANDOUT: QUARTERBACK DEREK CARR.

Carr has taken ownership of the Raiders’ offense. Encouraged by coor-

dinator Bill Musgrave to put his own stamp and style on the system,

Carr is not only the unquestioned emotional leader, but is contributing

to strategy and philosophy as well. If Carr and the Raiders’ offense can

avoid the late-season fade of a year ago and the defense ascends, dou-

ble-digit wins and playoffs for the first time since 2002 seem imminent

and much of that will be on Carr’s shoulders.

NEWCOMERS

A closer look at the Raiders’ picks (7):

ROUND 1/14: KARL JOSEPH, S, 5-11, 200, WEST VIRGINIA

Did not participate in OTAs or minicamp while rehabbing from knee

surgery sustained as a senior, as expected. The plan is for Joseph to be

full-go by training camp, and he will be counted on as a starter to add

playmaking skill and physicality to the secondary alongside veteran

Reggie Nelson.

ROUND 2/44 JIHAD WARD, DT, 6-6, 295, ILLINOIS

Termed by head coach Jack Del Rio as a pleasant surprise in terms of

his quickness and get-off. Will join interior rotation along with Dan

Williams, Justin Ellis, Stacy McGee, and at times, Mario Edwards Jr.

Round 3/75: Shalique Calhoun, DE, 6-5, 250, Michigan State

Lined up as a LEO defensive end and also got some work as strong-side

linebacker. Is being counted on as an additionanl threat from the edge

while Aldon Smith serves a lengthy suspension.

ROUND 4/11: CONNOR COOK, QB, 6-5, 200, MICHIGAN STATE

Got some offseason work with the second team, where he will com-

pete with third-year player Matt McGloin to back up Derek Carr. With

McGloin given a second-year tender as a restricted free agent, he’s the

odds-on choice to initially be the backup, with Cook taking over either

late this season or early next season.

ROUND 5/143: DEANDRE WASHINGTON, RB, 5-8, 200, TEXAS TECH

Got some work with the first team and the plan is to have Washington

take some of the pressure off Latavius Murray, who could well see his

rushing yardage go down and his effectiveness go up with a back who

can not only change the tempo, but run inside as well.

ROUND 6/194: CORY JAMES, OLB, 6-0, 245, COLORADO STATE

Nothing to indicate James will be ready to immediately compete for

defensive playing time, but when the pads go on and special teams

can be more fully evaluated, his odds on sticking will become more

clear.

ROUND 7/234: VIDAL ALEXANDER, G, 6-5, 336, LOUISIANA STATE

Lack of 40-time may not concern Raiders as much as other teams

because of their preference for pure power along the front. Alexander

showed some fire, getting in at least one scuffle during OTAs in non-

contact team situations.

PLAYERS ACQUIRED

• LB Daren Bates: Former special teams captain with Rams brought

in for similar role.

• OLB Bruce Irvin: Happy to be reunited with Seattle position coach

and Raiders coordinator Ken Norton Jr.

• DE Damontre Moore: Has pass-rush potential, but had reputation

for not working well with teammates.

• S Reggie Nelson: Coming off career-best year with eight picks; he’ll

replace legend Charles Woodson.

• G Kelechi Osemele: Prize free-agent acquisition brings reputation

for having nasty on-field disposition.

• CB Sean Smith: Long-armed press corner serves two purposes:

starts for Raiders, left Chiefs.

• S Brynden Trawick: Former Raven will compete to be a backup

safety and play on special teams.

KEY LOSS: S CHARLES WOODSON (16/16)*

The Raiders may overcome the loss of Woodson’s playmaking ability

and five interceptions. Where it gets tricky is replacing a central force

and the most charismatic leader in the locker room.

OTHER LOSSES: LB Lorenzo Alexander (16/0), S Larry Asante (16/2), T

Khalif Barnes (14/1), C/G Tony Bergstrom (16/3), LS Thomas Gafford

(14/0), de Shelby Harris (7/0), LB Curtis Lofton (16/9), DE Benson May-

owa (12/2), S Taylor Mays (14/5), S Tevin McDonald (4/0), WR Jeremy

Ross (6/0), WR Rod Streater (1/0), DE Justin Tuck (5/5), G/T J’Marcus

Webb (16/16)*

Total games played/started lost: 173/59

*Number in parentheses is games played/games started in 2015

OAKLAND RAIDERS

NFL | CALIFORNIA TEAMS

Khalil

Mack,

entering

his third

season,

will lead

the Oak-

land

Raiders’

defense.

USA TODAY

SPORTS

20 The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, August 25, 2016

CODY KESSLER

Browns have plan for

growth for Centennial alum

Browns quarterback, rookie year (Centen-

nial, USC)

If things go according to Cleveland’s plan,

Kessler won’t take a single regular-season

snap this season. Instead, the Browns would

rather have their third-round pick sit on the

bench and gain knowledge by watching

starter Robert Griffin III. This being hard-luck

Cleveland means, of course, that things likely

won’t go according to the Browns’ plan and

backup Josh McCown or Kessler could be

thrust into action late in the season.

It’s already been a memorable rookie year for

Kessler, who fought through a similarly

crowded depth chart to become USC’s

starter as a redshirt sophomore. In his first

career pass, in the Browns’ first preseason

game, at Green Bay, Kessler threw a 10-yard

touchdown pass to Rashard Higgins. On his

next snap, however, he accidentally ran out

of the end zone for a safety, and he was later

sacked for a second safety.

Kessler was 2-of-3 passing for 10 yards in

limited action in the Browns’ second presea-

son game.

RYAN MATHEWS

West alum emerges as

one of Philly’s top threats

Eagles running back, seventh year (West,

Fresno State)

Forget Philadelphia’s high-profile free-agent

signing of DeMarco Murray in the 2015 off-

season; it was the lesser-known acquisition,

Mathews, who was the Eagles’ most produc-

tive running back. Mathews rushed for 539

yards on 5.1 yards per attempt with six

touchdowns and had 146 yards and another

TD on 20 catches.

As usual, the only downside to Mathews’

campaign was injuries. A concussion forced

him to miss most of four games, and that’s

been a recurring theme throughout his

career. Only once through five seasons in San

Diego and his first year in Philly has Mathews

played in all 16 games; that was 2013, when

he rushed for 1,255 yards and the Chargers

reached the playoffs.

Regardless, the veteran Mathews has put

together a very solid career. He’s at 4,600

career yards and could go over the 5,000

mark in 2016.

Fighting for

roster spots

JARED NORRIS

Panthers linebacker,

rookie year (Centennial,

Utah)

KYRIE WILSON

Raiders linebacker, rook-

ie year (Ridgeview, Fres-

no State)

Both of these former prep

stars went undrafted but

landed rookie tryouts in

the spring and made the

fall roster. Both hope

they’ll survive teams’

mandatory roster cuts,

first to 75 players on Tues-

day and then to their final

53-man rosters on Sept. 3.

If they don’t make their

respective team’s roster,

Norris and Wilson would

be eligible to be named to

any team’s practice squad

the following day.

CANADIAN

FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Brandon Banks — Hamil-

ton Tiger-Cats (Bakersfield

College, Kansas State)

A.J. Jefferson — Toron to

Argonauts (West, Fresno

State)

DEREK CARR

Bonafides are

established; now

for playoffs

Raiders quarterback,

third year (Bakersfield

Christian, Fresno State)

It hasn’t taken Carr long to

become a budding star in

the NFL. After a rookie sea-

son in

which he

complet-

ed 58.1

percent of

his passes

for 3,270

yards

with 21

touch-

downs, 12

interceptions and a 76.6

passer rating, Carr

improved those numbers

significantly in his sopho-

more campaign: 61.1 com-

pletion percentage, 3,987

yards, 32 touchdowns, 13

interceptions and a 91.1

rating. That earned him a

Pro Bowl nod.

Most important to him,

Oakland improved from 3-

13 to 7-9 last year. If they

continue to improve at that

pace, the Raiders — and

their suddenly veteran

quarterback — could be

playing deep into January.

MATT DARR AND COLTON SCHMIDT

Bakersfield-born punters

holding it down in AFC East

DARR, pictured: Dolphins punter, second year (Frontier,

Tennessee)

SCHMIDT: Bills punter, third year (Liberty, UC Davis)

Fun fact: Half of the starting punters in the AFC East division

are from Bakersfield. Darr won the Dolphins’ starting job in

camp last season, his rookie year out of the University of

Tennessee; he punted 92 times with an average of 47.6 yards

and a long of 70. Schmidt is back for his third season as Buf-

falo’s starting punter. He improved his average from 42.9 in

2014 to 46.3 last year.

Both players are listed first on their respective teams’ depth

chart midway through the preseason.

USA TODAY SPORTS

PHOTO: USA TODAY SPORTS

LOCALS IN THE NFL

Thursday, August 25, 2016 The Bakersfield Californian 21

1959

L.C. Brown, South (Back of the

Year) and Carl Schrader (Lineman

of the Year)

1960

Billy Mackey, East, and Frank

Mitacek, North

1961

John Turner, South, and Mike

NIelson, North

1962

Terry Maddux, East, and Dan

McGill, Bakersfield

1963

Fred Parker, Bakersfield, and Gary

Askew, Foothill

1964

Pat Skrable, Bakersfield, and

Mike Ackerly, Foothill

1965

Pat Skrable, Bakersfield, and Pat

Preston, Bakersfield

1966

John Apperson, North, and Bob

Simmons, Bakersfield

1967

Theron Brown, Bakersfield, and

Jeff Siemon, Bakersfield

1968

Brent McClanahan, South, and

Jim Robinson, East

1969

Jim Wooster, Foothill, and Bob

McCaffrey, Garces

1970

Ted Roberson, East, and Ron

Pritchard, North

1971

Randy Rich, North, and Dave

Smith, North

1972

Gary Blackford, Foothill, and Jon

DesPois, Foothill

1973

Ron Settle, Foothill, and Donn

Grigsby, Foothill

1974

Tony Allen, Bakersfield, and Jeff

Houghton, Foothill

1975

Greg Grimes, Foothill, and Chuck

Holloway, West

1976

Scott Settle, Foothill, and Bruce

Brown, Bakersfield

1977

Bruce Scurlock, West, and Gary

Williams, Bakersfield

1978

Chuck O’Brien, Foothill, and Dar-

rel Roberts, West

1979

Kevin Dunn, North, and Don

James, Highland

1980

Todd Jackson, West and Scott

Nuanez, West

1981

Keith Grider, Arvin, and Pete Liza-

ma, Foothill

1982

Marshall Dillard, Bakersfield, and

Rob Cleveland, West

1983

Jimmy Mitchell, North, and Keith

Williams, West

1984

Mark McGill, South, and Guy San-

ford, West

1985

Mike Lewis, Garces, and Eddie

Chavez, West

1986

Mike Lewis, Garces, and Russ

Heasley, West

1987

Brock Marion, West, and Robby

Bellue, Garces

1988

James Allison and Derek Stevens,

Bakersfield

1989

Chad Provensal, Bakersfield, and

Mark Roberts, West

1990

Aaron McDonald, Bakersfield,

and Brandon Taylor, West

1991

Hernan Santiago, Arvin, and Jeff

Buckey, Bakersfield

1992

Rashaan Shehee and Oscar

Garza, Foothill

1993

Steve Wofford, Bakersfield; Troy

Ochoa, South; and Jeremy Staat,

Bakersfield

1994

Steve Wofford, Bakersfield, and

Phillip Dorado, Foothill

1995

Jamar Day, Rosamond, and Scott

Graham, Bakersfield

1996

Rodney Wright, Bakersfield, and

Jake Silicz, Centennial

1997

D.J. McCoy, Bakersfield, and Brian

Kitching, Centennial

1998

Seth Cunningham, Arvin, and

Aaron Graham, Bakersfield

1999

Robert Johnson, East, and Nick

Stranberg, Centennial

2000

Bryson Sumlin, West, and Justy

Silicz, Centennial

2001

Thomas Stancil and Josh Sherley,

Bakersfield

2002

Rudy Burgess, Desert

2003

Anthony Celestine, Burroughs

2004

Karsten Sween, Burroughs

2005

Hayo Carpenter, Burroughs

2006

Ryan Mathews, West

2007

Pete Mitchell, Bakersfield

2008

Derek Carr, Bakersfield Christian

2009

Cody Kessler, Centennial

2010

Cody Kessler, Centennial

2011

Chris Hannible, Bakersfield

2012

Kamari Cotton-Moya, Ridgeview

2013

Asauni Rufus, Bakersfield

2014

Anthony Mariscal, Liberty

2015

Lawrence White, Ridgeview

COACHES OF THE YEAR

1985: John Fanucchi, Garces

1986: John Fanucchi, Garces

1987: Kevin Sneed, West

1988: Pat Preston, Bakersfield

1989: Pat Preston, Bakersfield

1990: Gary Fowler, Highland

1991: John Fanucchi, Garces

1992: Pat Preston, Bakersfield

1993: Ned Permenter, Foothill

1994: Pat Preston, Bakersfield

1995: Chris Allen, South

1996: Jan Stuebbe, Centennial

1997: Tim Hartnett, Bakersfield

1998: Rick Van Horne, East

1999: Steve Napier, East and

Kevin Sneed, Centennial

2000: Tim Mash, Taft

2001: Mike Snow, North

2002: Rich Cornford, West

2003: Steve Denman, Tehachapi

2004: Jim Maples, East

2005: Mike Crews, Ridgeview

2006: David Fanucchi, Garces

2007: Paul Golla, Bakersfield

2008: Steve Denman, Tehachapi

2009: Bryan Nixon, Centennial

2010: Steve Denman, Tehachapi

2011: Paul Golla, Bakersfield

2012: Rusvel Prado, Wasco

2013: Paul Golla, Bakersfield

2014: Dennis Manning,

Ridgeview

2015: Bryan Nixon, Liberty

BVARSITY FOOTBALL PLAYERS OF THE YEAR

USA TODAY SPORTS

Bills punter Colton Schmidt and kicker Dan Carpenter react to a missed field goal

during a game in November 2015. Schmidt, a Liberty and UC Davis alum, has been

with Buffalo since 2014.

USA TODAY SPORTS

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, a Bakersfield Christian and Fresno State alum,

greets a young fan ahead of a preseason game at Green Bay earlier this month.

22 The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, August 25, 2016

WEEK 1

Sept. 8

Carolina at Denver, 5:30 p.m.

Sept. 11

Tampa Bay at Atlanta, 10 a.m.

Buffalo at Baltimore, 10 a.m.

Chicago at Houston, 10 a.m.

Green Bay at Jacksonville, 10

a.m.

San Diego at Kansas City, 10 a.m.

Oakland at New Orleans, 10 a.m.

Cincinnati at N.Y. Jets, 10 a.m.

Cleveland at Philadelphia, 10 a.m.

Minnesota at Tennessee, 10 a.m.

Miami at Seattle, 1:05 p.m.

N.Y. Giants at Dallas, 1:25 p.m.

Detroit at Indianapolis, 1:25 p.m.

New England at Arizona, 5:30

p.m.

Sept. 12

Pittsburgh at Washington, 4:10

p.m.

Los Angeles at San Francisco,

7:20 p.m.

WEEK 2

Sept. 15

N.Y. Jets at Buffalo, 5:25 p.m.

Sept. 18

San Francisco at Carolina, 10 a.m.

Baltimore at Cleveland, 10 a.m.

Tennessee at Detroit, 10 a.m.

Kansas City at Houston, 10 a.m.

Miami at New England, 10 a.m.

New Orleans at N.Y. Giants, 10

a.m.

Cincinnati at Pittsburgh, 10 a.m.

Dallas at Washington, 10 a.m.

Tampa Bay at Arizona, 1:05 p.m.

Seattle at Los Angeles, 1:05 p.m.

Indianapolis at Denver, 1:25 p.m.

Atlanta at Oakland, 1:25 p.m.

Jacksonville at San Diego, 1:25

p.m.

Green Bay at Minnesota, 5:30

p.m.

Sept. 19

Philadelphia at Chicago, 5:30

p.m.

WEEK 3

Sept. 22

Houston at New England, 5:25

p.m.

Sept. 25

Arizona at Buffalo, 10 a.m.

Minnesota at Carolina, 10 a.m.

Denver at Cincinnati, 10 a.m.

Detroit at Green Bay, 10 a.m.

Baltimore at Jacksonville, 10 a.m.

Cleveland at Miami, 10 a.m.

Washington at N.Y. Giants, 10

a.m.

Oakland at Tennessee, 10 a.m.

San Francisco at Seattle, 1:05

p.m.

Los Angeles at Tampa Bay, 1:05

p.m.

Pittsburgh at Philadelphia, 1:25

p.m.

San Diego at Indianapolis, 1:25

p.m.

N.Y. Jets at Kansas City, 1:25 p.m.

Chicago at Dallas, 5:30 p.m.

Sept. 26

Atlanta at New Orleans, 5:30

p.m.

WEEK 4

Sept. 29

Miami at Cincinnati, 5:25 p.m.

Oct. 2

Indianapolis vs Jacksonville, Lon-

don, England, 9:30 a.m.

Carolina at Atlanta, 10 a.m.

Oakland at Baltimore, 10 a.m.

Detroit at Chicago, 10 a.m.

Tennessee at Houston, 10 a.m.

Buffalo at New England, 10 a.m.

Seattle at N.Y. Jets, 10 a.m.

Cleveland at Washington, 10 a.m.

Denver at Tampa Bay, 1:05 p.m.

Los Angeles at Arizona, 1:25 p.m.

New Orleans at San Diego, 1:25

p.m.

Dallas at San Francisco, 1:25 p.m.

Kansas City at Pittsburgh, 5:30

p.m.

Oct. 3

N.Y. Giants at Minnesota, 5:30

p.m.

WEEK 5

Oct. 6

Arizona at San Francisco, 5:25

p.m.

Oct. 9

New England at Cleveland, 10

a.m.

Philadelphia at Detroit, 10 a.m.

Chicago at Indianapolis, 10 a.m.

Tennessee at Miami, 10 a.m.

Washington at Baltimore, 10 a.m.

Houston at Minnesota, 10 a.m.

N.Y. Jets at Pittsburgh, 10 a.m.

Atlanta at Denver, 1:05 p.m.

Cincinnati at Dallas, 1:25 p.m.

Buffalo at Los Angeles, 1:25 p.m.

San Diego at Oakland, 1:25 p.m.

N.Y. Giants at Green Bay, 5:30

p.m.

Oct. 10

Tampa Bay at Carolina, 5:30 p.m.

WEEK 6

Oct. 13

Denver at San Diego, 5:25 p.m.

Oct. 16

San Francisco at Buffalo, 10 a.m.

Jacksonville at Chicago, 10 a.m.

Los Angeles at Detroit, 10 a.m.

Pittsburgh at Miami, 10 a.m.

Cincinnati at New England, 10

a.m.

Carolina at New Orleans, 10 a.m.

Baltimore at N.Y. Giants, 10 a.m.

Cleveland at Tennessee, 10 a.m.

Philadelphia at Washington, 10

a.m.

Kansas City at Oakland, 1:05 p.m.

Dallas at Green Bay, 1:25 p.m.

Atlanta at Seattle, 1:25 p.m.

Indianapolis at Houston, 5:30

p.m.

Oct. 17

N.Y. Jets at Arizona, 5:30 p.m.

WEEK 7

Oct. 20

Chicago at Green Bay, 5:25 p.m.

Oct. 23

N.Y. Giants vs Los Angeles, Lon-

don, England, 9:30 a.m.

Cleveland at Cincinnati, 10 a.m.

Washington at Detroit, 10 a.m.

Oakland at Jacksonville, 10 a.m.

New Orleans at Kansas City, 10

a.m.

Buffalo at Miami, 10 a.m.

Baltimore at N.Y. Jets, 10 a.m.

Minnesota at Philadelphia, 10

a.m.

Indianapolis at Tennessee, 10

a.m.

San Diego at Atlanta, 1:05 p.m.

Tampa Bay at San Francisco, 1:05

p.m.

New England at Pittsburgh, 1:25

p.m.

Seattle at Arizona, 5:30 p.m.

Oct. 24

Houston at Denver, 5:30 p.m.

WEEK 8

Oct. 27

Jacksonville at Tennessee, 5:25

p.m.

Oct. 30

Washington vs Cincinnati, Lon-

don, England, 9:30 a.m.

Green Bay at Atlanta, 10 a.m.

New England at Buffalo, 10 a.m.

N.Y. Jets at Cleveland, 10 a.m.

Detroit at Houston, 10 a.m.

Kansas City at Indianapolis, 10

a.m.

Seattle at New Orleans, 10 a.m.

Oakland at Tampa Bay, 10 a.m.

San Diego at Denver, 1:05 p.m.

Arizona at Carolina, 1:25 p.m.

Philadelphia at Dallas, 5:30 p.m.

Oct. 31

Minnesota at Chicago, 5:30 p.m.

WEEK 9

Nov. 3

Atlanta at Tampa Bay, 5:25 p.m.

Nov. 6

Pittsburgh at Baltimore, 10 a.m.

Dallas at Cleveland, 10 a.m.

Jacksonville at Kansas City, 10

a.m.

N.Y. Jets at Miami, 10 a.m.

Detroit at Minnesota, 10 a.m.

Philadelphia at N.Y. Giants, 10

a.m.

Carolina at Los Angeles, 1:05

p.m.

New Orleans at San Francisco,

1:05 p.m.

Indianapolis at Green Bay, 1:25

p.m.

Tennessee at San Diego, 1:25

p.m.

Denver at Oakland, 5:30 p.m.

Nov. 7

Buffalo at Seattle, 5:30 p.m.

WEEK 10

Nov. 10

Cleveland at Baltimore, 5:25 p.m.

Nov. 13

Houston at Jacksonville, 10 a.m.

Denver at New Orleans, 10 a.m.

Los Angeles at N.Y. Jets, 10 a.m.

Atlanta at Philadelphia, 10 a.m.

Kansas City at Carolina, 10 a.m.

Chicago at Tampa Bay, 10 a.m.

Green Bay at Tennessee, 10 a.m.

Minnesota at Washington, 10

a.m.

Miami at San Diego, 1:05 p.m.

San Francisco at Arizona, 1:25

p.m.

Dallas at Pittsburgh, 1:25 p.m.

Seattle at New England, 5:30

p.m.

Nov. 14

Cincinnati at N.Y. Giants, 5:30

p.m.

2016-17 NFL

SEASON SCHEDULE

Please see NFL SCHEDULES / PAGE 23

DEC 21 - JAN 7

TICKETS: 324-PUCK

BAKERSFIELDCONDORS.COM

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On the Football Field at

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WEEK 11

Nov. 17

New Orleans at Carolina, 5:25

p.m.

Nov. 20

Pittsburgh at Cleveland, 10 a.m.

Baltimore at Dallas, 10 a.m.

Jacksonville at Detroit, 10 a.m.

Tennessee at Indianapolis, 10

a.m.

Buffalo at Cincinnati, 10 a.m.

Tampa Bay at Kansas City, 10

a.m.

Arizona at Minnesota, 10 a.m.

Chicago at N.Y. Giants, 10 a.m.

Miami at Los Angeles, 1:05 p.m.

New England at San Francisco,

1:25 p.m.

Philadelphia at Seattle, 1:25 p.m.

Green Bay at Washington, 5:30

p.m.

Nov. 21

Houston vs Oakland, Mexico City,

Mexico, 5:30 p.m.

WEEK 12

Nov. 24

Minnesota at Detroit, 12:30 p.m.

Washington at Dallas, 1:30 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Indianapolis, 5:30

p.m.

Nov. 27

Tennessee at Chicago, 10 a.m.

Jacksonville at Buffalo, 10 a.m.

Cincinnati at Baltimore, 10 a.m.

Arizona at Atlanta, 10 a.m.

N.Y. Giants at Cleveland, 10 a.m.

San Diego at Houston, 10 a.m.

San Francisco at Miami, 10 a.m.

Los Angeles at New Orleans, 10

a.m.

Seattle at Tampa Bay, 1:05 p.m.

Kansas City at Denver, 1:25 p.m.

Carolina at Oakland, 1:25 p.m.

New England at N.Y. Jets, 5:30

p.m.

Nov. 28

Green Bay at Philadelphia, 5:30

p.m.

WEEK 13

Dec. 1

Dallas at Minnesota, 5:25 p.m.

Dec. 4

Kansas City at Atlanta, 10 a.m.

Miami at Baltimore, 10 a.m.

San Francisco at Chicago, 10 a.m.

Philadelphia at Cincinnati,

10 a.m.

Houston at Green Bay, 10 a.m.

Denver at Jacksonville, 10 a.m.

Los Angeles at New England, 10

a.m.

Detroit at New Orleans, 10 a.m.

Buffalo at Oakland, 1:05 p.m.

Washington at Arizona, 1:25 p.m.

N.Y. Giants at Pittsburgh, 1:25

p.m.

Tampa Bay at San Diego, 1:25

p.m.

Carolina at Seattle, 5:30 p.m.

Dec. 5

Indianapolis at N.Y. Jets, 5:30

p.m.

WEEK 14

Dec. 8

Oakland at Kansas City, 5:25 p.m.

Dec. 11

Pittsburgh at Buffalo, 10 a.m.

San Diego at Carolina, 10 a.m.

Cincinnati at Cleveland, 10 a.m.

Chicago at Detroit, 10 a.m.

Houston at Indianapolis, 10 a.m.

Minnesota at Jacksonville, 10 a.m.

Arizona at Miami, 10 a.m.

Washington at Philadelphia, 10

a.m.

New Orleans at Tampa Bay, 10 a.m.

Denver at Tennessee, 10 a.m.

N.Y. Jets at San Francisco, 1:05 p.m.

Seattle at Green Bay, 1:25 p.m.

Atlanta at Los Angeles, 1:25 p.m.

Dallas at N.Y. Giants, 5:30 p.m.

Dec. 12

Baltimore at New England, 5:30

p.m.

WEEK 15

Dec. 15

Los Angeles at Seattle, 5:25 p.m.

Dec. 17

Miami at N.Y. Jets, 5:25 p.m.

Dec. 18

Green Bay at Chicago, 10 a.m.

Tampa Bay at Dallas, 10 a.m.

Jacksonville at Houston, 10 a.m.

Cleveland at Buffalo, 10 a.m.

Philadelphia at Baltimore, 10 a.m.

Tennessee at Kansas City, 10 a.m.

Indianapolis at Minnesota, 10

a.m.

Detroit at N.Y. Giants, 10 a.m.

New Orleans at Arizona, 1:05

p.m.

San Francisco at Atlanta, 1:05

p.m.

New England at Denver, 1:25 p.m.

Oakland at San Diego, 1:25 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, 5:30

p.m.

Dec. 19

Carolina at Washington, 5:30

p.m.

WEEK 16

Dec. 22

N.Y. Giants at Philadelphia, 5:25

p.m.

Dec. 24

Miami at Buffalo, 10 a.m.

Atlanta at Carolina, 10 a.m.

Washington at Chicago, 10 a.m.

San Diego at Cleveland, 10 a.m.

Minnesota at Green Bay, 10 a.m.

Tennessee at Jacksonville, 10

a.m.

N.Y. Jets at New England, 10 a.m.

Tampa Bay at New Orleans, 10

a.m.

Indianapolis at Oakland, 1:05 p.m.

Arizona at Seattle, 1:25 p.m.

San Francisco at Los Angeles,

1:25 p.m.

Cincinnati at Houston, 5:25 p.m.

Dec. 25

Baltimore at Pittsburgh, 1:30 p.m.

Denver at Kansas City, 5:30 p.m.

Dec. 26

Detroit at Dallas, 5:30 p.m.

WEEK 17

Jan. 1

New Orleans at Atlanta, 10 a.m.

Green Bay at Detroit, 10 a.m.

Jacksonville at Indianapolis, 10 a.m.

New England at Miami, 10 a.m.

Chicago at Minnesota, 10 a.m.

Buffalo at N.Y. Jets, 10 a.m.

Dallas at Philadelphia, 10 a.m.

Cleveland at Pittsburgh, 10 a.m.

Carolina at Tampa Bay, 10 a.m.

Houston at Tennessee, 10 a.m.

N.Y. Giants at Washington, 10 a.m.

Baltimore at Cincinnati, 10 a.m.

Seattle at San Francisco, 1:25 p.m.

Oakland at Denver, 1:25 p.m.

Arizona at Los Angeles, 1:25 p.m.

Kansas City at San Diego, 1:25

p.m.

NFL SCHEDULE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 22

24 The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, August 25, 2016

“

BAKERSFIELD

SOUTHWEST YOSEMITE LEAGUE • DIVISION I

nowing this season would be

unlike any other in the storied his-

tory of Bakersfield High football,

Drillers coach Paul Golla reached into

his bag of tricks and found the perfect

mantra for this team.

“Our motto this year is to ‘Be uncom-

mon,’” Golla said. “We need to feel

inconvenience. We have to move all

around. But in that process, you figure it

out and get after it.”

That will be a necessity because Grif-

fith Field, home of the Drillers since

1923, is in the midst of a major renova-

tion. BHS will play all of its games on the

road, so the Drillers will need to get

accustomed to the uncommon.

Something else uncommon for BHS

— and unpleasant? That would be last

season, when the Drillers finished 5-6,

their first losing season in Golla’s other-

wise spectacular 11-year tenure.

It is also atypical for the players

involved: During the past two seasons,

the junior varsity and freshmen teams

have combined to go 37-0-1.

“The seniors, they went undefeated as

freshmen and JV. They are close, really

close,” Golla said.

“The sophomore class went undefeat-

ed; they are extremely close. So what we

have is they are all coming together. There

is not an ego out there. There is not a kid

that needs the ball. They all want to do

right by each other. That’s why they had

success at the lower levels.”

Translating that success to the varsity

level isn’t a given, but on paper, BHS

does appear to be closer to the 2013

state championship version than the

forgettable 2015 model.

Returning are standout lineman Daniel

Schoene, Caden Ochoa, Trevyone Jackson

and Steven Marks, along with the return

of Navonte Demison, Shane Jones,

Desmond Stancil and Joseph Conley.

The mix of veterans and talented youth

gives Golla and fans confidence that 2016

could be remembered for more than

being a year without a home.

“I feel that we are getting better faster

than we have in the last few years,”

Golla said. “It has to do with our youth.

We have the sophomores, the young

kids; we see the improvement.”

— TREVOR HORN

Drillers seeking

redemption on

road this season

SEASON OUTLOOK

SCHEDULE

Aug 27: vs. Elk Grove-

Pleasant Grove, at Ventu-

ra College

Sept. 2: Bear Creek

(Colo.) in San Diego

Sept. 15: West Hills-

Chaminade (at BC)

Sept. 23: Valencia (at

Centennial)

Sept. 30: at Ridgeview

Oct 7: Garces* (at West)

Oct 14: Frontier* (at BC)

Oct 21: at Centennial*

Oct 28: at Stockdale*

Nov. 4: Liberty* (at West)

* SWYL game

TOP GROUP

Offensive line

Look back at the offensive

line from 2013. There was

not a premium on big bod-

ies up front paving the

way; instead, there were

small, strong, quick line-

men who knew their

assignments. This group is

very similar, though there

are two big bodies at

guard in Schoene and

Hacker. The running backs

this season are all short

and stocky with the ability

to run downhill. Behind

this line, that could be a

very good combination.

PAUL

GOLLA

12th season at BHS,

108-31; 14th overall,

129-43-1

Assistant coaches:

Sean McKeown, OC;

Nate Munson, DB; Lance

McCullah, RB; Adam Liv-

ings, OL; Jay Durant, DC;

Troy Ochoa, LB; Johnny

Maran, DB; John Will,

WR; Scott Douglas, QB;

Ed Ramero, Slots.

2015 AT A GLANCE

RECORD: 5-6, 3-2 SWYL

PLAYOFFS: Lost to Fresno-Edison 16-6 in first round

League titles: 28; Section titles: 36; State titles: 7

“IT TOOK US A WHILE. WE HAVE LINES EVERYWHERE. WE

PRACTICE CERTAIN THINGS IN SPECIFIC WAYS. WE REALLY

HAVE TO STUDY IT. AT FIRST, IT WAS A DISASTER; NOW THE

KIDS DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT.”

PAUL GOLLA, Bakersfield head coach

on the Drillers practicing in limited space.

THEY SAID IT

BEST-CASE

SCENARIO

The last two seasons

become a distant memo-

ry and the Drillers get

back to dominating the

Central Section with a

dual-threat quarterback,

a thrilling triple-option

offense and a suffocating

defense. Not having a

home field galvanizes the

team instead of driving it

apart, Josh Maran and

Cam Williams will be

relied on at QB to throw

the ball well. If that’s the

case, the offense will roll.

That, combined with

another sterling defen-

sive year, unseats Liberty

atop the Southwest

Yosemite League. Then,

in the playoffs, the travel-

ing Drillers completely

erase the poor taste of

last year with the

school’s record 37th sec-

tion championship.

KEY STANDOUT

Caden Ochoa

Jr, QB/DB: Ochoa could be

a playmaker at quarter-

back. He’s already a pun-

ishing safety on defense.

Steven Marks

Sr, LB: A big hitter with

speed, just the way that

Driller linebackers are

molded to be.

Ryan Crowley

Sr, OL: Fits the size,

strength and speed BHS

likes at tackle: (relatively)

small and fast.

Brenden Hacker

Sr, OL: He and Schoene

form one of the biggest

and strongest guard duos

around.

Treyvone Jackson

Jr, RB/DL: Big-bodied run-

ning back, small and quick

defensive lineman.

HOW TO

GET THERE

For the Drillers to be in

the running for a section

title this season, the

team needs to get back

to the veer offense rather

than the wildcat forma-

tion that has been run

the last two years. The

defense is young but

very talented, led by

Marks, Jackson, Ochoa

and wrestling state

champion Navonte Demi-

son at cornerback. On

offense, the line is talent-

ed and experienced.

There are skill position

players like Shane Jones,

Desmond Stancil,

Treyvone Jackson and

Jospeh Conley. That

leaves quarterback. Can

BHS find its first reliable

dual-threat QB since

Asuani Rufus and compa-

ny left Griffith Field with

big rings on their fingers?

TOP RETURNERS

HEAD COACH

22.3

Points scored per game

23.0

Points allowed per game

136.5

Passing yards per game

109 .4

Rushing yards per game

Touchdowns scored

2015 TEAM STATS

HENRY A. BARRIOS / THE CALIFORNIAN

Bakersfield quarterback Josh Maran tries to avoid a defender and looks for

running room during a preseason practice.

DANIEL SCHOENE

Sr, offensive/defensive line

Began his high school career as a

backup offensive lineman for the

2013 state championship team,

and has become the unques-

tioned leader of this team. A

three-year starter, he will lead an

experienced offensive line hop-

ing to help BHS back to promi-

nence.

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“

GARCES

SOUTHWEST YOSEMITE LEAGUE • DIVISION II

here was no question A.J. Gass’

first year at Garces was going to

include a lot of lumps along the

way. Graduation and outgoing transfers

had depleted the Rams’ roster before

the former Servite head coach arrived,

and it was evident his plan was to build

for the future.

Well, that future could be here already

in year No. 2. The Rams have a trio of

track stars in sprinters Conor Bruce, Scott

Boylan and Cameron Roberson, and with

each race, Gass became excited to see

that speed translate on the field.

“I couldn’t wait. What I like most

about it, I kind of forced them into

track,” Gass said. “To compete year-

round, it’s good for them. And it gave

me a lot to look forward to. They have

confidence in their speed.”

The next step for Gass and his Rams

is to ensure the offense gets more

chances than it did last year.

“We have to establish defensive identi-

ty,” Gass said. “We couldn’t get off the

field on third downs. We had 60 to 70 per-

cent of defensive drives (that) were dou-

ble-digit play drives for the opposition.”

Success on both sides of the ball comes

down to the growth of the offensive and

defensive lines. Key players are Josh Gon-

zalez and Sean Hatten on offense, and

Michael Barnett, Michael Georgino and

Daniel Cameron on defense.

“The game is won and lost up front,”

Gass said. “We’re trying to get our guys

to get in the right position mentally. I

don’t see another team that is going to

be smaller than us on the line. We are

not very big. We have to be creative in

our play-calling. We have to play to the

strength in our guys.”

After four consecutive 10-plus win

seasons and a D-II Central Section title

in 2012, the Rams posted just three vic-

tories combined in the past two years.

Is it time for the Rams to become a

force again?

“I think we are on the right track,” Gass

said. “Looking at how far we have come,

we are stronger. Our speed speaks for

itself. It’s on the guys’ confidence to

regain the swag.”

— TREVOR HORN

Garces hopes to

‘regain the swag’

in Gass’ 2nd year

SEASON OUTLOOK

SCHEDULE

Aug. 26: BCHS

Sept. 2: at Arroyo Grande

Sept. 9: Tehachapi

Sept. 17: SJ Memorial

Sept. 30: at Fresno-Edison

Oct. 7: at Bakersfield*

Oct. 14: Centennial*

Oct. 21: at Liberty*

Oct. 28: Frontier*

Nov. 4: at Stockdale*

*SWYL game

TOP GROUP

Skill positions

The speed for Garces all

around on the offensive

side of the ball would

make any coach eager, and

that’s exactly what A.J.

Gass was after watching

his speedsters tear up the

Central Section track

scene all spring. Now it’s

time for Conor Bruce,

Cameron Roberson and

Scott Boylan — all section

finalists in the sprints — to

turn that into football

speed. Add in third-year

starter Isaiah Martin at

running back, and the skill

positions for Garces are as

good or better than those

of just about any team in

the section.

A.J. GASS

Second season at

Garces 2-9, 12-22 in

3 seasons overall

Assistant coaches:

Cody Kekipi, offensive

coordinator; Chris Shipp,

defensive coordinator;

Erik Duncan, defensive

line; Mike Ortiz, offen-

sive line; Chris Sacchini,

wide receivers; Pete

Hernandez, special

teams.

2015 AT A GLANCE

RECORD: 2-9, 1-4 SWYL

PLAYOFFS: Lost 13-10 to Sanger in quarterfinals

League titles: 23; Section titles: 10

CONOR (BRUCE) HAS DONE A REALLY GOOD JOB OF WHAT

WE ARE ASKING. HE HAS DEVELOPED AS A PASSER. JOE

(TOBIAS) IS GOING TO TAKE A CRACK AT THE STARTING MID-

DLE LINEBACKER POSITION.”

A.J. GASS, Rams head coach on the new roles of two of his senior leaders.

THEY SAID IT

BEST-CASE

SCENARIO

The Rams continue to

improve and surprise

the rugged Southwest

Yosemite League with a

3-2 league record, allow-

ing them to head into

the Division II playoffs

with a top-four seed.

The team has struggled

the past two seasons,

but A.J. Gass has more

talent in his second sea-

son. The offensive line

comes together as a

group behind returning

starters Josh Gonzalez

and Sean Hatten, and

the specialists prove to

be very dangerous. The

defense is not big on the

line, but talent in the

secondary and line-

backer positions wreak

havoc and make the

Rams relevant once

again.

KEY STANDOUT

Jeremiah Johnson

Sr, DB/WR: Downfield

defender with great vision.

Led team with three inter-

ceptions.

Cameron Roberson

Sr, DB/RB: One of the top

tacklers on the team at

safety and a target on

offense at the slot.

Michael Georgino

Sr, DL/TE: Has blossomed

into a big, physical player.

Strongest player on roster.

Michael Barnett

Sr, DL/TE: Physical and

long. A fearless catcher in

a crowd with deceptive

speed.

Scott Boylan

Sr, WR/DB: Will be a focal

point in all three phases

this season, including on

special teams as a kick

returner.

HOW TO

GET THERE

The identity of winning

needs to come back to

Garces before anything

special can happen. If

the track speed that

Bruce, Roberson and

Boylan showed in the

spring translates over to

football speed, then

points will be scored.

But to put up wins, the

defense will have to do

its part. That starts with

Michael Barnett and

Michael Georgino up

front and Roberson and

Johnson in the second-

ary. Once the role play-

ers find their way, these

Rams have a good shot

at surprising their

league and at a deep run

in the D-II playoffs.

TOP RETURNERS

HEAD COACH

17.0

Points scored per game

28. 7

Points allowed per game

112.2

Passing yards per game

153.0

Rushing yards per game

Touchdowns scored

2015 TEAM STATS

HENRY A. BARRIOS / THE CALIFORNIAN

Garces High’s Isaiah Martin breaks for a huge gain in practice as Garces pre-

pares for its 2016 football season.

CONOR BRUCE

Sr, quarterback

As a junior, Bruce became a jack

of all trades as a quarterback,

running back and slot receiver

for a team seeking identity. This

year, Bruce is the starting quar-

terback and the leader for a

Garces squad ready to make a

splash.

Thursday, August 25, 2016 The Bakersfield Californian 27

28 The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, August 25, 2016

“

CENTENNIAL

SOUTHWEST YOSEMITE LEAGUE • DIVISION I

here is no mistaking what went

wrong for Centennial in 2015: Hit

with injuries at nearly every posi-

tion throughout the season, the Golden

Hawks went from a Southwest Yosemite

League darkhorse to a depleted roster

that could only wonder “what if?”

The good news: Centennial coach

Chad Brown noticed as soon as the sea-

son ended that the returning players

made sure their offseason would be

well spent, creating promise for a

healthy and successful 2016.

“We took the right steps in the offsea-

son. It’s about staying healthy,” Brown

said. “If we do that, we can compete

with anyone on our schedule. They

really put in the time since January.

Health and conditioning is the biggest

thing.”

Centennial has two college-bound

seniors leading the way this season in

Cole Beaty, a speedy receiver and return

man headed to Nevada, and Gabe

Cherry, a mammoth defensive lineman

committed to Cal.

But the big focus for Centennial will

come down to the offensive line. With

graduation and transfers taking a toll,

there likely will be players moving

around and acclimating to roles well

into September.

If that group can be productive, there

should be a lot of excitement this fall at

Centennial, even with a hefty schedule

ahead. Ventura-St. Bonaventure, Clovis

West and Fresno-Bullard are all on the

calendar before the start of the SWYL

slate.

In his second season at Centennial,

Brown also feels a connection to the

team and believes knowledge of his ros-

ter will benefit the team in the long run.

“It took three or four games to find

their niche (in 2015),” Brown said. “Now

I know them. We see each other every

day. We are more excited and comfort-

able. It’s a whole offseason with my

guys. They are getting after it. Now it’s

time to see if all the hard work shows.”

— TREVOR HORN

In Year 2, Brown

eager for Golden

Hawks to fly high

SEASON OUTLOOK

SCHEDULE

Aug 27: Ventura-St.

Bonaventure at Ventura

College

Sept 1: at Clovis West

Sept 9: Golden Valley

Sept 16: at Fresno-Bullard

Sept 23: at Clovis

Oct 7: Stockdale*

Oct 14: at Garces*

Oct 21: Bakersfield*

Oct 28: at Liberty*

Nov. 4: Frontier*

*SWYL game

TOP GROUP

Skill positions

Breaking in a new quarter-

back, likely junior Will

Alexander, will be much

easier for the Centennial

coaching staff, knowing

there are ample players

around to ease the transi-

tion. It starts with Beaty,

but he isn’t alone at receiv-

er. Add in Zach Hartsfield

and Brady Banuelos, two

tall targets, and Alexander

will have options when

defenses gear on Beaty.

Hunter Giulietti and Mono-

leto Robinson will share

the load at running back.

The group also will be

needed to make some

plays on its own if the

young offensive line needs

time to find its way.

CHAD

BROWN

Second season at

Centennial, 6-5; 16-

18 in three seasons

overall

Assistant coaches:

Joey Risi, offensive coor-

dinator; Kasey Tit-

tlemier, OL; Nathan

Claunch, LB/ RB; Dave

Rice, OL/DL; David

Jacobson, OL/ DL; B.B.

Carrasco, WR/DB; Mark

Fernandez, WR/DB.

2015 AT A GLANCE

RECORD: 6-5 record, 3-2 SWYL

PLAYOFFS: Lost 30-19 to Fresno-Central in first round

League titles: 10; Section titles: 0

“WE WILL BE CONFIDENT, BUT WE REALIZE HOW TOUGH THIS

ROAD IS. PROBABLY THE TOUGHEST IN SCHOOL HISTORY.

THEY WILL BE FOCUSED AND READY FOR THE GRIND.”

CHAD BROWN, head coach

THEY SAID IT

BEST-CASE

SCENARIO

A brutal early schedule

proves to be useful as a

sharpener for Centennial

rather than a road to

another injury-ruined

season, and the Golden

Hawks enter SWYL play

as tested as anyone in

the league. That proves

useful when the Golden

Hawks beat Bakersfield

High for the second

straight year and enter

their showdown with

Liberty at 3-0 in the

league. This time,

though, Centennial isn’t

run off the field and

enters the playoffs with

a good seed and a

chance to fulfill that

darkhorse moniker

they’ve been labeled

with the past couple of

years.

KEY STANDOUT

Gabe Cherry

Sr, DL: The Golden Hawks’

defensive leader is a blue-

chip run-stopper commit-

ted to Cal.

Dalton Grogan

Sr, LB/TE: A key leader for

Centennial at linebacker as

the top returning tackler.

Cole Anderson

Sr, DB: On the opposite

side of Beaty at corner,

will make one of best

tandems in section.

Hunter Giulietti

Sr, RB/DB: Will be an iron-

man as a bruising running

back and punishing safety.

Zach Hartsfield

Jr, WR/LB: A 6-foot-3 tar-

get, he could benefit from

attention paid to Beaty on

the other side of the field.

HOW TO

GET THERE

Stay healthy. That was

the biggest issue facing

Centennial in 2015. It

seemed every Friday

night, Centennial was

battling both another

team and the injury bug.

The team has spent a lot

of time in the weight

room as players are get-

ting stronger in anticipa-

tion of another long sea-

son. If health is not an

issue, Centennial is a

steady hand at quarter-

back away from playing

deep into November.

That was the biggest

issue in 2015 when

injuries cut short what

looked to be a resurgent

season. With star power

on both sides of the ball,

health is the key to

2016.

TOP RETURNERS

HEAD COACH

23. 7

Points scored per game

19.5

Points allowed per game

190 .7

Passing yards per game

154 .6

Rushing yards per game

Touchdowns scored

2015 TEAM STATS

FELIX ADAMO / THE CALIFORNIAN

Senior Gabe Cherry, who has committed to Cal, is expected to anchor the Gold-

en Hawks’ defensive line.

COLE BEATY

Sr,

wide receiver/DB/KR

He began 2015 on a torrid pace,

scoring 15 TDs either returning

or receiving before October. That

explosiveness, combined with

another year of experience,

should allow the senior, verbally

committed to Nevada, to have an

even bigger impact as a senior.

Thursday, August 25, 2016 The Bakersfield Californian 29

“

FRONTIER

SOUTHWEST YOSEMITE LEAGUE • DIVISION I

peed and Frontier have never real-

ly been synonymous with each

other. Each fall, it seems like the

Titans walk off the bus with a handful of

6-foot-4, 275-pound offensive linemen,

road-graders ready to punish the oppo-

sition.

However, this season, the Titans are

ready to run — and pass — with great

consistency because of speed added on

the line and at the skill positions.

“We’re not as big on the offensive

line. We averaged about 280 last year,”

Cornford said. “That would have been a

hard feat to replicate. But I think we

average about 240 across the front with

guys with a lot of playing time.”

The line is led by senior Lucas Bush-

nell, a traditional big body, but he is

surrounded by technically sound line-

men who will help create gaps faster for

quarterback Greg Youngblood and the

Titans running backs.

“Last year we had to depend a lot on

our strength,” Bushnell said. “This year,

we are smaller, but (in) technique, we

are faster. We will be able to run past

other teams this year.”

Youngblood also is looking to take on

a bigger role in the passing game, hop-

ing to find speedy receivers in space to

provide balance to what was a run-

heavy offense in 2015.

“I think we could hurt some people

this year,” Youngblood said. “We could

be a shock in the league. I think this

team is something special this year. We

will just have to wait and see.”

Given the new element of speed,

Cornford is eager for a return to promi-

nence for Frontier.

“We will be really balanced offensive-

ly and explosive,” Cornford said.

“Defensively we are fast. We are excited

about both sides of the ball.”

— TREVOR HORN

Armed with speed,

size, Titans aim

for big season

SEASON OUTLOOK

SCHEDULE

Aug. 26: Lompoc-Cabrillo

Sept. 2: at Paso Robles

Sept. 9: Ridgeview

Sept. 16: at Fresno-Central

Sept. 23: Mission Oak

Oct. 7: Liberty*

Oct. 14: at Bakersfield*

Oct. 21: Stockdale*

Oct. 28: at Garces*

Nov. 4: at Centennial*

*SWYL game

TOP GROUP

Wide receivers

Frontier has been so well-

known as a factory of big,

strong linemen that skill-

position players seemed to

get lost in the shuffle. That

likely won’t be the case

this season. Marcus Corn-

ford didn’t play as a junior

in 2015, but the 6-foot-3

target returns with a sense

of urgency and a sub-4.5

second time in the 40-yard

dash. Add in Flores, Steven

Garcia and other burners,

and Frontier has a big-play

ability that has been

absent in recent years.

RICH

CORNFORD

Ninth season at

Frontier, 47-41; 101-

67 in 15 seasons

overall

Assistant coaches:

Mike Lewis, offensive

coordinator; Kenny

Haslip, defensive coordi-

nator; Primo Ocampo,

OL; Dante Cross, RB; Lee

Jones, TE; Rick Brogden,

safeties; Seto Castena-

da, WR.

2015 AT A GLANCE

RECORD: 5-6, 1-4 SWYL

PLAYOFFS: Lost 30-10 to Clovis West in first round

League titles: 1; Section titles: 0

“WE HAVE GOOD LEADERSHIP, A GOOD CORE; WE ARE DEEP,

WE ARE FAST, WE ARE STRONG. WE HAVE THE BIG-PLAY ABIL-

ITY THAT WE DIDN’T HAVE LAST YEAR, AND OUR OFFENSIVE

LINE WILL BE GOOD. WE ARE ALWAYS GOOD. I THINK WE

SHOULD GO PRETTY FAR AND DO REALLY WELL.”

LUCAS BUSHNELL, senior lineman

THEY SAID IT

BEST-CASE

SCENARIO

The Titans haven’t had a

winning season since

2012, but remember

that they were the sur-

prise winners of the first

“power” Southwest

Yosemite League that

season. But take a veter-

an coach like Rich Corn-

ford and give him some

veterans and hard-to-

find speed, and the

result is another sur-

prise: Greg Youngblood

becomes one of the top

quarterbacks in the sec-

tion, and that leads to a

big year for speedy play-

makers like Marcus

Cornford, Connor

Gettman and J.J. Flores.

Suddenly, Frontier isn’t

battling to finish .500;

the Titans are battling

for another SWYL title.

KEY STANDOUT

Lucas Bushnell

Sr, OL: Prototypical Fron-

tier lineman with size and

power also serves as a

vocal leader.

Connor Gettman

Jr, RB: Most experienced

running back on the roster

has great speed and field

vision.

Drew Layer

Sr, OL: Returning starter

on the offensive line who

brings an element of

speed and agility to the

run game.

Efrain Morales

Sr, RB/LB: Solid power

back on offense, and his

leadership will be a plus on

defense as a run-stopping

linebacker.

Greg Smith

Sr, OL: Another smaller

offensive lineman who has

an ability to get off the

ball quickly and with pur-

pose.

HOW TO

GET THERE

The speed that Cornford

and Flores showed dur-

ing track season in the

spring needs to trans-

late to the football field.

If it does, Frontier will

have an element that

hasn’t been present the

last few seasons with

Youngblood at quarter-

back and Gettman in the

backfield. The second-

ary is experienced, but

the defensive line will

need to continue to

grow during fall camp

with teams like

Ridgeview and Fresno-

Central on the docket

early in non-league

games in September. An

upset in one of those

games could set the

tone for a league season

to remember.

TOP RETURNERS

HEAD COACH

26.3

Points scored per game

24.3

Points allowed per game

142. 7

Passing yards per game

229.0

Rushing yards per game

Touchdowns scored

2015 TEAM STATS

CASEY CHRISTIE / THE CALIFORNIAN

Frontier senior offensive lineman Lucas Bushnell works out during preseason

practice. This year, the Titans have speed in addition to size.

GREG

YOUNGBLOOD

Sr, quarterback

The most experienced signal caller

in the county. Started at platoon

his sophomore, became the

starter last year and is ready to

become a star this season. Is a

dual threat with great speed, but

wants to utilize his arm and play-

makers.

30 The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, August 25, 2016

“

LIBERTY

SOUTHWEST YOSEMITE LEAGUE • DIVISION I

inning back-to-back Division I

football championships has

become the Central Section’s

great white whale: It hasn’t been done

since Clovis West in 1992-1993, long

before any current high schooler was

born.

That’s the task facing Liberty, which

must replace its starting quarterback

and top two running backs from last

year’s Division I championship team.

But then, that 2015 team was the first

Kern County team other than Bakers-

field High to win a D-I title since West in

1981, so what’s another milestone?

“The school across town (Bakersfield),

they like to talk about how they have the

most Valley championships, so we’re

going to try to go back-to-back and have

a nice little dynasty,” said senior Kurtis

Brown, last year’s BVarsity Defensive

Player of the Year. “It’s a huge thing.”

To get there, Liberty might have to

rely on its defense, especially early in

the season. Brown, Caleb Lahoda and

Lorenzo Hidalgo all return to a defen-

sive line that terrorized opposing

offenses, and Luke Fringer and Zach

Griffin will anchor the back of the

defense.

On offense, it’s a different story. Quar-

terback Jordan Love is gone to Utah

State. Running back Quincy Jountti is at

Sacramento State. The offensive line lost

every full-time starter (Lahoda and

Hidalgo played significant snaps there

and return) and could start three sopho-

mores.

“Replacing big-time players is always

difficult, but that’s the beauty of high

school football,” Patriots coach Bryan

Nixon said. “Now it gives younger kids

the opportunity to step up and put their

mark on the program.”

Bryson Faulconer replaces Love. He

completed just one of 14 passes in limit-

ed duty last year, but teammates and

coaches say that’s not indicative of his

abilities.

— ZACH EWING

Liberty looks to

continue recent

winning ways

SEASON OUTLOOK

SCHEDULE

Aug. 26: at Clovis West

Sept. 2: Ridgeview

Sept. 9: Fresno-Central

Sept. 16: Clovis-Buchanan

Sept 23: at San Diego-

Catholic Catholic

Oct. 7: at Frontier*

Oct. 14: at Stockdale*

Oct. 21: Garces*

Oct. 28: Centennial*

Nov. 4: Bakersfield*

*SWYL game

TOP GROUP

Defensive line

Brown might be good

enough to merit this honor

by himself, but the Patriots

have depth here, too. If

offenses commit two

blockers to Brown, then

they’ll be out-manned

somewhere else, and sen-

iors Caleb Lahoda and

Lorenzo Hidalgo, along

with super sophomores

Daniel Viveros and Brycen

Lindsey, are poised to take

advantage. This unit has

the potential to be even

more dominant than it was

last year, even without

graduated Kevin Frith, and

Liberty might need it to be.

BRYAN

NIXON

Fourth year at Liber-

ty, 28-9; 15th year

overall, 117-61-1

Assistant coaches:

Ryan Renz, defensive

coordinator/LB; Rick

Tucker, OL/TE; Phil

Alvidrez, OL/DL; Tim

Antongiovanni, special

teams/WR/DB; Brock

Martinez, RB; Justin

Crane, RB/LB; Bobby

Rocha; Andre Heidari, K/P

2015 AT A GLANCE

RECORD: 9-4, 5-0 SWYL

PLAYOFFS: Beat Clovis 56-21 for Division I championship; lost 28-24 to Loomis-

Del Oro in Division 2-AA Northern Cal regional bowl game

League titles: 7; Section titles: 2

EVER SINCE JANUARY, SCHOOLS HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT

US, HOW THEY WANT TO COMPETE WITH US, BEAT US AT

OUR OWN HOUSE, SHUT US OUT. SO WE JUST WORKED REAL

HARD SO THAT WON’T HAPPEN

KURTIS BROWN, Patriots senior defensive end

THEY SAID IT

BEST-CASE

SCENARIO

In retrospect, maybe we

should have known a

couple of key losses

wouldn’t be enough to

slow down the Liberty

train, which completes

its third straight unde-

feated season in the

Southwest Yosemite

League in 2016. This

year, the Patriots do it

with a little more

defense than offense,

but it’s no matter: None

of their Division I playoff

opponents can challenge

them, either, and Liberty

smothers Bullard behind

a dominant Kurtis Brown

to become the first team

in 23 years to repeat as

D-I champion. And this

time, the Pats back it up

with a regional bowl

game victory and play

for the school’s first

state championship.

KEY STANDOUT

Johnny Balderas

Sr, WR/DB: He started

slow as a junior after

transferring from Shafter

but finished with six

touchdown catches and

five interceptions.

Luke Fringer

Sr, WR/DB: Need a play

made on defense? Fringer

had two picks, seven pass-

es defended and two

forced fumbles as a junior.

Zach Griffin

Sr, RB/DB: Besides his sig-

nificant duties on defense,

Griffin will be part of an

important running back

committee.

Caleb Lahoda

Sr, OL/DL: He’ll see more

two-way action and will be

a crucial cog in a young

offensive line.

HOW TO

GET THERE

Liberty will need to rely

on its stout defense

early while the offense

figures out its strengths

and capabilities without

Jordan Love or Quincy

Jountti to fall back on.

That’s not going to be

easy, but Bryan Nixon

and his coaching staff

love the athleticism on

their offensive line.

Three sophomores are

going to start, but

they’re all athletic and

strong. They’ll have to

continue to be a pleas-

ant surprise so that

Bryson Faulconer has

time to gain confidence

in the pocket and lead

the team on important

drives in what’s bound

to be a slew of closer

games than last year.

TOP RETURNERS

HEAD COACH

35 .6

Points scored per game

17. 9

Points allowed per game

154 .4

Passing yards per game

223.2

Rushing yards per game

Touchdowns scored

2015 TEAM STATS

FELIX ADAMO / THE CALIFORNIAN

Beating the heat, Liberty defensive coordinator Ryan Renz directs an early-

morning preseason practice.

KURTIS BROWN

Sr, defensive lineman

Led the Patriots with 96 tackles

and six sacks. The 6-3, 280-pound

Brown, who’s verbally committed

to Arizona, is strong, active and

smart, making him a terror for

opposing linemen and the ball-

handlers. Offenses will need to

commit multiple blockers, and

even that might not be enough.

Thursday, August 25, 2016 The Bakersfield Californian 31

32 The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, August 25, 2016

“

STOCKDALE

SOUTHWEST YOSEMITE LEAGUE • DIVISION I

rett Shelton has a brand of coach-

ing that is invigorating, maybe

even a bit exhausting to an

onlooker, but it seems to finally be set-

tling in at Stockdale.

The former Stockdale standout, who

played college ball at Sacramento State,

is heading into this third season as the

Mustangs head coach.

It’s been rough the first two years with-

out a playoff appearance, but Shelton’s

energy has been woven into the fabric of

the program, and the players feel it.

“We got it in us this year,” senior

Elisha Ortiz said. “We’ve been around

him for so long, it’s his third season

here, and he brings energy and we

enjoy it. I am glad he is out here.”

That’s coming from the leader of the

group. Ortiz has gone from a solid run-

ning back with a quiet demeanor to an

outspoken leader on the field, and Shel-

ton loves his passion.

“He’s actually a quiet kid, but when

he’s at practice, he’s not so quiet,” Shel-

ton said. “You can see his leadership

skills developing, and everybody rallies

for him because he is the one putting in

the most work at practice. He’s not just

a game guy; he’s a practice guy.”

The team has also begun to form a

unit, which should be a positive in a

season that Stockdale hopes ends in the

playoffs for the first time since 2013.

“With these guys, the culture is set,”

Shelton said. “They understand it’s the

brotherhood. That is what this whole

game is about, and these guys go to bat-

tle for each other day in and day out.

They really do. It’s a group that likes to

be around each other, and the coaches

love to be around them.”

— TREVOR HORN

Shelton hopes for

first playoff berth

as Stockdale coach

SEASON OUTLOOK

SCHEDULE

Aug. 26: at Ridgeview

Sept. 2: Independence

Sept. 9: at Atascadero

Sept. 16: Clovis

Sept. 23: at West

Oct. 7: at Centennial*

Oct. 14: Liberty*

Oct. 21: at Frontier*

Oct. 28: Bakersfield*

Nov. 4: Garces*

*SWYL game

TOP GROUP

Defensive line

Brett Shelton loves a good,

hard-working lineman as

much as any coach, and he

might have the right bunch

on the defensive side for

his coaching style. WIth

Brian Abbott, Jacob Whit-

by, Gio Ramirez, Daniel

Negron and Nieblas, there

are plenty of bodies to stay

fresh throughout games.

Across the board, the line

averages 225 pounds, so

there is a lot of power at

the position as well.

“These guys are in the

weight room non-stop,”

Shelton said. “They push

each other.”

BRETT

SHELTON

Third season, 7-13

Assistant coaches:

Richie Bolin, offensive

coordinator; Jarrud

Prosser, passing coordi-

nator/WR; David Hall,

OL/DL; Danny Saso,

DE/TE; Anthony Reed,

RB/LB; Tanner Webb

DB/WR.

2015 AT A GLANCE

RECORD: 3-7, 2-3 SWYL

PLAYOFFS: None

League titles: 4; Section titles: 0

“THESE BOYS GET AFTER IT. THEY LIKE TO HIT PEOPLE AND

HAVE A LITTLE NASTINESS TO THEM. WE JUST GOT TO MAKE

SURE WE MAINTAIN THAT.”

BRETT SHELTON, head coach

THEY SAID IT

BEST-CASE

SCENARIO

Stockdale’s school-

imposed rule that teams

must be .500 or better

record overall or in

league has hindered the

Mustangs in each of

Shelton’s first two sea-

sons, but this is the year

they get over the hump

and play in the postsea-

son. Stockdale’s solid

offensive and defensive

lines continue to press

teams on both sides of

the ball, and the Mus-

tangs, after sticking

with section favorites

Ridgeview and Clovis in

the non-league season,

surprise a higher-ranked

foe in SWYL play and

then pull off a first-

round upset in the Divi-

sion I playoffs.

KEY STANDOUT

Spencer Nieblas

Sr, OL/DL: Two -way

starter on the line for the

Mustangs is a leader and

strong off the snap.

Adarian Rowel

Sr, WR/DB: Undersized

but fast and will be used in

different packages on

offense and provide solid

corner play on defense.

Jalen Smith

Jr, WR: A hot commodity

as a baseball player, he has

a big body and great hands

on the football field as

well.

Harrison Taylor

Sr, LB/TE/OL: Strong and

quick off the line on

offense and a hybrid run

stuffer on defense.

HOW TO

GET THERE

The first key is making

sure new quarterback

Jacob Ruley is comfort-

able and ready to lead

after the graduation of

two-year starter Antho-

ny Onsurez. Shelton has

confidence in Ruley:,

“He is an incredible ath-

lete that can throw the

rock, but he can move.

It’s opened our eyes as a

staff on what we can

do,” and so does Ortiz:

“He knew it was a big

job to step up to, and I

think he’s going to do

great things.” If Ruley

settles in, it’ll force

defense to take atten-

tion off of Ortiz, and

there is a good chance

the Mustangs are play-

off-bound.

TOP RETURNERS

HEAD COACH

21.6

Points scored per game

27.5

Points allowed per game

153.0

Passing yards per game

151.3

Rushing yards per game

Touchdowns scored

2015 TEAM STATS

NICK ELLIS / FOR THE CALIFORNIAN

Stockdale head coach Brett Shelton gives directions to his linemen during a

preseason practice.

ELISHA ORTIZ

Sr, running back

Unquestioned leader for Stock-

dale after rushing for more than

1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns

in 2015. Stockdale coach Brett

Shelton says teammates rally to

Ortiz for advice because “he

immediately attracts people to

him.”

Thursday, August 25, 2016 The Bakersfield Californian 33

“

EAST

SOUTH YOSEMITE LEAGUE • DIVISION III

he East High Blades did not have a

memorable season in 2015.

A young team experienced grow-

ing pains, won just one game and was

the opponent when Foothill ended its

22-game losing streak.

All that doesn’t mean there isn’t opti-

mism this season.

Blades coach David Fanucchi

believes a change in philosophy is a

must. Fanucchi wants his athletes to

show up daily, work hard and stay com-

mitted.

He’s also shied away from individual-

ism and focused more on team unity to

bring the team closer together.

“We’ve got a great group of seniors

who’s our leadership group, and they’re

taking this program in the right direc-

tion,” Fanucchi said.

Senior running back Raymond Mar-

quez said he likes Fanucchi’s philoso-

phy of fitting his schemes on the field to

the personnel on his roster.

“It’s smart,” Marquez said. “I like

what he’s doing with the team. He’s fit-

ting everybody’s skill sets in the offense

and defense.”

Fanucchi is hoping that preparation

from the coaching staff and players can

change East’s fortunes.

“We’re a lot more hungrier,” said sen-

ior linebacker and quarterback Ricardo

Mendoza. “We need to go out there and

get a lot of respect from the teams we

play, because we know we don’t have

it.”

Despite the team-first mentality, the

Blades do have some stars on the team.

Marquez, who was primarily used as a

receiver last season, will be asked to run

the ball as well and become the primary

weapon on offense.

“He’s embracing that, and he under-

stands that we need a lot out of him this

year, and he’s looking forward to that

challenge,” Fanucchi said.

— JOSH BENNETT

Blades look to put

forgettable 2015

behind them

SEASON OUTLOOK

SCHEDULE

Aug. 26: Delano

Sept. 2: North

Sept. 9: at Mira Monte

Sept. 16: Highland

Sept. 30: at Foothill

Oct. 7: West*

Oct. 14: at Tehachapi*

Oct. 21: Ridgeview*

Oct. 28: at Independence*

Nov. 4: at Golden Valley*

*SYL game

TOP GROUP

Backs and

receivers

Most of the returning sen-

iors are in the skill posi-

tions and have experience.

Team speed could kill

defenses enough for East

to win some games this

season, despite a small

and young offensive line.

Consistency is key as

Fanucchi hopes this group

will have enough weapons

to be able to produce and

score on offense often.

Marquez’s speed at run-

ning back and receiver is

certainly the headliner

here, but also keep an eye

on wide receiver Kenny

Holmes and quarterback

Ricardo Mendoza.

DAVID

FANUCCHI

Third year at East,

4-15; 51-51-1 in nine

years overall

Assistant coaches:

Steve Montano, defen-

sive coordinator; Ray

Perez, OL; Gary Sher-

man, QB; Mario Gallardo,

LB; Jack Melendez, DL;

Jackson Phillips, RB/DB.

2015 AT A GLANCE

RECORD: 1-8, 0-4 SYL

PLAYOFFS: None

League titles: 10; Section titles: 1

LATE IN (2015), WE LOST SOME CLOSE FOOTBALL GAMES.

HOPEFULLY, WE’VE LEARNED FROM THAT, AND IT’S GOING TO

BE THE DIFFERENCE THIS YEAR

DAVID FANUCCHI, Blades head coach

THEY SAID IT

BEST-CASE

SCENARIO

Fanucchi’s philosophy

works and the Blades

win the winnable games

on their schedule. Add

to that a minor upset

and you’re looking at a

five-win season with a

playoff berth — not too

shabby for a team that

won just one game in

2015. East gets most of

its victories from the

non-league portion of

the schedule, but proves

that it can stick in the

rugged South Yosemite

League with an upset

there, too.

KEY STANDOUT

Kenny Holmes

Sr, WR/DB: Played prima-

rily defense last season

but will be looked at as a

top receiving threat for

East.

Ricardo Mendoza

Sr, QB/LB: Will impact

both sides of the ball, as

he got some quarterback

reps last season and will

be looking to get more

time at the position as

well as leading the

defense.

Angel Baez

Jr, OL: Baez became a

leader in the trenches for

the Blades in his sopho-

more year and will be

looked upon to be the

anchor of the offensive

line.

HOW TO

GET THERE

East lost four games by

single digits last season,

so the competition level

is there; now East needs

to add the ability to fin-

ish games in the fourth

quarter. Also important:

East needs to stay away

from injuries to key

players and have Ray-

mond Marquez translate

his track speed onto the

football field. If all of

that happens, you can

expect to see the Blades

surprise lots of people in

2016.

TOP RETURNERS

HEAD COACH

17.3

Points scored per game

33.2

Points allowed per game

104.4

Passing yards per game

173. 7

Rushing yards per game

Touchdowns scored

2015 TEAM STATS

ROD THORNBURG / FOR THE CALIFORNIAN

East defensive end Oscar Nunez runs through drills at a preseason practice.

RAYMOND

MARQUEZ

Sr, running back

State qualifier in the 100 meters

in track has speed needed to

help the offense be explosive in

the run and pass games. Will see

more action running, catching

and in the return game.

34 The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, August 25, 2016

“

GOLDEN VALLEY

SOUTH YOSEMITE LEAGUE • DIVISION III

olden Valley coach Erich Smith

isn’t exactly known for being a

drill sergeant or a strict discipli-

narian, and this summer, he decided

to grow out his hair to complete the

effect.

“My parents call it my ‘hippie hair,’”

said Smith, whose coiffure is about

halfway to Garth from Wayne’s World,

minus the glasses. “I decided I had to

bring it back.”

Smith said he might soon cut off the

locks he’s kept all summer, but his atti-

tude of football as fun will endure.

“Our kids come from all different

kinds of backgrounds, all different set-

tings, and I think for them football is a

way to let everything go and just enjoy

something fun,” Smith said. “And I

think that kind of fits our attitude. We

just kind of show up and play, and the

kids are better off for it.

“Football is a tool from God to be bet-

ter in life. And we kind of use it as that

to make these young men grow into

fine men.”

That’s not to say Smith doesn’t have

any success. In nine seasons as Golden

Valley’s head coach, Smith is a

respectable 45-54, even though half of

those seasons came in the same league

as Liberty, Garces and Bakersfield.

Last year, the Bulldogs drew a No. 12

seed in the Division III section playoffs

and surprised Fresno High on the road

before beating Highland to reach the

semifinals for the first time in school

history.

“We really want to go even further

this year,” Thompson said. “We were so

close, and that’s given us a lot of moti-

vation throughout the offseason.”

Tyler Thompson will be key if Golden

Valley is to reach those heights again.

He ran for 1,585 yards and 13 touch-

downs as a junior and will be counted

on even more heavily, both in the run-

ning game and in pass protection,

because Weldon Colbert replaces three-

year starter Tyler Watters at quarter-

back.

— ZACH EWING

Fun-loving Golden

Valley looks for

another deep run

SEASON OUTLOOK

SCHEDULE

Aug. 26: at Taft

Sept. 2: Chavez

Sept. 9: at Centennial

Sept. 16: at Shafter

Sept 23: Highland

Oct. 7: Ridgeview*

Oct. 14: at Independence*

Oct. 21: Tehachapi*

Oct. 28: at West*

Nov. 4: East*

*SYL game

TOP GROUP

Backs and

receivers

Thompson is the headliner

here, but Thomasson,

Brownen, Carl Jones and

Cameron Christian form a

deep, talented receiving

corps that’s perfect for the

spread, “fun and gun”

offense that Erich Smith

employs. You could also

make an argument here for

the offensive line, which

returns three starters in

right tackle Kenneth Kim,

center Alberto Salazar and

right guard Jose Mesa. All

of that is a terrific security

blanket for a new quarter-

back to use as he finds his

sea legs early in the sea-

son.

ERICH

SMITH

10th year at Golden

Valley, 45-54

Assistant coaches:

Louis Cervantes, defen-

sive coordinator; Nate

Odle, OL/DL; Bobby

Hinzo, QB; Daryn John-

son, WR; Andrew Brown,

DB; Ray Organ, LB

2015 AT A GLANCE

RECORD: 6-7, 1-4 SYL

PLAYOFFS: Lost 42-14 at Hanford in semis

League titles: 3; Section titles: 0

BEFORE (LAST SEASON’S PLAYOFF RUN), WE WERE THE SAME

TEAM DOING THE SAME THING. BUT WHEN WE MADE IT

THAT FAR, YOU COULD JUST TELL, GUYS JUST STARTED

WANTING IT MORE

TYLER THOMPSON, Bulldogs senior running back

THEY SAID IT

BEST-CASE

SCENARIO

Riding the momentum

from an improbable

postseason run a year

ago, Golden Valley gets

off to a hot start by sur-

prising two Division IV

playoff teams in Taft

and Chavez and rolls

into South Yosemite

League play at 4-1. But it

doesn’t stop there. A 7-3

regular season means

this time around, the

Bulldogs don’t need

upsets to advance to the

Division III quarterfinals.

Once there, Tyler

Thompson’s 200-yard

day becomes school leg-

end, and Golden Valley

finds itself in the final

four for the second

straight season.

KEY STANDOUT

Da’vione Thomasson

Jr, WR: 5-foot-10 speed-

ster led the Bulldogs with

290 receiving yards as a

sophomore

Jordan Brownen

Sr, WR/LB: Precise route-

runner led team with 31

catches and also is a

leader on defense

Ben Abdulla

Sr, LB: His 85 tackles a

year ago included 10 for

loss, and he had three

interceptions, too

Weldon Colbert

Sr, QB: If Golden Valley is

to have success, last

year’s scout-team QB has

big shoes to fill

Kenneth Kim

Sr, OL: Along with center

Alberto Salazar and guard

Jose Mesa, he’s one of

three returning O-line

starters

HOW TO

GET THERE

Thompson has to

become a true work-

horse, both by carrying

the ball 25 times a week

and by becoming a big

part of the passing

game. Quarterback Wel-

don Colbert needs to

show that he was pay-

ing attention while Tyler

Watters started the past

three years and capably

leads the offense. More

than anything, Golden

Valley needs its two-

way athletes on the

perimeter — Da’vione

Thomasson, Jordan

Brownen and Carl Jones

— to create game-

changing plays.

TOP RETURNERS

HEAD COACH

21.3

Points scored per game

29 .0

Points allowed per game

99.1

Passing yards per game

1 61.2

Rushing yards per game

Touchdowns scored

2015 TEAM STATS

HENRY A. BARRIOS / THE CALIFORNIAN

Golden Valley senior quarterback Weldon Colbert looks for a receiver during a

preseason practice.

TYLER THOMPSON

Sr, running back

A three-sport athlete with a 4.3

grade-point average, Thompson

is a coach’s dream on the field,

too. He ran for more than 1,500

yards last year and also can be a

weapon in the passing game as a

receiver and a blocker.

Thursday, August 25, 2016 The Bakersfield Californian 35

“

INDEPENDENCE

SOUTH YOSEMITE LEAGUE • DIVISION II

t is one of the cooler mornings dur-

ing the long weeks of preseason foot-

ball, only 80 degrees or so, but at 7:15

a.m. Independence’s practice is already

getting heated.

A couple of Falcons showed up late,

so the whole team did a set of 50 up-

downs and is now struggling through a

series of timed sprints.

Suddenly, coach Lucas Lucero

unleashes the purpose of this misery:

“Do you guys want to be better? I’m

sick and tired of 5-5! What about you?”

OK, a details check: Independence

was 5-5 during the regular season last

year and in 2012; in 2013 they were 4-6

and in 2014 it was 6-4. And Lucero was

only the varsity coach for one of those

seasons.

But his point stands: The Falcons are

20-20 over the past four regular seasons

and 3-4 in the playoffs, the very defini-

tion of mediocrity.

“We've got to break that plateau, and

it's not easy,” Lucero said. “... It's a

mindset I think they've been so com-

fortable with for so many years that it's

gonna be hard. But nothing in life

worth achieving is easy. It’s a change, a

shock sometimes, but we’re headed in a

positive direction.”

Independence has a small roster

compared to some of its South Yosemite

League brethren, but there’s still reason

to believe this is the year the Falcons

can have a breakthrough season.

Lucero was the junior varsity coach

for the two seasons before he took over

for Sean McKeown with the varsity; that

means he has coached his core seniors

for four consecutive years.

"This is the year to do it,” Lucero said.

“I know what to expect from them, they

know what to expect from me, and

we’ve got a good relationship going on.”

That group includes returning dual-

threat quarterback Jr Layman and line-

backers Tyler Bell and James Thomas,

who also will be counted on as the

leader of the offensive line.

On paper, Independence looks like it

will be in position to win, well, maybe

half of its games again.

But then up-downs and sprints aren’t

done on paper.

— ZACH EWING

Falcons hope to

leave mediocrity

behind in 2016

SEASON OUTLOOK

SCHEDULE

Aug. 26: North

Sept. 2: at Stockdale

Sept. 9: at Arroyo Grande

Sept. 16: South

Sept 23: at Tulare Union

Oct. 7: at Tehachapi*

Oct. 14: Golden Valley*

Oct. 21: at West*

Oct. 28: East*

Nov. 4: Ridgeview*

*SYL game

TOP GROUP

Offensive line

James Thomas’ strength

and explosiveness makes

him an ideal left tackle for

a dual-threat quarterback

like Jr Layman, because

he’s able to switch quickly

between pass and run

blocking. There is experi-

ence at other spots too,

with center Jaime Duarte

and right tackle Devon

Zinn returning. The guard

spots are open, but this is

a potentially dominant

offensive line.

LUCAS

LUCERO

Second season at

Independence, 5-6

Assistant coaches: Dan

Ingle, offensive coordi-

nator; Tim O’Hara,

WR/DB; Kenny Wiley,

WR/LB; Tyler Schilhabel,

QB; Russ Robertson,

OL/DL.

2015 AT A GLANCE

RECORD: 5-6, 3-2 SYL

PLAYOFFS: Lost 17-0 to West in first round

League titles: 1; Section titles: 0

I JUST LIKE TO RUN DOWNHILL AND EAR-HOLE A DEFENDER.

IT’S THE BEST THING EVER

JAMES THOMAS, Falcons senior linebacker/offensive lineman

THEY SAID IT

BEST-CASE

SCENARIO

Lucas Lucero’s group of

core seniors doesn’t need

long to show that this is

the year the Falcons will

leave .500 in the dust

when they open the sea-

son by winning four of

five non-league games

and enter South Yosemite

League play as one of the

favorites. Independence’s

smallish roster doesn’t

allow for it to beat

Ridgeview for the first

time in school history, but

the Falcons finish second

in the SYL and then

advance to the Division II

final four, setting the tone

for a new generation of

Independence football.

KEY STANDOUT

JR Layman

Sr, QB: Independence’s

run-first offense starts

with its talented run-first

quarterback

Taryn Young

Sr, WR/DB: The Falcons’

leading receiver from a

year ago is the top target

of a talented bunch

Ron Layman

Sr, WR/DB: Undersized at

5-foot-8, Layman can flat-

out burn

Tyler Bell

Sr, LB: Bell is even smaller,

at 5-6, 150 pounds, but

great vision and a non-

stop motor make him pro-

ductive

Damaris Herron

Sr, WR/DB: A two-way

standout on the second

level, Herron can make a

difference this season

HOW TO

GET THERE

It’s no secret what the

problem was for Inde-

pendence last year: The

Falcons allowed almost

30 points per game last

year, including 30 or more

in all five of their regular-

season losses. Part of the

problem is that Indepen-

dence’s small roster

means many top players

need to play both offense

and defense and become

worn down when the

game gets deep into the

second half. But it’s not

all on the defense, either.

Giving up points can be a

product of poor field posi-

tion from special teams

and offenses that can’t

stay on the field. Simply

put, there’s not an easy

solution, but Independ-

ence will need one if it’s

to change its trajectory.

Maybe a running game

that can move the chains

and keep players fresh is

the answer, and the Fal-

cons might just have that.

TOP RETURNERS

HEAD COACH

18.9

Points scored per game

2 8.5

Points allowed per game

218.6

Passing yards per game

99.2

Rushing yards per game

Touchdowns scored

2015 TEAM STATS

FELIX ADAMO / THE CALIFORNIAN

Senior James Thomas, left, will be one of the leaders for the Falcons this year.

JAMES THOMAS

Sr, OL/LB

Opposing quarterbacks might be

happy to know that Thomas will no

longer be terrorizing them at defen-

sive end this season, but they won’t

be happy to hear he’s dropped to

linebacker, where he can still use his

explosive hips and strength (Thomas

power cleans 290 pounds) to rush

the passer and stop the run but also

is capable of playing coverage, as he

did in 7-on-7 passing league.

36 The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, August 25, 2016

“

RIDGEVIEW

SOUTH YOSEMITE LEAGUE • DIVISION II

here is no questioning the talent

level for Ridgeview. It has been

that way since 2014, when the

team went 25-3 with two Central Sec-

tion Division II titles and two berths to

CIF SoCal regional games.

And for a third consecutive season,

the goal is to surpass the previous year

and get to a state championship game.

But Ridgeview coach Dennis Man-

ning is not eager to put a stamp on a

season too soon.

“I am still not sure. I like this group,”

Manning said. “Individually, it’s solid.

Maybe one of the best we’ve had. But

also the most challenging because of

personality. But we have natural-born

leaders. They have to be willing to sacri-

fice.”

It starts with Jamar Moya, the senior

leader is, as Manning puts it, “intelli-

gent about football and the anticipation

of everything that is going to happen.

He has so many intangibles.”

Then there is Ricky Leung-Wai, a

ferocious defensive lineman that had

two sacks and a forced fumble in

the SoCal regional game whom Man-

ning calls “one of the best that I have

seen.”

“I know there are some great in Bak-

ersfield,” Manning said. “But his speed

and relentlessness is unmatched. He’s

old school.”

Or Damon Degraffenreid, someone

that leads by accountability, or Amir

Knox, a senior looking for one final big

season.

The success, though, likely will come

from those without the star power.

Jeremiah Cox, a big-bodied offensive

lineman. Or Anthony Alcaide, a tight

end that plays like a sixth lineman. Or

Ruben Cruz, a threat at linebacker or

defensive line.

That’s the key, the unsung players

becoming leaders is key for Ridgeview

to continue the dominance of the sec-

tion — again.

— TREVOR HORN

Talented Wolf Pack

looking to make

another title run

SEASON OUTLOOK

SCHEDULE

Aug. 26: Stockdale

Sept. 2: at Liberty

Sept. 9: at Frontier

Sept. 23: Fresno-Central

Sept 30: Bakersfield

Oct. 7: at Golden Valley*

Oct. 14: West*

Oct. 21: at East*

Oct. 28: Tehachapi*

Nov. 4: at Independence*

*SYL game

TOP GROUP

Secondary

There is such a fantastic

mixture of talent in the

secondary for Ridgeview

that it is hard to pinpoint

where some players will

play on any given play.

There is an obvious loss

with Lawrence White now

at Iowa State, but the

group, led by Amir Knox, is

solid.

Glinton is in the same

mold as White, could be a

shutdown corner with

Shon Stephens on the

opposite side. The strength

is at the safety position

with Knox and fellow sen-

ior Damon Degraffenreid.

Both can defend the pass

and are not afraid to come

up and stop the run.

DENNIS

MANNING

8th season at

Ridgeview, 73-21

record; 15th overall,

104-57-1

Assistant coaches:

Steve Tucker, defensive

coordinator; Chris

Bandy, offensive coordi-

nator; Ricky Carter,

OL/DL; Larry Whitby, RB;

Alex Hamilton, DE; Chris

Craven, WR.

2015 AT A GLANCE

RECORD: 13-1, 5-0 SYL

PLAYOFFS: Beat Lemoore 45-19 for D-II section title, lost to Harbor

City-Narbonne 35-20 in CIF 1-AA regional bowl game.

League titles: 6; Section titles: 3

“WE DON’T PUT LIMITS ON ANY TEAM WE COACH. IT’S

ALWAYS UP TO THE KIDS AND HOW MUCH DEDICATION THEY

WANT TO PUT IN. WE WERE CLOSE LAST YEAR. WOULDN’T

HAVE TAKEN MUCH. IT TAKES A LOT TO GET THERE. I LIKE

OUR SCHEDULE AND IT PREPARES US FOR THAT LEVEL.”

DENNIS MANNING, Wolf Pack head coach

THEY SAID IT

BEST-CASE

SCENARIO

After two years of Cen-

tral Section Division II

championships, the next

step for Ridgeview is to

win a SoCal regional

bowl game and play for

a state championship.

There is enough talent

on this team to compete

for a third consecutive

D-II title.

Once again Ridgeview

will play five D-I teams

in non-league games,

including monster

games against Liberty,

Fresno-Central and BHS.

If the team is successful

early, it’s lights out after

that against the section.

With a standout defense

and incredible speed on

both sides of the ball,

very little likelihood of a

dropoff from the last

two seasons.

KEY STANDOUT

Ricky Leung-Wai

Sr, DL: Huge motor and

can dominate the line of

scrimmage against anyone

in the section.

Amir Knox

Sr, DB: Tall and athletic

and plays a hybrid position

where he can cover

receivers and play line-

backer as well.

Jaleyn Prevost

Sr, WR: A three-year

starter at Ridgeview with a

big body and great hands.

Damon Degraffenreid

Sr, DB: Returning starter

at safety. Is a ballhawk and

can hit much bigger than

his size.

Ryan Pearce

Sr, DL/LB: Versatile defen-

sive standout on the line

or in pass coverage.

HOW TO

GET THERE

Like 2015, the success

of Ridgeview is not in

the talent, which there

is plenty of, it’s shoring

up the spots lost to

graduated seniors and

finding a cohesiveness.

Whether or not the

team is undefeated in

non-league games may

not factor into how far

the team can go, but if

the Wolf Pack is unde-

feated come October,

there may be no stop-

ping this team.

Goals need to be finding

three new starters on

the offensive line and

grouping two or three

players to make up for

the loss of Lawrence

White. Do that, and it

could be a monumental

season.

TOP RETURNERS

HEAD COACH

41.9

Points scored per game

17.3

Points allowed per game

12 8.7

Passing yards per game

246.4

Rushing yards per game

Touchdowns scored

2015 TEAM STATS

NICK ELLIS / FOR THE CALIFORNIAN

Ridgeview senior defensive lineman Ricky Leung-Wai, right, works on drills

during a preseason practice.

JAMAR MOYA

Sr., QB/RB/DB

The do-it-all leader for

Ridgeview on and off the field.

Will play a fair amount of time

at quarterback, depending on

the maturation of sophomore

Keonte Glinton. Moya is as

shifty, elusive, speedy and intel-

ligent with the ball as anyone in

the section.

Thursday, August 25, 2016 The Bakersfield Californian 37

“

WEST

SOUTH YOSEMITE LEAGUE • DIVISION II

his was not the offseason the West

High Vikings were expecting to

experience.

First, starting quarterback Christo-

pher Coleman transferred to Garces to

play cornerback and receiver, meaning

he will be wearing a different shade of

green and gold on Friday nights. Then

in June, head coach Mark Camps sud-

denly resigned from his coaching posi-

tion, citing mental fatigue in his coach-

ing duties.

Enter new coach Derrick Dunham.

Dunham, who has been with the

Vikings’ football program in some

capacity for 19 seasons, came up from

the frosh-soph level, where he has

coached the majority of the time. He

took on the role of varsity coach on

short notice and will be expected to not

only fill the void left by Camps but also

to coach a very young team with only

10 seniors on the roster, most of whom

have minimal playing experience.

“We have to do all the little things

well,” Dunham said. “We’re not the

biggest, fastest, strongest team, but they

can’t measure heart, and I believe these

guys have a lot of heart.”

That’s not stopping the existing sen-

iors and other players from stepping up

in leadership roles and working hard.

“We said from Day 1 we’re not going

to make excuses for the situation we’re

in, so the seniors recognize the fact that

they love football,” Dunham said. “So

whoever is the head coach, they love to

play football and are taking charge in

that respect, and we’re making sure it’s

fun for them.”

Dunham is also looking to focus

more on the on-field

effort from the Vikings.

“When we walk off the

field, we left everything

there, every little bit,”

said Dunham.

It’s possible West will

be hit hard early on by

inexperience and youth;

however, this season

will mostly be used as a

building block for play-

ers going into next sea-

son and moving forward.

If the Vikings stick to

their philosophy of leav-

ing everything on the

field and having fun

while doing it, there’s no

reason why they can’t

achieve, or even sur-

pass, expectations.

TOP RETURNERS

HEAD COACH

21.6

Points scored per game

27.0

Points allowed per game

143.6

Passing yards per game

149 .6

Rushing yards per game

Touchdowns scored

2015 TEAM STATS

HENRY A. BARRIOS / THE CALIFORNIAN

West High’s Jose De La Torre gains some tough yards during practice.

GABRIEL SALCIDO

Jr, quarterback

It seems as though Salcido was thrust

into the starting quarterback role after

Chris Coleman’s transfer, but Dunham

said former coach Mark Camps already

was considering using Salcido there any-

way (with Coleman as a running back or

wide receiver). Salcido does have quar-

terback experience at the varsity level

from West’s playoff run last season.

Dunham said he plays with a “linebacker

mentality,” and he should be looking for-

ward to the challenges ahead.

38 The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, August 25, 2016

“

TEHACHAPI

SOUTH YOSEMITE LEAGUE • DIVISION III

he 35th season in Steve Denman’s

Hall of Fame career as Tehachapi’s

football coach officially begins

Sept. 2 with a road trip to Ridgecrest to

face Burroughs.

But on the mountain, many eyes are

already looking toward October.

For one thing, Denman — who

would never approve of looking beyond

this week’s opponent, by the way — sits

at 295 career wins. Considering

Tehachapi has won at least five games

in 32 of his 34 seasons, it seems a shoo-

in that he’ll become the fifth member in

California’s 300-win club, probably

before Halloween.

“We just want to go out and win every

game we can,” said Denman, who was

inducted into the Bob Elias Kern Coun-

ty Sports Hall of Fame and the Califor-

nia Coaches Association Hall of Fame

earlier this year. “We’re taking this like

every other year, trying to prepare for

every game the same.”

Another reason for Warriors fans to

anticipate October? That’s the antici-

pated return of running back Keyron

Scott, who tore the anterior cruciate lig-

ament in his left knee in Tehachapi’s

penultimate game last year.

In that game, Scott ran for 171 yards

in the first half against undefeated

Ridgeview, single-handedly keeping the

Warriors in the game. Then he was

injured, Tehachapi faded in the second

half and lost its playoff opener two

weeks later.

“It affected us quite a bit,” Denman

said. “He was our mainstay guy. That

really took the wind out of our sails

there.”

With Scott reportedly ahead of sched-

ule for a return but still out for at least

the first month of the season, Denman

will use a stable of running backs,

including Chase Podratz and Oceanside

transfer Zion Dean, and then hope that

crew can lighten Scott’s load once he

returns.

“We want to time it to where he has

confidence, but at the same time build

the confidence of the other kids,” Den-

man said. “Then when it comes to

showtime (in the playoffs), we’ll be

ready to roll.”

— ZACH EWING

Denman’s 300th

victory on horizon

for Warriors

SEASON OUTLOOK

SCHEDULE

Spet 2: at Burroughs

Sept. 9: at Garces

Sept. 16: at BCHS

Sept. 23: Paraclete

Sept 30: North

Oct. 7: Independence*

Oct. 14: East*

Oct. 21: at Golden Valley*

Oct. 28: at Ridgeview*

Nov. 4: West*

*SYL game

TOP GROUP

Running backs

What a luxury for Denman

to wait for the return of

Keyron Scott with a five-

pack of capable backs.

Chris Podratz also was

hurt last year but is

healthy now. Same goes

for Anthony Powell. Connor

Timm was a junior varsity

star. Zion Dean transferred

from San Diego Section

power Oceanside. Denman

also speaks highly of Tyler

Mata. Add Scott to that

group, and you’ve got a

group deep and talented

enough to make this

another season to remem-

ber.

STEVE

DENMAN

35th year at

Tehachapi,

295-112-4

Assistant coaches:

Dennis Ruggles, defen-

sive coordinator; Pat

Snyder, OL; Bill Carll,

WR/DB

2015 AT A GLANCE

RECORD: 7-3, 3-1 SYL

PLAYOFFS: Lost 15-8 to Tulare Western in first round

League titles: 28; Section titles: 11

I COULDN’T CARE LESS ABOUT ALL OF THAT. SOME PEOPLE

MAKE IT OUT TO BE MORE THAN IT REALLY IS.

STEVE DENMAN, Warriors head coach

on possibility of reaching 300-win milestone

THEY SAID IT

BEST-CASE

SCENARIO

Three hundred wins?

Heck, why not a few

more? After a lump or

two early, Tehachapi did

what it has done so

often under Steve Den-

man: Improved dramati-

cally throughout the

year and become a team

no one wants to play.

When Keyron Scott

returns in October, the

Warriors go on a long

winning streak, broken

only by a close loss at

Ridgeview. Then they

complete a magical year

for Denman with anoth-

er Mountain Football run

in November and

December. By the end,

Denman’s 2016 count is

thus: Two Halls of Fame,

307 victories and an

eighth section champi-

onship.

KEY STANDOUT

Keyron Scott

Sr, RB: When he returns

from ACL surgery (expect-

ed early October), he’ll be

a season-changer

Jackson Caudle

Sr, OL/LB: Along with Her-

man, he’ll form an experi-

enced linebacker corps

Jake Snyder

Sr, OL/DL: Tehachapi’s

double-wing attack needs

athletic linemen like Sny-

der

Israel Guerrero

Sr, OL/DL: A two-way

player who had 2.5 sacks,

recovered three fumbles

and batted down two

passes

Carson Bethany

Sr, WR/DB: On the rare

occasion Tehachapi throws

the ball, he becomes a 6-

foot-3 target

HOW TO

GET THERE

Building depth at run-

ning back until Scott

returns is key, and Den-

man knows it. The dou-

ble-wing offense works

best when there are

multiple options on

every play and backs

stay fresh. But

Tehachapi also will need

a passing game to keep

teams honest and a

defense to make it stand

up. The latter, at least,

seems likely. And try as

he might to downplay it,

Denman’s march toward

300 victories will be a

major source of atten-

tion and possibly dis-

traction. For more than

one reason, it would

behoove the Warriors to

get that out of the way

as soon as possible.

TOP RETURNERS

HEAD COACH

29 .3

Points scored per game

17.8

Points allowed per game

25.4

Passing yards per game

256.6

Rushing yards per game

Touchdowns scored

2015 TEAM STATS

HENRY A. BARRIOS / THE CALIFORNIAN

Tehachapi’s Chase Podratz takes a hand-off from Paul Stephens.

TANNER HERMAN

Sr, tight end/linebacker

When Tehachapi’s veteran coaching

staff brings a sophomore up to varsi-

ty, rest assured he’s a special player.

That’s the case with Herman, who

played significant snaps two seasons

ago and then had 82 tackles, 2.5

sacks, 2 interceptions, 2 forced fum-

bles and a blocked kick last year.

Denman praises his speed and his

innate sense for knowing where to be

on a given play.

Thursday, August 25, 2016 The Bakersfield Californian 39

40 The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, August 25, 2016

“

FOOTHILL

SOUTHEAST YOSEMITE LEAGUE • DIVISION IV

fter three straight years of disap-

pointing results, Foothill coach

Jason Oliver feels like he’s finally

gotten the Trojans to a point where they

can compete with anyone on their sched-

ule.

The rebuilding process wasn’t easy, as

Oliver admits to suffering through numer-

ous sleepless nights since taking over the

reins of a once-proud program before the

2013 season.

Foothill has notched just three wins in

three years under Oliver and hasn’t had a

winning season since 2007, when it

reached the Central Section Division III

championship game for a second straight

year.

However, there are plenty of reasons for

the Trojans faithful to think this is their

team’s time to shine is coming again.

Oliver, who coached Bakersfield to a

Southeast Yosemite League title in 2003,

believes Foothill has the talent and cohe-

siveness to win an open SEYL this year.

“I’m looking forward to this year,” Oliv-

er said. “We’ve been in a rebuilding

process for three years here. When I

arrived here the kids that are now seniors

were freshmen, so they should do much

better job because I’ve had them their

entire career. This is the first year that this

is my team. These are my guys, so I think

we should be really competitive.”

Much of the Trojans’ success this sea-

son will be predicated on what should an

explosive offense, led by senior quarter-

back Hugo Santana.

Santana, one of the best signal-callers

in Kern County, has plenty of support in

an outstanding receiving corps and solid

offensive line.

But another big reason Foothill should

more than double its 2015 average of 10.6

points per game is the addition to the

offensive lineup of Jayshaun Ward. The 6-

foot-1, 174-pound fast and elusive run-

ning back missed all of last season after

breaking his leg during August practices a

year ago.

— STEPHEN LYNCH

Breakthrough

season for Trojans

a possibility

SEASON OUTLOOK

SCHEDULE

Aug. 26: Kennedy

Sept. 2: at Arvin

Sept. 9: Shafter

Sept. 16: at West

Sept 23: Delano

Sept 30: East

Oct. 14: Highland*

Oct. 14: at North*

Oct. 28: South*

Nov. 4: at Mira Monte*

*SEYL game

TOP GROUP

Wide receivers

Foothill returns all three of

its talented starting wider

receivers; Mark Gallegos,

Andrew Villegas and Chris-

tian Cisneros. Gallegos and

Villegas will give opposing

defensive backs night-

mares with their speed

and big-play ability, while

Cisneros is a steady third

option for Santana in the

passing game. Gallegos,

with his 4.5-second 40-

yard dash speed, is a legiti-

mate game-breaker. How-

ever, he doesn’t rely solely

on his physical skills. He’s

also an excellent route run-

ner and student of the

game.

JASON

OLIVER

Fourth season at

Foothill, 3-27; 19-44

in six years overall

Assistant coaches: Dal-

las Plater, assistant head

coach/special teams;

Miguel Dominguez, OL;

Andy Duran, DL; Raully

De La Rosa, quality con-

trol; Greg Torres, OL/DL

2015 AT A GLANCE

RECORD: 2-8 record, 1-3 SEYL

PLAYOFFS: None

League titles: 9; Section titles: 0

I THINK THIS TEAM COULD GO TO VALLEY. IF WE CAN GET

GOING AND BATTLE HARD IN LEAGUE AND GET TO THE PLAY-

OFFS, THERE WON’T BE A DIVISION IV TEAM MORE TALENTED

THAN US. WE CAN MATCH UP SIZE AND SPEED WITH ANYONE

IN DIVISION IV

JASON OLIVER, Trojans head coach

THEY SAID IT

BEST-CASE

SCENARIO

Foothill is poised for a

breakout season and

proves it by matching

the win total of the past

three years combined:

three: by the end of Sep-

tember. That good start

to the season is critical

in boosting the confi-

dence of a group of

players that hasn’t expe-

rienced much success

during their high school

careers. The Trojans

stay healthy and are in

every game on their

schedule and are in the

mix for a Southeast

Yosemite League title

until the final two weeks

of the season. That

leads to Foothill’s first

playoff experience since

2011.

KEY STANDOUT

Hugo Santana

Sr, QB: The talented sig-

nal-caller possesses a

strong and accurate arm

that makes Foothill’s

offense a threat to score

on every possession.

James Eoff

Sr, OL: Big, physical offen-

sive lineman that imposes

his will on opponents by

overpowering them.

Joseph Barraza,

Sr, OL/DL: A key member

of the team as a steady

two-way starter.

Mark Gallegos

Sr, WR/DB: The fastest

player on the team. A

threat to score every time

he touches the ball.

Andrew Villegas

Sr, WR/DB: An excellent

receiver but an even better

defensive back, he con-

tributes heavily on both

sides of the ball.

HOW TO

GET THERE

With so many key play-

ers going both ways,

Foothill will have to

avoid injuries to have a

chance to be successful

this season. It is espe-

cially imperative that

Santana stays healthy,

because there is no one

else that can adequately

fill his shoes as the

team’s high-octane trig-

ger man on offense.

“We’re one injury away

from being average

again,” Oliver said. “If he

goes down we’re back

to two, three years ago.”

Conversely, if Santana

and the rest of Foothill’s

top players remain

healthy, the Trojans have

everything in place in

order to post a winning

season.

TOP RETURNERS

HEAD COACH

10 .6

Points scored per game

32.6

Points allowed per game

100.5

Passing yards per game

1 48.2

Rushing yards per game

Touchdowns scored

2015 TEAM STATS

HENRY A. BARRIOS / THE CALIFORNIAN

The Trojans offensive linemen go through drills at a preseason practice.

JAYSHAUN WARD

Sr, running back

Physically stands out at his posi-

tion and is eager to make the

most of his senior year after suf-

fering a season-ending leg injury

weeks before the 2015 season

began. Could fall in line as

another great Foothill back this

fall.

Thursday, August 25, 2016 The Bakersfield Californian 41

“

HIGHLAND

SOUTHEAST YOSEMITE LEAGUE • DIVISION III

n each of Michael Gutierrez’s first

two seasons as Highland’s coach, the

Scots have won more games than

they did during the previous campaign.

That’s a trend Gutierrez obviously

would like to continue this year.

Despite having to fill the huge void

left by the graduation of Chance Coop-

er, the team leader a year ago in yards

from scrimmage (1,197) and touch-

downs (19), Gutierrez believes the High-

land can increase its win total once

again if it can do a better job of finish-

ing games.

Last year the Scots went 5-7 but were

in almost every game. Four of their loss-

es came by nine points or fewer, and

they lost only one game by more than

12 points.

They actually out-scored their 12

opponents by 67 combined points.

“We feel that we can be just as com-

petitive as we were last year,” Gutierrez

said. “We’re just hoping that we can

actually take the next step and finish all

the games. Last year there were several

games that we came close to winning

but couldn’t finish.”

Highland should be better in tight

games this year because it has a solid

group of experienced players well-

versed in Gutierrez’s system to lean on

during crunch time.

Zeke Arambulo returns as the team’s

starting quarterback. A year ago, as a

sophomore first-year starter, he passed

for 1,628 yards and 14 touchdowns.

The leadership of the defense is also

in good hands with seniors Josh Yubeta,

Mateo Garcia, Rodney Rhoden, Isaac

Garcia and Beau Brannan forming the

starting linebacker corps.

“We feel as though we’re in a decent

spot because with it being our third

year of being here, guys have really

come in knowing everything we want as

far as the way practice, the way we play

and just terminology” Gutierrez said.

“So it’s just really allowed us to go a lot

faster and a lot smoother than in the

past.

“We’re excited to see where we are

when the games start.”

— ZACH EWING

After playoff berth,

focus is on the

finish for Scots

SEASON OUTLOOK

SCHEDULE

Aug. 26: at Arvin

Sept. 2: Shafter

Sept. 9: Kennedy

Sept. 16: at East

Sept 23: at Golden Valley

Sept. 30: Fresno-Hoover

Oct. 7: at Foothill*

Oct. 21: South*

Oct. 28: at Mira Monte*

Nov. 4: North*

*SEYL game

TOP GROUP

Linebackers

Highland’s starting line-

backer corps is the back-

bone of the team’s

defense. The rugged quar-

tet, which consists of Isaac

Garcia, Josh Yubeta, Rod-

ney Rhoden and Mateo

Garcia, combined for 355

tackles last year. The four

of them do a great job

playing together and are

extremely adept at getting

to the ball quickly and

making plays. Last year,

they produced 24 tackles

for a loss, four forced fum-

bles, two fumble recover-

ies, and two interceptions.

MICHAEL

GUTIERREZ

Third year at Highland,

9-14

Assistant coaches:

Christopher Jaquez,

defensive

coordinator/RB; Angel

Posadas, OL/DL; Jorge

Moreno, TE/LB; David

Jackson, WR/CB; Arnal-

do Cueto, OL/DL

2015 AT A GLANCE

RECORD: 5-7 record, 2-2 SEYL

PLAYOFFS: Lost 28-9 to Golden Valley in quarterfinals

League titles: 0; Section titles: 0

THE OVERALL EXPECTATION IS TO COMPETE AND BE IN EVERY

GAME. IF WE COMPETE TO OUR HIGHEST ABILITY, THEN

WE’LL WIN GAMES. THAT WILL TAKE US AS FAR AS WE WANT

TO GO.”

JOSH YUBETAM, Scots junior linebacker

THEY SAID IT

BEST-CASE

SCENARIO

A year after leading

Southeast Yosemite

League powerhouse

South into the fourth

quarter, Highland finish-

es the job this year and

beats the Rebels (and

then North, which also

has been a thorn in the

Scots’ side) to win the

SEYL title. That’s a big

accomplishment, consid-

ering South hasn’t lost a

league game since 2013

and Highland, which

opened in the early

1970s, has never won a

league championship.

What’s more, this year’s

team doesn’t stop its run

there; the Scots win a

couple of playoff games,

including another road

upset, and reach the

final four of the section’s

Division III playoffs.

KEY STANDOUT

Beau Brannan

Sr, WR/LB: Lanky three-

year starter was third on

the team in receptions in

2015 and averaged 23.7

yards per catch. On

defense

Josh Yubeta,

Jr, OL/LB: Returning two-

way starter is a tough,

agile blocker and aggres-

sive tackler who is a big

asset for the Scots on both

sides of the ball

Mateo Garcia

Sr, TE/LB: A bit under-

sized but more than makes

up for it with his intelli-

gence, discipline, and

desire. Hard worker that

has a knack for reading

opposing offenses and

getting to the ball

Zeke Arambulo

Jr, QB: Southpaw signal-

caller has a strong arm

and a season of varsity

experience under his belt

HOW TO

GET THERE

Now into his third year of

running the Highland pro-

gram, Gutierrez believes

the Scots are ready to

take another step forward

in their progression. High-

land graduated a good

number of solid players,

but the cupboard is far

from bare. The Scots

return a strong group of

skill players to an offense

that averaged 25.4 points

per game. Defensively, the

Scots are stacked at line-

backer and in the second-

ary. Put simply, they just

need to find a way to win

a few more close games,

whether that be stealing

points in special teams or

making one more play on

a third or fourth down late

in the game. If a few of

those plays flip their way

in 2016, success is right

around the corner.

TOP RETURNERS

HEAD COACH

25.4

Points scored per game

19.8

Points allowed per game

135 .7

Passing yards per game

215 .3

Rushing yards per game

Touchdowns scored

2015 TEAM STATS

ROD THORNBURG / FOR THE CALIFORNIAN

Highland head coach Michael Gutierrez talks to his team at a recent practice

RODNEY RHODEN

Sr, running back/linebacker

A force to be reckoned with on

both sides of the ball, the 5-foot-

9, 205 pounder led Highland in

rushing with 836 yards on 146

carries (5.7 average) while help-

ing anchor the team’s defense by

racking up 94 tackles, including

six for a loss. A strong physical

player.

42 The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, August 25, 2016

“

NORTH

SOUTHEAST YOSEMITE LEAGUE • DIVISION III

orm Brown knew what was com-

ing after his first season as the

head coach at North.

“We had a big, heavy senior group

leaving,” Brown said. “Obviously we

replace, four four-year linebackers on

defense. Our focus right now is to

rebuild our defense. We need to start

there.”

It might also mean laying a founda-

tion for the future, with the hope that

sophomores James Johnson, Dylan Rut-

ledge and Mason Partain can show

enough potential to make 2016 an

underdog story instead of a rebuilding

year.

On offense, the Stars must replace

All-Area running back Curtis Threlkeld,

who ran for 1,295 yards and 16 touch-

downs last year.

“It’s going to be a little tougher this

year. We are a little younger,” Brown said.

Leaders like Marley Garnett at quar-

terback, Garlin Mixon at center and

Dustin Reed at linebacker should help

ease the growing pains.

“The one thing is we want to find out

the leadership skills of our seniors and

see what kind of juniors and sopho-

mores can come up and fill those

spots,” Brown said. “But it always falls

on the seniors to lead. That’s what we

preach. But we need some younger

guys to step up.”

Brown’s energy on the field during

practice is as frantic as is his offense is

complex. Both can seem foreign to an

outsider, but both seem to work for his

players and make something intense

and confusing feel enjoyable.

“It’s multiple set and it’s a lot of fun,”

Brown said. “A lot of time is spent walk-

ing through and getting the mental part

of it down.”

The players feel it all may be coming

together sooner rather than later.

“It’s all clicking now,” said Garnett,

who threw for 874 yards and ran for 254

more last year.

— TREVOR HORN

Brown hopeful

young players step

up in 2016 season

SEASON OUTLOOK

SCHEDULE

Aug. 26: at Independence

Sept. 2: at East

Sept. 9: Wasco

Sept. 16: at Delano

Sept 23: Porterville-

Monache

Sept. 30: at Tehachapi

Oct. 7: at South*

Oct. 14: Foothill*

Oct. 21: Mira Monte*

Nov. 4: at Highland*

*SEYL game

TOP GROUP

Quarterbacks

No quarterback may mean

as much to his team as

Marley Garnett does to the

Stars. The senior knows

the pressure that is on him

this season.

“It’s a big weight on my

shoulders having to take it

all in,” Garnett said. “Hav-

ing to help everyone else

and tell the young kids,

that’s a good feeling to

have that leadership.”

Brown saw the potential

for Garnett late in the sea-

son in 2015 and his matu-

ration continued through-

out the offseason to a

point where Brown has

begun to allow Garnett to

call plays in the huddle on

his own during practice.

NORM

BROWN

Second season at

North, 5-6; seventh

overall, 36-38-1

Assistant coaches:

Chris Lucas, assistant

HC, defensive coordina-

tor, LB, S; Greg

Napolean, QB/RB;

Michael Portillo, WR/DB;

Evan Balochie, OL/DL.

2015 AT A GLANCE

RECORD: 5-6, 3-1 SEYL

PLAYOFFS: Lost 41-7 to Tulare Western in first round

League titles: 10; Section titles: 1

“THE ONE THING IS WE WANT TO FIND OUT THE LEADER-

SHIP SKILLS OF OUR SENIORS AND SEE WHAT KIND OF JUN-

IORS AND SOPHOMORES CAN COME UP AND FILL THOSE

SPOTS.”

NORM BROWN, North head coach

THEY SAID IT

BEST-CASE

SCENARIO

The youthful talent on

the North roster comes

together early and gives

the Stars not only reason

to be excited about the

next few seasons, but

hope that a winning year

is not out of the ques-

tion. The speed on

offense proves that Cur-

tis Threlkeld isn’t irre-

placeable, and new lead-

ers on defense emerge,

turning a few losses into

upset wins and building

a long-term winner.

KEY STANDOUT

Andrew Marquez

Sr, DB: Strong and speedy.

Will be counted on in the

return game as well.

Dustin Reed

Sr, LB: Will be the focal

point of the defense after

the Stars graduated four

all-league linebackers.

Caleb Melson

Sr, TE: Athletic and quick.

Was one of the top hur-

dlers in the county and has

steady hands in the pass-

ing game.

Garlin Mixon

Jr, OL: A returner on the

offensive line, he will be

leaned on to help lead the

youthful roster.

HOW TO

GET THERE

It all comes down to

how well the new

starters on defense

come together early.

Losing eight of the top

nine tacklers from 2015

to either graduation or

transfer hurts, but it

gives others a chance to

step up early and show

that they can be the

next batch of standouts.

Offensively, Garnett

must become a coach

on the field to help lead

the younger players dur-

ing a season with so

much turnover from

graduation. He’ll be

asked to carry a much

greater load as a senior.

TOP RETURNERS

HEAD COACH

20 .0

Points scored per game

21. 0

Points allowed per game

81.3

Passing yards per game

275.8

Rushing yards per game

Touchdowns scored

2015 TEAM STATS

CASEY CHRISTIE / THE CALIFORNIAN

North offensive lineman Michael Kirkland gets a water break during a recent

practice.

MARLEY GARNETT

Senior, quarterback/punter

A year after taking time to under-

stand and get acclimated to Norm

Brown’s multi-set offense, Garnett

has found a comfort zone and has

full confidence from his coach. With

a large frame (6-3, 185), a strong

right arm and mobility, Garnett has a

chance to be an all-league quarter-

back.

Thursday, August 25, 2016 The Bakersfield Californian 43

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44 The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, August 25, 2016

“

MIRA MONTE

SOUTHEAST YOSEMITE LEAGUE • DIVISION IV

wo years ago when David Cold-

iron became the head coach for

Mira Monte, he made it one of his

top priorities to improve the strength

and conditioning of a Lions team that

had bench-pressed 185 pounds a com-

bined total of 20 times during a sum-

mer weightlifting competition.

Last summer Mira Monte was much

improved, benching the weight 68

times in the same competition. This

year, the Lions notched 110 reps.

Coldiron believes all of his team’s

hard work in the weight room will pay

off on the field this season.

The Lions will not only be stronger as

a team than in past years but also big-

ger and faster.

“We’ve had different philosophy

about the weight room, and we’ve been

a lot more consistent about the weight

room,” Coldiron said. “It’s not just how

you lift weight, but you have to do it on

a regular basis.”

The increase in Mire Monte’s team

strength should allow the Lions to run

the ball more effectively and play better

overall defense than a year ago, when

they won their opener against Shafter

and then didn’t win again the rest of the

season.

Mira Monte will replace two-year

starting quarterback Hector Lopez with

either two-year junior varsity starter

Ken Hammons or last year’s freshman

team starter, Rolando Montes.

Whoever wins the starting QB job will

benefit from having a talented running

back in Hahkeem Taylor and playing

behind an experienced offensive line

that isn’t huge but is extremely strong

for its size.

“This year we plan on being more

physical up front (on offense),” Cold-

iron said. “We’ve been working hard in

the weight room, and we have Hah-

keem Taylor, so we’re looking to run the

ball a lot more this year. That doesn’t

mean we’re going to abandon the pass,

because we have some receivers that

can really catch the ball.”

— STEPHEN LYNCH

Lions hope more

strength means

more victories

SEASON OUTLOOK

SCHEDULE

Aug. 26: Shafter

Sept. 2: at Kennedy

Sept. 9: East

Sept. 16: Arvin

Sept. 23: California City

Sept. 30: Rosamond

Oct. 14: at South*

Oct. 21: at North*

Oct. 28: Highland*

Nov. 4: Foothill*

*SEYL game

TOP GROUP

Offensive line

The Lions return starters

Jacob Brito, Jesse

Rodriguez, and Jose

Fuentez and add Foothill

transfer Alan Rodriguez to

form a hard-working and

experienced offensive line

that will comprise the

team’s backbone. James

Salinas and tight end

Mario Villa round out the

Lions starters on the O-

line.

“We should be able to

drive people off the ball

and move the ball down

the field very easily with

the strength and power we

have this year,” Jesse

Rodriguez said. “We’ve

really been killing it in the

weight room.”

DAVID

COLDIRON

Third year at Mira

Monte, 2-18; 11-51 in

six seasons overall

Assistant coaches:

Raul Rodriguez, defen-

sive coordinator; Rory

Malone, ILB; Miguel

Valera, WR; Andre

Smith, RB; Leonard

Nevels, DL; Angel Rivera,

safeties

2015 AT A GLANCE

RECORD: 1-9 record, 0-4 SEYL

PLAYOFFS: None

League title: 1; Section titles: 0

OUR GOAL IS TO GET TO THE PLAYOFFS. MIRA MONTE IS NOT

A SCHOOL THAT’S HAD A LOT OF PLAYOFF EXPERIENCE. FOOT-

BALL HASN’T BEEN TO THE PLAYOFFS IN A LONG TIME. WE

ARE REALLY FOCUSED ON GETTING TO THOSE PLAYOFFS. WE

THINK THAT ONCE WE GET THERE ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN

DAVID COLDIRON, Lions head coach

THEY SAID IT

BEST-CASE

SCENARIO

David Coldiron believes in

shooting for stars and

trying to “win it all,” as

he puts it, and though

that proves to be unreal-

istic, Mira Monte’s magi-

cal year produced the

school’s first winning

season and might put it

on a path toward champi-

onships in future years.

The school record of five

wins, set in 2009, went

down in Week 9, and

solid quarterback play

from the newcomers at

that position, a much-

improved defense and

some breaks (can you say

Hail Mary?) going the

Lions’ way made for a

breakthrough year that

provides their first playoff

appearance since 2010

and a season the pro-

gram will remember for a

long, long time.

KEY STANDOUT

Aaron Tarango

Sr, DE: A weight-room

warrior who plays with a

great amount of intensity.

Hahkeem Taylor

Jr, RB: A multi-talented

back who will be expected

to carry most of the load

on the ground this year for

the Lions.

Jesse Rodriguez

Sr, OL: A guard who pos-

sesses great blocking

technique who worked

hard in the offseason to

improve his strength.

HOW TO

GET THERE

With Mira Monte having

won a total of only two

games over the past

three years, a key will be

confidence. If the Lions

are going to be success-

ful, they need to get off

to a good start and win a

couple of their early-sea-

son games. “We need to

believe that we belong,”

Coldiron said. “We’ve

worked really hard at this

school for the past two

and a half years getting

prepared for this

moment. We’ve put in

the hard work. We

deserve to be out there.

We deserved to get some

wins.” If Mira Monte does

get some momentum

rolling early in the sea-

son, Coldiron believes it

will be tough to beat

once league play begins.

TOP RETURNERS

HEAD COACH

15 .3

Points scored per game

34 .9

Points allowed per game

203 .7

Passing yards per game

53.7

Rushing yards per game

Touchdowns scored

2015 TEAM STATS

NICK ELLIS / FOR THE CALIFORNIAN

Mira Monte players work on kickoff coverage during a preseason practice.

CRISTIAN

RODRIGUEZ

Sr, linebacker

He was promoted to varsity midway

through his sophomore year and immedi-

ately stepped into the starting lineup

because of an innate ability to cover a lot

of ground and make plays. The emotional

leader of the Lions’ defense, the 5-foot-10,

190-pound inside linebacker wreaked

havoc on opposing offenses last season

racking up tackles, tackles for loss, inter-

ceptions and forced fumbles.

Thursday, August 25, 2016 The Bakersfield Californian 45

“

SOUTH

SOUTHEAST YOSEMITE LEAGUE • DIVISION III

h, how times have changed at

South High on the football field

in just a few short years.

In the past 10 years, the Rebels have

gone from perennial bottom-feeders to

perpetual winners who have lost just

one league game since 2013 and are the

two-time defending Southeast Yosemite

League champions.

South is undefeated in SEYL games

since joining the league in 2014.

Equally impressive: The Rebels have

improved their won-loss record in each

of the past five seasons.

Despite graduating players responsi-

ble for more than 75 percent of its 3,141

rushing yards and 40 rushing touch-

downs in 2015, plus many of its top per-

formers on defense, South expects to

continue to trend up this season.

South coach Cary Mills said this

won’t be a rebuilding year for his team.

Instead, the Rebels will just re-tool

their high-powered offense and speed-

driven attacking defense by plugging in

several ultra-talented newcomers into

the open slots in their lineup.

“We don’t have the P.J. Jones (1,316

rushing yards and 21 TDs) or Devin

McCord (860 rushing yards and 10 TDs)

this year,” Mills said. “But we’re going

to replace them with a multiple-back

attack where I can put in numerous

combinations of different backs. And

they’re all going to be a threat. They all

have really good speed. If we get them

in open space they’re going to be hard

to stop.”

The new additions to the team will

join a solid nucleus of veterans, includ-

ing senior quarterback Aries Harris. The

dual-threat signal caller passed for 876

yards and six touchdowns and rushed

for 546 yards and five TDs last season.

Blessed with a strong arm and quick

feet, Harris, a 6-foot-2, 184-pound

third-year starter, is more than capable

of continued improvement to carry

South to continued success.

— STEPHEN LYNCH

Rebels’ rise has

championship

expectations

SEASON OUTLOOK

SCHEDULE

Aug. 26: Chavez

Sept. 2: at Delano

Sept. 9: Arvin

Sept. 16: at Independence

Sept 23: Tulare Western

Sept. 30: West

Oct. 7: North*

Oct. 14: Mira Monte*

Oct. 21: at Highland*

Oct. 28: at Foothill*

*SEYL game

TOP GROUP

Running backs

South lacks depth at a lot

of positions, but running

back isn’t one of them.

Jared Carter and Johnnie

Sanders give the Rebels a

pair of experienced ball-

carriers with breakaway

speed, but those two

standouts will share the

load with several other tal-

ented backs, including

Ceyontay Bell, a promising

sophomore that tore

things up on the freshman

level last year.

“(Ceyontay) is the real

deal,” Mills said. “He prob-

ably isn’t as powerful as

(P.J.) Jones was. He’s more

of a slasher. He really sees

the hole well.”

CARY MILLS

Fourth year at

South, 25-10

Assistant coaches:

Andy Coyle, defensive

coordinator; A.J. John-

son, CB/WR; Steven

Wilcox, OL/DL; Sean

Alexander, QB; Karem

Bland, safeties

2015 AT A GLANCE

RECORD: 9-3 record, 4-0 SEYL

PLAYOFFS: Lost 27-21 to Fresno-San Joaquin Memorial in D-III quarterfinals

League titles: 8; Section titles: 1

I DEFINITELY FEEL THAT WE HAVE THE PLAYERS TO WIN THE

SECTION TITLE. WHEN WHAT WE LACK IN SIZE AND DEPTH,

WE MAKE UP FOR IN TOUGHNESS. THIS TEAM IS FAST AND

THEY’RE TOUGH. IF WE CAN STAY AWAY FROM INJURY, WE’LL

BE OK

CARY MILLS, Rebels head coach

THEY SAID IT

BEST-CASE

SCENARIO

It might seem like some

teams in the Southeast

Yosemite League have

gained ground on South,

but the boys in Colum-

bia blue and gray prove

in 2016 that it’s simply a

case of the Rebels’ ris-

ing tide lifting the entire

league. They again ride

their team speed, ath-

leticism and big-play

capability to an unde-

feated league season

and then take the next

logical step: They win a

Division III quarterfinal

game at home, then go

a step further and play

for a section champi-

onship. This is the year

the Rebels truly join the

section’s mid-division

elite.

KEY STANDOUT

Jared Carter

Jr, RB/DB: All-SEYL cor-

nerback last year who has

the speed, quickness, and

self-confidence to cover

the opponent’s top receiv-

er one on one. Can cut on

a dime. Had three inter-

ceptions in 2015.

Levi Garcia

Sr, WR/LB: A deep-threat

receiver who will stretch

opposing defenses and

give Harris a reliable big-

play target to throw to on

the outside, he usses his

wrestling background to

help with tackling.

Ruben Gutierrez

Sr, OL: A big, mobile line-

man, Gutierrez moves well

enough to get out and lead

running plays designed to

go to the outside.

Johnnie Sanders

Sr, RB/DB: A fast and elu-

sive runner who can go

the distance any time he

touches the football.

HOW TO

GET THERE

The road map to suc-

cess for South this year

is a simple one. The

Rebels just need to stay

healthy and keep doing

what they’ve been doing

for the past several

years, using to the

fullest a seemingly

never-ending supply of

speedsters by getting

them out on the edge

where they can do the

most damage. The

Rebels defense, which

allowed just over 12

points per game last

year, returns only three

starters, but isn’t an

area of concern accord-

ing to Mills. His biggest

worry is his offense line,

which is young and

mostly inexperienced.

TOP RETURNERS

HEAD COACH

31. 0

Points scored per game

12.2

Points allowed per game

73.9

Passing yards per game

2 61.8

Rushing yards per game

Touchdowns scored

2015 TEAM STATS

NICK ELLIS / FOR THE CALIFORNIAN

South linemen work on their blocking during a recent practice.

ARIES HARRIS

Sr, quarterback

Has been playing quarterback only

since the beginning of his freshman

year, so he’s still learning the posi-

tion. However, he has great physical

tools and can beat a defense with his

passing or running. With the gradua-

tion of Devin McCord and P.J. Jones,

Harris will be the Rebels main leader

and trigger man on an offense

expected to score a lot of points this

year.

46 The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, August 25, 2016

“

BCHS

SOUTH SEQUOIA LEAGUE • DIVISION III

ith a year under his belt as the

head coach at Bakersfield

Christian, Darren Carr is clear-

ly a happy man.

The Eagles went undefeated last year

in the South Sequoia League and return

a large group of starters that seemingly

has the Eagles ready to return to the top

of the league and then some.

“It’s exciting to be out here and have

everyone out here and healthy,” Carr

said.

Darren’s brother, former Stockdale

standout and NFL Draft No. 1 pick

David Carr, returns as offensive coordi-

nator, so perhaps unsurprisingly there

is a sense of budding stardom on the

horizon for quarterback Austin Gaines.

When a Carr talks QBs, people tend to

listen, and it appears Gaines has done

just that.

“We’ve been working really hard,”

Gaines said. “With all of our hard work,

we’re really going to have a good year.”

For Carr, his confidence in his left-

handed quarterback is because of the

work he does in the offseason to pre-

pare.

“You get what you put in, and this

guy has been working like everyone else

has,” Carr said. “That stuff is going to

show. But no one on our team works

harder than that guy. I have yet to see it.

I am excited to see what he does this

year.”

Carr also has a lot of confidence in

his offensive line, which returns three

starters.

“They are perfect for what we want,”

Carr said. “We don’t need the 320-

pound fat guys that get tired after two

quarters. We want the guys that are in

shape. I think three or four of these guys

ride their bikes to practice during the

summer. They are in shape and will go

four quarters.”

— TREVOR HORN

Eagles bullish

on Carr's second

season as coach

SEASON OUTLOOK

SCHEDULE

Aug. 26: at Garces

Sept. 2: Visalia-CVC

Sept. 9: Mission Oak

Sept. 16: Tehachapi

Sept. 23: at Wasco*

Sept 30: Kennedy*

Oct. 7: at Chavez*

Oct. 14: at Shafter*

Oct. 21: Arvin*

Nov. 4: Taft*

*SSL game

TOP GROUP

Offensive Line

The Carr family knows a

thing or two about what it

takes to have a good

offense, but Darren was

actually a defensive line-

man during his playing

career, and the Eagles’

chance to turn into a high-

flying unit depends on the

big boys up front.

Led by Tabor Nylander,

Brett Schuler and Tyler

Sweaney, the line was

secure at four of the five

positions all fall camp.

That experience bodes well

for BCHS.

DARREN

CARR

Second season, 7-4

Assistant coaches:

David Carr, offensive

coordinator; Rodger

Carr, QB; Blain Wingle,

OL; Alex Wallace, DB;

Derick Martin, DB;

Bryson Sumlin, RB; Gus

Theodore, “Eagles”; Eric

Mahanke, WR; Brian

Lynch, offense; Will

Mahan, ST; Derek Carr,

“hype man.”

2015 AT A GLANCE

RECORD: 7-4 record, 6-0 SSL

PLAYOFFS: Lost 28-14 to Highland in first round

League titles: 3; Section titles: 3

BESIDES GREAT FOOTBALL PLAYERS, THEY ARE GREAT MEN.

IT’S FUN TO WATCH THEM GROW. HOW FAR THEY HAVE

GROWN OVER THIS OFFSEASON IS LEAPS AND BOUNDS FROM

LAST YEAR.”

DARREN CARR, Eagles head coach

THEY SAID IT

BEST-CASE

SCENARIO

The Eagles go undefeat-

ed again in the SSL and

go deep into the D-III

playoffs. After a suc-

cessful 2015 campaign

in the first year under

Darren Carr, the coach-

ing staff and players

gelled in the offseason,

leading to more comfort

on both sides of the ball

and a return to promi-

nence in the section.

Austin Gaines goes from

talented sophomore

with potential to one of

the top signal-callers in

the section, and even

though a season-ending

knee injury to Devyon

Miller is damaging, a tal-

ented skill group led by

Foster and Figures

makes BCHS a con-

tender for a Division III

section title.

KEY STANDOUT

Stephen Figures

Sr, RB/DB: Returns as top

running back for the

Eagles and has great

hands in the pass game.

Jeremiah Foster

Sr, WR: At 6-foot-5, this

three-sport star at BCHS is

a tall target with great

hands

Taeber Nylander

Sr, OL: A leader on the

offensive line, a group that

can open the Eagles’ flood-

gates.

Brett Schuler

Sr, OL: As the offensive

line goes, so goes BCHS,

and Schuler is a big part of

the group.

Jason Gauthier

Sr, OL: Brings youth to the

offensive line that should

give Austin Gaines plenty

of time in the pocket.

HOW TO

GET THERE

It all starts up front with

the offensive line and

how much time Gaines

gets to throw the ball.

There is size, most

notably with Schuler

and Nylander, to go

along with depth and

experience. A good start

also seems crucial; Bak-

ersfield Christian stum-

bled out of the gates

last year at 1-3 before

rallying, and this year’s

opener at Garces will be

an early test for how

well the offense can

perform against an

experienced defense.

BCHS also is hoping for

retribution after a play-

off upset at the hands of

Highland last year.

TOP RETURNERS

HEAD COACH

26.1

Points scored per game

19.2

Points allowed per game

13 6.7

Passing yards per game

149 .6

Rushing yards per game

Touchowns scored

2015 TEAM STATS

FELIX ADAMO / THE CALIFORNIAN

Eagles quarterback Austin Gaines prepares to make a pass.

AUSTIN GAINES

Jr, Quarterback

Strong-armed lefty geared for

first full season as Eagles’ start-

ing QB. Played just four regular-

season games asin 2015 after

sitting out a month to observe

CIF transfer rules, but judging by

a 287-yard performance at Taft

late in the season, has chance to

be lethal.

BAKERSFIELD

CHRISTIAN

Thursday, August 25, 2016 The Bakersfield Californian 47

48 The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, August 25, 2016

“

ARVIN

SOUTH SEQUOIA LEAGUE • DIVISION IV

rvin’s Rafael Velasquez has a sim-

ple approach to running the foot-

ball.

The powerful senior running back

prefers to take the handoff and run

straight ahead as hard he can until he’s

finally tackled and brought to the

ground, which usually requires multiple

defensive players.

Using that approach, Velasquez

gained 953 rushing yards and scored

seven touchdowns, both team highs, for

the Bears last season.

“I don’t try to avoid (defensive play-

ers),” Velasquez said. “I just try to run

through them and see where it takes

me.”

The 5-foot-11, 225-pound first-team

all-South Sequoia League selection a

year ago hopes to take Arvin to a better

place than it ended up last year, when

the Bears were 2-8.

“We’ve been working hard in the

weight room and out in the field too,”

Velasquez said. “I’m pretty excited. We

have a pretty good team.”

What Arvin doesn’t have is experience

at quarterback or on the offensive line.

The Bears will likely line up last year’s

junior varsity starter, Chris Contreras,

behind center and have only one starter

back on the offensive line.

Velasquez, who credited last year’s

success to his O-line, isn’t concerned

that most of the offensive burden will fall

on his broad shoulders.

“I just have to run the ball and see

how many yards I get and see how many

touchdowns I score this year,” he said.

Knowing who is coming at them

doesn’t make things much easier for

opposing defenses faced with the chal-

lenge of trying to slow down Velasquez.

— STEPHEN LYNCH

Hard-nosed

running should aid

Bears this season

SEASON OUTLOOK

SCHEDULE

Aug. 26: Highland

Sept. 2: Foothill

Sept. 9: at South

Sept. 16: at Mira Monte

Sept. 23: Taf t*

Sept. 30: Shafter*

Oct 14: at Kennedy*

Oct. 21: at BCHS*

Oct. 28: Wasco*

Nov. 4: at Chavez*

*SSL game

TOP GROUP

Running backs

Velasquez is the headliner

of the group, but Arvin’s

running back corps is far

from a one-man show. Tor-

res rushed for 248 yards

and a pair of touchdowns

last season. He’s also a

good receiver out of the

backfield, ranking second

on the team in receptions.

The 5-foot-8, 142-pound

senior has the breakaway

speed that Velasquez

lacks, giving Arvin a nice

change of pace to its run-

ning game. The Bears have

four newcomers to the var-

sity who are also very

capable runners.

EDGAR

MARES

16th season at Arvin,

60-100-1

Assistant coaches:

Chris Carlos, defensive

coordinator; Robert

Riley, OL/DL; Richard

Crawford, WR; Ramon

Carrillo, DB; Vic Garcia,

scout defensive coach;

Ed Molina, RB

2015 AT A GLANCE

RECORD: 2-8 overall, 1-5 SSL

PLAYOFFS: None

League titles: 9; Section titles: 1

“I ALWAYS GO INTO A SEASON WITH HIGH EXPECTATIONS.

YOU WANT TO BELIEVE THAT THE GLASS IS HALF-FULL AND

THAT YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO COMPETE IN EVERY GAME.

AND THAT’S WHAT I REALLY WANT TO DO. I WANT TO BE

ABLE TO COMPETE AND GET SOME EARLY VICTORIES AND

GROW THE CONFIDENCE AND GET BETTER THROUGHOUT

THE YEAR.”

EDGAR MARES, Bears head coach

THEY SAID IT

BEST-CASE

SCENARIO

Expectations are realis-

tic in Arvin, but there’s

never been any doubt

the Bears give maxi-

mum effort to win each

and every game. It’s

that sort of attitude that

allows certain years to

become special ones,

and this one qualifies,

with an early hot streak

and competitive games

throughout, even

against a difficult clos-

ing stretch that includes

road games against

Kennedy, Bakersfield

Christian and Chavez. In

the end, it’s a memo-

rable year, the first win-

ning season at Arvin

since 2012 and a home

playoff game.

KEY STANDOUT

Christian Gallardo,

Sr, OL/LB: A solid blocker

on offense and excellent

run-stopper on defense

who is adept at plugging

up rushing lanes.

David Carrillo

Sr, OL/LB: Lacks size but

makes up for it with intelli-

gence, desire and hustle

Fabian Juarez

Sr, DL: A short, bulky,

high-intensity player with

a low center of gravity

that makes him difficult

for opposing blockers to

move

Chris Torres

Sr, RB: A quick runner who

gets to the hole in a hurry

and can go the distance

any time he touches the

ball

Gabriel Zapata

Sr, WR: Fast receiver with

good hands who stretches

the field vertically

HOW TO

GET THERE

Mares believes that

Arvin can turn things

around this year

because his squad is

bigger and faster than it

was a year ago. Howev-

er, the Bears lack experi-

ence at a multitude of

positions, so they’ll be

counting on a lot of kids

who were JV players last

season to step up and

adequately fill those

holes. Arvin has several

solid veteran players to

help the newcomers

make the transition suc-

cessfully. The Bears

hope to make up for

their shortcomings with

effort and a running

game that will attempt

to eat up the clock and

grind opponents into

submission.

TOP RETURNERS

HEAD COACH

13 .8

Points scored per game

33.2

Points allowed per game

46.6

Passing yards per game

200.9

Rushing yards per game

Touchdowns scored

2015 TEAM STATS

HENRY A. BARRIOS / THE CALIFORNIAN

Arvin lineman Jose Ramirez lifts weights with his teammates before practice.

RAFAEL

VELASQUEZ

sr., running back

The engine that powers Arvin’s ground-

and-pound offense. A forceful between

the tackles runner that almost always

gets positive yardage. Almost impossi-

ble to tackle one on one because of his

immense lower body strength. Despite

possessing the body type of an NFL full-

back, he is agile enough that he will be

called on to play quarterback for the

Bears occasionally.

Thursday, August 25, 2016 The Bakersfield Californian 49

“

SHAFTER

SOUTH SEQUOIA LEAGUE • DIVISION V

he last two years for Jerald Pieruc-

ci were not ideal, but they did

clear the way for the 1994 Shafter

graduate to return to his alma mater.

After a year away from coaching high

school football while an assistant at

Bakersfield College, Pierucci is back

home and ready to get the Generals

back on track.

“Shafter is one of those places that likes

their home-grown people,” Pierucci said.

“They like seeing their guys come back.

Look at our past coaches; they have

almost all been Shafter grads. The city is

really rallying around. There is a buzz and

itching for something special.”

After Shafter’s 3-7 season in 2015,

Pierucci understands the need to win

now. But there is also going to be a learn-

ing curve.

The Generals’ offense will be led by an

experienced line and returns starting run-

ning back Nick Perez. Shafter will usher in

a new quarterback in sophomore Alex

Aguilar.

“He’s got a really nice arm,” Pierucci

said. “He has all the tools to be a really

good quarterback.”

Pierucci quickly realized that despite

the down season a year ago, his team has

a desire to return to winning ways.

“They are hungry. I don’t know how to

explain it,” Pierucci said. “It’s the hunger

to win and do well because they have

been grinding. We are really learning to

be ourselves. We are learning to be cham-

pions and doing the little things.”

Without dominating size at any posi-

tion on the field, Shafter will need to play

as a whole and get maximum effort to

have a successful season. But that all

seems all right to Perez.

“We are not as big as some other teams

in the league,” Perez said. “But if we come

together and do everything we are told to

do and everyone does their jobs, there is

no reason why we can’t exceed every-

one’s expectations. We have really high

expectations for ourselves.”

— TREVOR HORN

Pierucci ready to

bring alma mater

back to prominence

SEASON OUTLOOK

SCHEDULE

Aug. 26: at Mira Monte

Sept. 2: at Highland

Sept. 9: at Foothill

Sept. 16: Golden Valley

Sept 23: Kennedy*

Sept. 30: at Arvin*

Oct. 7: at Taft*

Oct. 14: BCHS*

Oct. 28: Chavez*

Nov. 4: at Wasco*

*SSL game

TOP GROUP

Offensive line

Shafter returns three

starters on the offensive

line in Tyler Alexander,

Juan Terranza and Mike

Osario. None of the players

on the line possess a line-

man’s prototypical size,

but they are strong and

experienced.

“The biggest thing about

them: Our scheme is tech-

nical, but not difficult,”

Pierucci said. “I feel that

what we have done with

them is we have been

going hard since January. It

has helped the learning

curve. Starting early with

them will be the biggest

thing for us. They love

playing with each other

and are a strong, physical

group. They play with a

nastiness, and that’s

great.”

JERALD

PIERUCCI

First season at

Shafter; 8th overall,

35-35 record

Assistant coaches:

Robert Patterson, OL;

Acie George, DB; Clint

Kirschenmann, LB; Rob

Miller, RB; Jose Munoz,

DL; Larry Whitby, DC;

Fortino Valdivia, WR.

2015 AT A GLANCE

RECORD: 3-7, 1-5 SSL

PLAYOFFS: None

League titles: 22; Section titles: 2

SHAFTER IS ONE OF THOSE PLACES THAT LIKE THEIR HOME-

GROWN PEOPLE. THEY LIKE SEEING THEIR GUYS COME BACK.

LOOK AT OUR PAST COACHES, THEY HAVE ALMOST ALL BEEN

SHAFTER GRADS. THE CITY IS REALLY RALLYING AROUND.

THERE IS A BUZZ AND ITCHING FOR SOMETHING SPECIAL

JERALD PIERUCCI, Generals head coach

THEY SAID IT

BEST-CASE

SCENARIO

Pierucci was hired early

in the offseason, and his

wise use of that time

leads to a team that’s

more cohesive than

most with a first-year

coach. Early games

against Mira Monte and

Foothill, which com-

bined to win three

games in 2015, allow

the Generals to get off

to a winning start. Then,

Pierucci’s understanding

of the South Sequoia

League from his time at

Bakersfield Christian

eases the transition, and

Shafter puts an excla-

mation point on a prom-

ising building season by

beating archrival Wasco

in the season finale for

the first time since

2006.

KEY STANDOUT

Steve Perez

Sr, WR/DB: Tall target

who will help bring in a

new quarterback into the

system.

Robbie Poznoff

Sr, WR/DL: Solid body

who will be a focal point

on the defensive line.

Tyler Alexander

Sr, OL/DL: Experienced

and solid lineman with the

stocky frame needed for a

sophomore quarterback.

Mike Osorio

Sr, OL: Another big man

up front who will need to

protect the young quarter-

back and create opportuni-

ties in the run game.

HOW TO

GET THERE

Pierucci has said sopho-

more quarterback Alex

Aguilar “has the chance

to put up Brandon Jones-

like numbers,” referenc-

ing his record-setting

quarterback who led

BCHS to a state champi-

onship game three years

ago. But Aguilar will need

to find comfort in the

pocket while leading the

offense, meaning the

offensive line needs to

keep him upright, and

Perez will need to make

the transition from pla-

toon running back to a

feature back who can

help out in the passing

game, both catching

passes and blocking. On

the other side of the ball,

Shafter needs to turn

around a defense that

gave up 39 points in five

of the team’s seven loss-

es a year ago.

TOP RETURNERS

HEAD COACH

15 .3

Points scored per game

30 .5

Points allowed per game

56. 1

Passing yards per game

15 7.9

Rushing yards per game

Touchdowns scored

2015 TEAM STATS

CASEY CHRISTIE / THE CALIFORNIAN

Shafter senior offensive lineman Mike Osario, center, gets ready to block.

NICK PEREZ

Sr, running back/linebacker

Has bought into the new coach-

ing staff and become a leader on

and off the field. A solid student

and weight room guy who will

get plenty of carries if Shafter is

to be successful.

50 The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, August 25, 2016

“

TAFT

SOUTH SEQUOIA LEAGUE • DIVISION IV

ast year, George Falgout took over

a Taft football program that hadn’t

had a winning season since 2009

and led the Wildcats to an impressive 8-

3 record.

Falgout did a masterful job of quickly

installing his system and getting players

to buy into it.

This season, with the foundation of

the program rebuilt, Falgout faces a

new challenge.

He has to fill the void left by the grad-

uation of 24 seniors.

Many of the players that moved on

were instrumental to Taft’s success a

year ago, so Falgout and his coaching

staff will have a tough time replacing

them.

Arguably the three who will be

missed the most are quarterback Tevin

Howell (1,069 total yards, 15 touch-

downs), running back Josh Sailor (1,881

rushing yards, 17 touchdowns) and

linebacker Jordan Lopez (173 tackles).

The Wildcats, who outscored oppo-

nents by an average of 12 points per

game last year, will field a team this sea-

son with less size but more overall

speed.

“Our team this year is going to be

way different than last year,” Falgout

said. “We have some big shoes to fill on

both sides of the ball, but we have some

players capable of filling them.”

The Wildcats return a pair of all-

South Sequoia League second-team

selections in Cameron Guinn (tight

end/defensive line) and Cody McCaleb

(defensive back).

McCaleb will be Taft’s starting quar-

terback this year. His job will be made

easier by the return of last year’s No. 2

rusher, Robert Cozine (732 rushing

yards), and three starters on the offen-

sive line.

“I feel really comfortable running the

offense,” McCaleb said. “We’ve done a

lot of offseason work — like going

through the playbook and watching

(film on) Hudl from last year. I’ve

learned a lot of stuff.”

— STEPHEN LYNCH

Falgout plans for

encore after

first-year success

SEASON OUTLOOK

SCHEDULE

Aug. 26: Golden Valley

Sept. 2: at Monache

Sept. 8: at Porterville

Sept. 16: Exeter

Sept 30: Chavez*

Oct. 7: Shafter*

Oct. 14: at Arvin*

Oct. 21: Wasco*

Oct. 28: at Kennedy*

Nov. 4: at BCHS*

*SSL game

TOP GROUP

Running backs

Taft’s run-heavy offense

relies on having several

solid running backs, and

the Wildcats are fortunate

to have three good ones in

Robert Cozine, Setefano

Maui and Daniel Cortez.

Cozine already showed

what he could do last year,

averaging 8.0 yards per

carry and scoring eight

touchdowns in 91 rushing

attempts. If healthy, he

should easily eclipse the

1,000-yard mark this sea-

son and is a threat to go

for 1,500-2,000 yards.

“I’m just trying to get more

yards than I had last year

and do the best I can to

help the team out to win

us a ring,” Cozine said.

GEORGE

FALGOUT

Second season at

Taft, 8-3; 9-13 in two

years overall

Assistant coaches:

Russell Emberson,

defensive

coordinator/LB; Terrance

Howell, defense; Rich

Johnson, QB/RB; Eric

Gonzales, OL/LB; Eric

Foch, DB; Brad Van-

Roekeldf

2015 AT A GLANCE

RECORD: 8-3, 4-2 SSL

PLAYOFFS: Lost 28-27 to Kerman in first round

League titles: 11; Section titles: 3

“WE’RE IN A TOUGH LEAGUE AND WE’RE GOING TO HAVE

SOME NEW FACES OUT THERE, BUT I THINK WE’RE GOING TO

BE IN THE SAME POSITION THAT WE WERE IN LAST YEAR IF

NOT BETTER.”

GEORGE FALGOUT, Wildcats head coach

THEY SAID IT

BEST-CASE

SCENARIO

The loss of eight all-

league players, including

SSL offensive MVP Josh

Sailor, made matching

last season’s total of

eight wins a task that’s

a little too difficult for

Taft to match. However,

by year’s end, the Wild-

cats were again a factor

in the league race, and

this time, they finish

better, winning a couple

of games in the Division

IV playoffs and reaching

the semifinals for the

first time since Taft fin-

ished as runner-up to

Kingsburg in 2009.

KEY STANDOUT

Cody McCaleb

Sr, QB/DB: An all-SSL

defensive back last year,

McCaleb takes over the

starting QB spot this sea-

son.

Cameron Ginn

Sr, TE/LB: Two-way stand-

out who was an all-SSL

selection at both tight end

and defensive line last

year. Outstanding blocker

with good hands.

Holden Williams

Sr, OL/DL: A solid, steady

performer who will help

anchor both the offensive

and defensive line, he

blocks well and is an

excellent run-stopper on

defense.

Maino Maino

Sr, OL: Strong run-blocker

who is excellent at the

point of attack and was a

second-team all-SSL per-

former in 2015.

HOW TO

GET THERE

The Taft High football

team is a mirror image

of the city of Taft; hard-

working, tough and grit-

ty. That’s the perfect fit

for Falgout’s smash-

mouth offense and

aggressive approach on

defense. The Wildcats

prospered in their first

year under his leader-

ship; for that to contin-

ue they’ll need to get

steady quarterback play

from McCaleb and have

everyone on the team

contribute, because they

have less star power

than they did a year ago.

“I think the key to suc-

cess this year for us is

going to be being con-

sistent in what we do as

a team and as a pro-

gram,” Falgout said.

TOP RETURNERS

HEAD COACH

33.1

Points scored per game

22. 1

Points allowed per game

76.4

Passing yards per game

291.5

Rushing yards per game

Touchdowns scored

2015 TEAM STATS

FELIX ADAMO / THE CALIFORNIAN

Taft senior quarterback Cody McCaleb looks to make a pass.

ROBERT COZINE

Sr, running back

A shifty runner who will run

defensive players over if he has

to but prefers to use his elusive-

ness to get by them without

making any contact. Cozine gets

to the hole and through the line

of scrimmage very quickly and

can rip off big gains by running

up the middle or on the outside.

Thursday, August 25, 2016 The Bakersfield Californian 51

“

WASCO

SOUTH SEQUOIA LEAGUE • DIVISION IV

hock to the Wasco system, No. 1:

After six consecutive winning sea-

sons, a stretch that included two

South Sequoia League titles and the

2012 Central Section Division IV cham-

pionship, the Tigers stumbled to a 3-7

finish in 2015.

Shock to the Wasco system, No. 2:

Henceforth, Rusvel Prado won’t be

roaming the Tigers sidelines anymore,

having taken a job with Wasco’s admin-

istration.

And yet, despite a nine-month stretch

that produced both of those negatives,

Wasco football was roaring right along

this summer, performing Prado’s leg-

endary weight room workouts and prac-

ticing the double-wing offense, both

under the guidance of new head coach

Mike Rowland.

Rowland was able to maintain much

of Prado’s coaching staff, including

offensive coordinator Jeff Wedel and

defensive coordinator Joey Mayo, and

he said Wasco’s expectations haven’t

dropped off in the least.

“That’s something Prado left, his

legacy, and he takes it with him every-

where he goes,” said Rowland, who was

promoted from junior varsity head

coach. “That’s a good thing. It’s just a

blessing coming into this situation, but

I’m just finding a way to put my own

stamp on the program, and that’s com-

ing.”

Rowland (and Wedel) won’t change

the offense, with senior Cezar Prieto fig-

uring to get the majority of the carries in

a system that averaged more than 3,000

rushing yards in Prado’s nine-year

tenure.

“We’re really going to ride (Prieto) on

offense,” said Rowland, who added that

junior Marky Lopez and seniors Alex

Ruiz and Bradley Tijerina should see

plenty of carries, too.

You can also expect to see Wasco’s

trademark aggression on the other side

of ball, with plenty of blitzes from differ-

ent levels of the defense. Ruiz is the star

there.

— ZACH EWING

Wasco mixing

tradition with

something new

SEASON OUTLOOK

SCHEDULE

Aug. 26: Coalinga

Sept. 9: at North

Sept. 16: at Fresno-

McLane

Sept. 23: Bak. Christian*

Sept 30: Delano

Oct. 7: at Kennedy*

Oct. 14: Chavez*

Oct. 21: at Taft*

Oct. 28: at Arvin*

Nov. 4: Shafter*

*SSL game

TOP GROUP

Running backs

Prieto’s return has Row-

land excited, but not as

much as his depth at the

position: Marky Lopez,

Bradley Tijerina and Alex

Ruiz all should see enough

carries to keep one anoth-

er fresh on offense and on

their defensive duties.

They also provide a mix of

looks for opposing defens-

es, with Prieto and Lopez

shorter, quicker backs who

can make defenders miss

in space and Ruiz and Tije-

rina bigger bruisers who

can soften up a defense.

It’s a good group to have

for a team that loves to

run the ball with misdirec-

tion out of the double

wing.

MIKE

ROWLAND

First year

Assistant coaches: Jeff

Wedel, offensive coordi-

nator; Joey Mayo, defen-

sive coordinator; Donny

Johnson, special

teams/OL/DL; Chris

Wedel, LB; Nacho Mar-

tinez, RB/DL

2015 AT A GLANCE

RECORD: 3-7, 1-5 South Sequoia League

PLAYOFFS: None

League titles: 9; Section titles: 3

“THAT’S MY WHOLE MESSAGE: (FORMER COACH RUSVEL

PRADO) GOT US HERE. WE WANT TO GO TO THE NEXT LEVEL.

THERE WAS A LITTLE BIT OF A LETDOWN LAST YEAR, SO I’M

LOOKING FOR CONSISTENT GREATNESS.”

MIKE ROWLAND, Tigers head coach

THEY SAID IT

BEST-CASE

SCENARIO

The 3-7 experience in

2015 truly was a blip on

the radar, caused by

injuries and perhaps

some pending sense of

Prado’s departure. Row-

land and his veteran

coaching staff get

Wasco rolling on the

ground again, add in a

little bit of an aerial

attack and stun those

who say the Tigers’ days

of ruling the South

Sequoia League are over.

Prieto runs for more

than 2,000 yards, Alex

Ruiz has a huge two-

way season and Wasco

barrels its way back into

the Division IV section

championship game.

KEY STANDOUT

Alex Ruiz

Sr, RB/LB: He broke his

arm early during the 2015

season, and it’s no coinci-

dence Wasco lost six of its

last seven games. He’s at

full strength again

Bradley Tijerina

Sr, RB/DB: Younger broth-

er of former quarterback

(and current JV coach)

Austin, this Tijerina is a

ball hawk

Riqui Contreras

Sr, OL: He’s listed as 5-

foot-2, 320 pounds on

MaxPreps. That’s a

stretch, but suffice it to

say Contreras can clear

some space at tackle

Zach Derington

Sr, OL: The other returning

starter on the offensive

line, Derington is more of

the quick, get-to-the-sec-

ond-level type of lineman.

HOW TO

GET THERE

It’s a familiar recipe: Get

big numbers week in

and week out from your

top two running backs,

Prieto and Marky Lopez,

behind a bull-strong

offensive line, throw just

enough to keep defens-

es honest and fly to the

ball on defense like

something is chasing

you. It served Wasco

extremely well in the

early part of this

decade, to the tune of

two SSL titles, two Cen-

tral Section champi-

onship appearances and

one undefeated season.

Nothing really has

changed here, except for

the man in charge. If

Rowland can make that

change a smooth transi-

tion, Wasco already has

the pieces and the cul-

ture in place to excel.

TOP RETURNERS

HEAD COACH

18.7

Points scored per game

27.6

Points allowed per game

196.2

Passing yards per game

58. 1

Rushing yards per game

Touchdowns scored

2015 TEAM STATS

HENRY A. BARRIOS / THE CALIFORNIAN

Wasco’s Ricky Contreras works during a tackling drill at a preseason practice.

CEZAR PRIETO

Senior, RB/LB

The lead back in Wasco’s offense has

been destined for a 1,500-yard,

maybe even 2,000-yard season ever

since Rusvel Prado became the

school’s coach in 2007. Prado is

gone, but that should remain true.

This year, it’s Prieto’s turn, and new

coach Mike Rowland says he plans to

lean heavily on Prieto, a powerful

back who also will start at linebacker.

52 The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, August 25, 2016

“

KENNEDY

DIVISION VI

SCHEDULE

Aug. 26: at Foothill

Sept. 2: Mira Monte

Sept. 9: at Highland

Sept. 16: Kerman

Sept 23: at Shafter

Sept. 30: at BCHS*

Oct. 7: Wasco*

Oct. 14: Arvin*

Oct. 21: at Chavez*

Oct. 28: Taf t*

* SSL game

TOP GROUP

Offensive line

It starts with junior right tackle Roman Prieto. “He’s one

of those rare kids we get at a school like this,” said coach

Dennis Moody. “He has size, agility, strength and speed.

He’s got a chance to play beyond (high school).”

JEFF EVANS

DENNIS

MOODY

Third year, 19-7

Assistant coaches: John

English (DL), Ronnie Coro-

nado (DL), Eddie Ramos

(LB), Shade Staples (DB),

Sammy Salinas (defensive

coordinator), Jose Romero

(DL), Carlos Martinez (RB),

Buck Myrick (WR), Mario

Millan (QB)

2015 AT A GLANCE

RECORD: 10-4 (3-3 South Sequoia League)

PLAYOFFS: Beat Avenal 30-14 for Div. VI title; lost 59-45 to Saddleback Valley

Christian in regional bowl game

League titles: 0; Section titles: 2

WE CAN BE YOUNG OR VERY YOUNG. WE HAVE 8 SENIORS

AND WE’LL HAVE 8-12 SOPHOMORES PLAYING VARSITY. THE

REST ARE JUNIORS. WE HAVE SOME HOLES TO FILL FOR

SURE, BUT FOR THE FIRST TIME WE HAVE REAL COMPETI-

TION IN KEY SPOTS. THAT BRINGS OUT THE BEST IN THEM.

DENNIS MOODY, Thunderbirds coach

THEY SAID IT

Roman Prieto

Jr, OL: Physical presence as a 6-3, 270 right tackle

Eddie Carlson

Jr, DL: Had 49 tackles, 3 sacks last year at end

Omar Sakr

Sr, WR/DB: 69 tackles, 15 catches in 2015

Daniel Flores

Sr, RB: 10.1 yards per carry last season

Jorge Davila

Jr, RB/LB: 90 tackles led team a year ago

HEAD COACH

40 .7

Points scored per game

27.6

Points allowed per game

2015 TEAM STATS

RFK has won back-to-back D-VI titles

but has some holes to fill. The team

boasts good blend of returnees and

newcomers. Some larger non-league

schools are on the schedule compared

to smaller programs in the past.

SEASON OUTLOOK

TOP RETURNERS

“

CHAVEZ

DIVISION IV

SCHEDULE

Aug. 26: at South

Sept. 2: at Golden Valley

Sept. 9: West

Sept. 23: Visalia-CVC

Sept 30: at Taft*

Oct. 7: Bak. Christian*

Oct. 14: at Wasco*

Oct. 21: Kennedy*

Oct. 28: at Shafter*

Nov. 4: Arvin*

* SSL game

TOP GROUP

Defensive backs

They were a strength last season and have loads of expe-

rience with two of the team’s most dynamic players, free

safety Manuel Gamboa and CB Javier Fernandez, plus

Jesse Ortega and three-year starter Vincent Jacobo.

JEFF EVANS

JESSE

ORTEGA

First year

Assistant coaches:

Sergio Barajas (defen-

sive coordinator-LB),

Ilario Prieto (DL), Diego

Herhandez (DB-

receivers), Robbie Men-

doza (QB-RB-offensive

coordinator)

2015 AT A GLANCE

RECORD: 10-2 (5-1 South Sequoia League)

PLAYOFFS: Lost 31-28 to Fresno-Washington Union in semifinals

League titles: 1; Section titles: 0

“THIS IS A TEAM THAT SHOULD BE PRETTY GOOD. THIS IS

MY FIRST VENTURE OF BEING A HEAD FOOTBALL COACH. THE

KIDS COMING BACK WILL MAKE THIS TRANSITION EASY. THIS

SEASON IS NOT ABOUT TRANSITION, IT’S ABOUT THEM.

THEY’VE RESPONDED WELL.”

JESSE ORTEGA, first-year head coach

THEY SAID IT

Montes Clemente

Jr, RB: Rushed for 912 yards and 12 TDs last season

Javier Fernandez

Sr, WR/DB: Had 5 TD catches, 4 interceptions last year

Humberto Cazares

Sr, DL: Three-year starter on the defensive line

Aaron Gonzalez

Sr, OL: Returning starter

Diego Maravilla

Sr, OL: Returning starter

HEAD COACH

33.1

Points scored per game

Points allowed per game

2015 TEAM STATS

The Titans did not have a winning sea-

son in their first 13 years, but have gone

10-2 each of the last two seasons. Eight

seniors are back from those winning

teams. New coach Jesse Ortega replaces

Casey Quinn, who left for Clovis North.

SEASON OUTLOOK

TOP RETURNERS

SOUTH SEQUOIA LEAGUE | DELANO SCHOOLS

Thursday, August 25, 2016 The Bakersfield Californian 53

OTHER NORTH KERN SCHOOLS

“

DELANO

EAST YOSEMITE LEAGUE • DIVISION III

SCHEDULE

Aug. 26: at East

Sept. 2: South

Sept. 16: North

Sept. 23: at Foothill

Sept 30: at Wasco

Oct. 7: Tulare Western*

Oct. 14: Tulare*

Oct. 20: at Monache

Oct. 28: Porterville

Nov. 4: at Mission Oak

* EYL game

TOP GROUP

Secondary

Cal Tincher also says the defensive line is a strength, but

raves about Saul Ceja and Jesus Garcia in the secondary.

They’ll lead the group against EYL offensive powers

Tulare Union and Tulare Western.

— JEFF EVANS

CAL

TINCHER

Third year, 5-15

Assistant coaches:

Jason Gonzalez (RB),

Mario Abundez (OL),

Matt Grijalva (WR),

Roger Rubio (defensive

coordinator), Adam Bas-

cancillo (CB), Chad Mar-

tinez (S), Alex Nava (DL)

2015 AT A GLANCE

RECORD: 2-8, 0-5 EYL

PLAYOFFS: None

League titles: 17; Section titles: 0

OUR YOUNGER GROUP IS HAVING SUCCESS. WE HAVE A BIG

JUNIOR CLASS AND ALONG WITH THE SENIORS COMING

BACK, WE’VE HAD GOOD CHEMISTRY. LIKE A LOT OF TEAMS

COMING INTO THE SEASON, THERE’S A LOT OF REAL POSI-

TIVE OUTLOOK GOING INTO THE SEASON.

CAL TINCHER, Tigers head coach

THEY SAID IT

Jesus Garcia

Sr, DB: 44 tackles last season, 5.5 for losses at safety

Saul Ceja

Sr, DB: 43 tackles last season at cornerback

Jairo Ruvacalva

Jr, DL: 42 tackles, 4 sacks last season

Salvador Romo

Sr, DL: Moving from defensive end to defensive tackle

Jason Grijalva

Sr, WR: 36 catches for 231 yards last season

HEAD COACH

10 .3

Points scored per game

28.1

Points allowed per game

2015 TEAM STATS

Many juniors are from last year’s EYL

JV champions. Ramon Ortega and

Austin Salgado will compete at quarter-

back, and Joe Ramirez and Didier Abur-

to will split RB duties. Xavier Chavez

has looked good at nose guard.

SEASON OUTLOOK

TOP RETURNERS

“

McFARLAND

EAST SIERRA LEAGUE • DIVISION VI

SCHEDULE

Aug. 26: Avenal

Sept. 2: at Tranquillity

Sept. 16: at Kern Valley

Sept. 23: Frazier Mtn

Sept 30: Granite Hills

Oct. 7: at Riverdale

Oct. 14: at Orosi*

Oct. 21: at Orange Cove*

Oct. 28: Laton*

Nov. 4: Farmersville*

* ESL game

TOP GROUP

Offensive line

RT David Delgado (6-0, 230) was all-league. Other

starters are senior center Nathan Hernandez (5-11, 255),

junior LT Ricardo Gomez (6-5, 275), sophomore LG Gerado

Aispuro (6-2, 215) and junior RG Pedro Meza (5-10, 220).

— JEFF EVANS

JOHNNY

SALINAS

Third year, 6-15

Assistant coaches:

Javier Garcia (defensive

coordinator), Jamal

Martinez (WR/LB),

Chris Arguello (RB),

Jose Cendejas (OL/DL).

2015 AT A GLANCE

RECORD: 5-6, 2-2 ESiL

PLAYOFFS: Lost 72-6 to Avenal in first round

League titles: 1; Section titles: 0

WE’VE GOT SOME HIGH EXPECTATIONS. LAST YEAR WE

MADE A LITTLE RUN FOR THE LEAGUE TITLE BUT LOST TO

ORANGE COVE. WE’RE SHOOTING FOR LEAGUE CHAMPS.

THIS SCHOOL HAS NEVER WON ANY FOOTBALL TITLES

(SINCE 1938). THAT WAS MY MAIN FOCUS WHEN I GOT HIRED.

JOHNNY SALINAS, Cougars head coach

THEY SAID IT

Ribaldo Hernandez

Sr, RB/WR: 49 catches, 829 yards in 2015

Nathan Hernandez

Sr, OL: Second-team all-league as a junior

Matt Oropeza

Sr, QB: 1,402 passing yards, 10 TDs last year

Lambert Garcia

Sr, RB/LB: second on team in tackles in 2015

David Delgado

Sr, OL: All-league right tackle last season

HEAD COACH

19.6

Points scored per game

28.9

Points allowed per game

2015 TEAM STATS

A solid passing game has returning QB

Matt Oropeza and WR Ribaldo Hernan-

dez, who has 4.5 speed. Linebacker

Lambert Garcia will anchor the

defense. A tight battle at RB between

five to six players means early rotating.

SEASON OUTLOOK

TOP RETURNERS

54 The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, August 25, 2016

SCHEDULE

Aug. 26: at Boron

Sept. 2: Silver Valley

Sept. 9: at Morro Bay

Sept. 16: McFarland

Sept 30: Corcoran

Oct. 7: Bishop*

Oct. 14: at Desert*

Oct. 21: Frazier Mtn*

Oct. 28: at Rosamond*

Nov. 4: at Cal City*

*High Desert League

game

TOP GROUP

Backfield

“We run a double-wing

offense: a fullback

(Jacob Lightner), two

wingbacks (Hunter Ellis,

Conrad Miller or Aaron

Grimsby) and our quar-

terback (Zach Bushling)

will be the heart of the

team and will take us as

far as they can bring

us,” said coach Brandon

Deckard. “They’re real

good, solid athletes.”

— JEFF EVANS

BRANDON

DECKARD

2nd year, 8-3

Assistant coaches:

Brent Mixon (def. coor-

dinator), Scott Tedrow

(special teams), Neal

Preston (WR/DB)

2015 AT A GLANCE

RECORD: 8-3, 4-0 HDL

PLAYOFFS: Lost 34-17 to Woodlake in first round

League titles: 8; Section titles: 0

HEAD COACH

Kern Valley has won three

straight league titles, and a

solid group returns. The

Erskine fire disrupted sum-

mer practice, and two play-

ers lost their homes. “Over-

coming this will make us

stronger,” Deckard said.

SEASON OUTLOOK

HIGH DESERT LEAGUE

CALIFORNIA

CITY

DIVISION VI

SCHEDULE

Aug. 26: Lancaster-

Desert Christian

Sept. 2: at Littlerock

Sept. 9: at Boron

Sept. 23: at Mira Monte

Sept 30: at Laton

Oct. 7: Desert*

Oct. 14: at Frazier Mtn*

Oct. 21: Rosamond*

Oct. 28: at Bishop*

Nov. 4: Kern Valley*

* High Desert League

game

TOP GROUP

Backfield

QB Jystin Rice is back

after throwing for 1,143

yards and 11 TDs last

season, but the running

game is this team’s

focus. The team ran for

2,961 yards last year,

with 2,760 by seniors.

Rice and D’Anthony

Banks have big-play

capabilities and are

looked upon as the

threats this year.

Returnee Ryan Newby

anchors a young line.

— JEFF EVANS

SHERMAN

First year

Assistant coaches:

Devon Sherman (defen-

sive coordinator), Vin-

cent Harris (receivers)

2015 AT A GLANCE

RECORD: 8-4 (3-1 High Desert League)

PLAYOFFS: Lost 49-18 to Kennedy in semifinals

League titles: 0; Section titles: 0

HEAD COACH

KERN

VALLEY

DIVISION V

SCHEDULE

Aug. 26: at Porterville-

Granite Hills

Sept. 2: at Desert Chr.

Sept. 9: Excelsior

Sept. 23: at McFarland

Sept 30: at Yermo-Silver

Valley

Oct. 7: at Rosamond*

Oct. 14: Cal City*

Oct. 21: at Kern Valley*

Oct. 28: at Desert*

Nov. 4: Bishop*

* High Desert League

game

TOP GROUP

Running backs

Garen Smith returns at

wingback, and Austin

Duhm is also solid

there. Two fullbacks to

watch are Mario

Ketchum, a junior who

sat out last season, and

first-year player Daniel

Briones, a soccer player.

Smith “is quick, he

knows football and he’s

tough as nails,” coach

Marc Sandall said.

— JEFF EVANS

MARC

SANDALL

Second year, 0-10

Assistant coaches:

Matt Regan (DB/RB),

Roger Sumpter (OL/DL),

Leonard Puga (LB).

2015 AT A GLANCE

RECORD: 0-10, 0-4 HDL

PLAYOFFS: None

League titles: 0; Section titles: 0

HEAD COACH

ROSAMOND

DIVISION V

SCHEDULE

Aug. 26: Littlerock

Sept. 2: at Lancaster

Sept. 9: at Vasquez

Sept. 16: Lancaster-

Desert Christian

Sept 30: at Mira Monte

Oct. 7: Frazier Mtn*

Oct. 14: at Bishop*

Oct. 21: at Cal City*

Oct. 28: Kern Valley*

Nov. 4: Desert*

* High Desert League

game

TOP GROUP

Offensive line

This group has put in

the time in the weight

room, and coach Kris

Krempien hopes that

will translate into suc-

cess. The line is

anchored by center

Lucas Giaquinto, a

transfer from Quartz

Hill. LG Jeremy Lennox,

LT Jaime Contreras, RG

Miguel Barragan and RT

Nick Jordan are looking

solid.

— JEFF EVANS

KRIS

KREMPIEN

Fourth year, 7-24

Assistant coaches:

Tim Schank (defensive

coordinator/RB/LB), Jeff

Schank (OL/DL), David

Gregg (WR/DB), Mike

Hunter (QB/DB)

2015 AT A GLANCE

RECORD: 3-7, 1-3 HDL

PLAYOFFS: None

League titles: 10; Section titles: 0

HEAD COACH

FRAZIER

MOUNTAIN

DIVISION VI

The Ravens have solid

defenders in linebackers

Lucas Green and Tyshawn

Myers. The Ravens had only

18 healthy players in the play-

offs but have nearly 30 this

season as they seek the pro-

gram’s first league title.

SEASON OUTLOOK

There are many new faces,

mainly from the JVs. The

transition is helped by the

Schank brothers, JV coaches

last year who are now varsity

assistants. Keep an eye on

QB Larry Winters and LB-

fullback Jacob Flores.

SEASON OUTLOOK

The Falcons are 1-21 the

past two seasons and scored

only 7 points last year. Coach

Marc Sandall has changed

the offense and defense.

“(We) don’t give up,” he said.

“(We’re) just undersized and

overmatched.”

SEASON OUTLOOK

Thursday, August 25, 2016 The Bakersfield Californian 55

HIGH DESERT LEAGUE

SCHEDULE

Aug. 26: at Reedley-

Immanuel

Sept. 2: Oak Park

Sept. 9: at Barstow

Sept 16: Lancaster

Sept. 23: Boron

Oct. 7: at Cal City*

Oct. 14: Kern Valley*

Oct. 21: at Bishop*

Oct. 28: Frazier Mt.*

Nov. 4: at Rosamond*

* High Desert League

game

TOP GROUP

Linebackers

A talented group

returns, led by outside

‘backers Scott Bonham

(team-high 136 tackles

and 10.5 sacks last sea-

son) and Brendan Dan-

ner (66 tackles, five

sacks). Sophomore Lon-

trelle Diggs started as a

freshman after missing

four early-season

games with a shoulder

injury. “He’s a special

talent,” said coach Chris

Hinton.

— JEFF EVANS

CHRIS

HINTON

13th year, 73-62

Assistant coaches:

Scott Bonham (defen-

sive coordinator), Joe

Masei (QB), Ed Escobar

(DB), Brian Lepper (DL)

2015 AT A GLANCE

RECORD: 8-4, 5-0 Desert Mountain League

PLAYOFFS: Lost 37-0 to Simi-Valley Grace Brethren in

Southern Section D-XIII semifinals

League titles: 6; Section titles: 1

HEAD COACH

DESERT

DIVISION V

The Scorpions begin their

first season in the Central

Section, returning to the

High Desert League and

renewing longtime rivalries.

Seven starters return but

with only 18-20 players, stay-

ing healthy is a must.

SEASON OUTLOOK

MARICOPA

RECORD: 4-5, 2-2 Coast Valley League

PLAYOFFS: Did not qualify

HEAD COACH: Al Allen (21st year)

OUTLOOK: Nearly everyone is returning,

including Ignacio Hernandez and Paul Erwin,

who each had more than 1,000 rushing yards

last season. The line is anchored by four-year

starting center Elvis Hernandez and Billy Bob

Travis. The Indians look to throw more, with 6-

4 receiver Caleb Allen a main target.

SCHEDULE: Sept. 2—Los Angeles-New

Designs University Park; Sept. 10—at Mon-

terey-Trinity Christian; Sept. 16—Coalinga-

Faith Christian; Sept. 23—at LaVerne-Calvary

Baptist; Sept. 30—at Santa Maria-Valley Chris-

tian Academy*; Oct. 7—Cuyama Valley*; Oct.

14—Shandon*; Oct. 21—at Trona; Oct. 28—at

Cambria-Coast Union*

* Coast Valley League game

MOJAVE

RECORD: 11-1

PLAYOFFS: Lost 50-8 to Avalon in Southern

Section 8-man D-I championship game

HEAD COACH: Cash Achziger (4th year)

OUTLOOK: The Mustangs have gone 32-3 in

Achziger’s three seasons and have solid

returnees this year, led by four-year starter

Cameron Hill (1,104 rushing yards, 20 TDs last

season). Tyree Hendrix ran for 10 TDs and was

the team’s leading tackler. They have excellent

team speed on both sides of the ball.

SCHEDULE: Sept. 3—at Carpinteria-Cate;

Sept. 9—Orcutt Academy; Sept. 16—at Sun

Valley; Sept. 23—Desert Christian Academy;

Sept. 30—Riverside County Education Acade-

my; Oct. 7—Los Angeles-Amino Robinson; Oct.

15—at Canoga Park-Faith Baptist; Oct. 29—

Lancaster-Baptist.

8-MAN FOOTBALL TEAMS

BORON

RECORD: 5-5, 3-2 Desert Mountain League

PLAYOFFS: None

HEAD COACH: Robert Kostopoulos

OUTLOOK: The Bobcats are very excited about

this season with virtually the entire team

returning from a year ago. “All our skill players,

the majority of the line and our entire defense

is back,” Kostopoulos said. Staying healthy is

crucial to Boron’s hopes. Kostopoulos said only

17 players are out for the team. “That’s pretty

much Boron football,” he said. “There are years

we have 24, 25, 26, and we love that. But we’re

typically at 17, 18 guys. We’re used to this.”

SCHEDULE: Aug. 26—Kern Valley; Sept. 2—at

Huntington Beach-Brethren Christian; Sept. 9—

Cal City; Sept. 16—at Arcadia-Rio Hondo Prep;

Sept. 23—at Desert; Sept. 30—at San Juan

Capistrano-Saddleback Valley Christian; Oct.

8—at Pasadena-Polytechnic; Oct. 21—Mam-

moth*; Oct. 28—at Acton-Vasquez*; Nov. 4—

Desert Christian*

* — Desert Mountain League game

BURROUGHS

RECORD: 5-7, 3-2 Mojave River League

PLAYOFFS: Lost 55-26 to La Quinta in second

round of Southern Section D-IX playoffs

HEAD COACH: Todd Mather

OUTLOOK: The Burros have plenty of returners

after 14 sophomores played varsity last season.

Six starters return on both sides of the ball.

Speed and depth at the skill positions are team

strengths. All-leaguer Michael McKinney, a DB

and receiver who ranked among the team lead-

ers in every category, is the top returner. Quar-

terbacks Austin Griffin and Austin McCollough

are healthy after battling injuries in past sea-

sons.

SCHEDULE: Aug. 26—at Palmdale; Sept. 2—

Tehachapi; Sept. 9—at Moreno Valley-Rancho

Verde; Sept. 16—at Lancaster-Paraclete; Sept.

23—Barstow; Oct. 7—Hesperia*; Oct. 14—

Apple Valley*; Oct. 21—at Hesperia-Oak Hills*;

Oct. 28—Phelan-Serrano*; Nov. 4—at Hesperia-

Sultana*

* — Mojave River League game

SOUTHERN SECTION TEAMS

1915: Selma

1916: Bakersfield

1917: Bakersfield

1918: none (flu epidemic)

1919: Dinuba

1920: Bakersfield

1921: Bakersfield

1922: Bakersfield

1923: Bakersfield

1924: Bakersfield

1925: Bakersfield

1926: Bakersfield

1927: Bakersfield

1928: Bakersfield

1929: Bakersfield

1930: Ta ft

1931

Large: Fresno

Small: Kingsburg

1932

Large: Bakersfield/Fresno

Small: Los Banos

1933

Large: Bakersfield

Small: Los Banos

1934

Large: Merced

Small: Kingsburg

1935

Large: Bakersfield

Small: Los Banos

1936

Large: Bakersfield

Small: Dos Palos

1937: Bakersfield/Fresno

1938: Bakersfield/Fresno

1939: Bakersfield

1940: Fresno

1941: Fresno-Roosevelt

1942-1944: none (World War II)

1945: Bakersfield

1946: Fresno-Edison/Taft

1947

Large: Bakersfield

Small: Woodlake

1948

Large: Bakersfield

Small: Woodlake

1949

Large: Visalia

Small: Shafter

1950

Large: Merced

Small: Tehachapi/Corcoran

1951

Yosemite: Bakersfield

Sequoia: Sanger

Sierra: Tehachapi

Small: Chowchilla

1952

Yosemite: Fresno

Sequoia: Wasco

Sierra: Tehachapi

Small: Lindsay/Kingsburg

1953

Yosemite: Fresno-Roosevelt

Sequoia: Fresno-Memorial/

Wasco

Sierra: Garces

Small: Kingsburg

1954

Yosemite: Bakersfield

Sequoia: Selma

Sierra: North

Small: Kingsburg

1955

Yosemite: Bakersfield

Sequoia: Shafter

Sierra: Woodlake

Small: Chowchilla

1956

Yosemite: Bakersfield

Sequoia: Sanger

Sierra: Tehachapi

Small: Kingsburg

1957-1966: no playoffs (unknown

reason)

1967

Yosemite: Bakersfield

Sequoia: Chowchilla

Sierra: Orosi

1968

Yosemite: Fresno/South

Sequoia: Sanger

Sierra: Riverdale

1969

Yosemite: Fresno-Edison def.

Foothill

Sequoia: Dos Palos

Sierra: Dinuba

1970

Yosemite: Clovis def. Fresno-

Bullard

Sequoia: Dos Palos

Sierra: Exeter

1971

Yosemite: Fresno def. Reedley

Sequoia: Garces

Sierra: Orosi

1972

Yosemite:Fresno-McLane def.

Foothill

Sequoia: Fresno-Memorial

Sierra: Woodlake

1973

Yosemite: Visalia-Redwood def.

Delano

Sequoia: Dinuba

Sierra: Reedley-Immanuel

1974

Yosemite:Clovis def. Delano

Sequoia: Fresno-Memorial

Sierra: Caruthers

1975

Yosemite: Fresno-Edison def.

Fresno-Bullard

Sequoia: Dos Palos

Sierra: Reedley-Immanuel

1976

Yosemite: Sanger def. Foothill

Sequoia: Dos Palos

Sierra: Riverdale

1977

Yosemite: West def. Visalia-Mt.

Whitney

Sequoia/Sierra: Kingsburg

1978

Yosemite: Visalia-Mt. Whitney

def. Visalia-Redwood

Sequoia/Sierra: Fresno-Wash-

ington Union

1979

Yosemite: Clovis def. West

Sequoia/Sierra: Caruthers

1980

Yosemite: West def. Madera

Sequoia/Sierra: Selma

1981

Yosemite: West def. Madera

Sequoia/Sierra: Dos Palos

1982

Yosemite: Visalia-Redwood def.

Hanford

Sequoia: Dos Palos

Sierra: Woodlake

1983

Yosemite: Visalia-Redwood def.

Clovis West

Sequoia: Fresno-Washington

Union

Sierra: Reedley-Immanuel

1984

Yosemite: Clovis def. Madera

Sequoia: Dos Palos

Sierra: Orosi

1985

Yosemite: Clovis West def. Clovis

Sequoia: Garces

Sierra: Woodlake

1986

Yosemite: Tulare Union def.

Madera

Sequoia: Garces

Sierra: Woodlake

1987

Yosemite: Clovis West def. Clovis

Sequoia: Garces

Sierra: Woodlake/Lindsay

1988

Yosemite: Bakersfield def. West

Sequoia: Garces

Sierra: Lindsay

1989

Yosemite: Bakersfield def.

Visalia-Mt. Whitney

Sequoia: Corcoran

Sierra: Woodlake

1990

Yosemite: Bakersfield def.

Visalia-Mt. Whitney

Sequoia: Arvin

Sierra: Caruthers

1991

Yosemite: Clovis def. Clovis West

Sequoia: Fresno-Memorial

Sierra: Coalinga

1992

Yosemite:Clovis West def. Clovis

Sequoia: Fresno-Washington

Sierra: Strathmore

1993

Yosemite: Clovis West def. Bak-

ersfield

Sequoia: Tehachapi

Sierra: Reedley-Immanuel

1994

Yosemite: Bakersfield def. Clovis-

Buchanan

Sequoia: Fresno-Memorial

Sierra: Firebaugh

1995

Yosemite: Clovis West def. South

Sequoia: Corcoran

Sierra: Caruthers

1996

Yosemite: Visalia-Redwood def.

Clovis

Sequoia: Garces

Sierra: Reedley-Immanuel

1997

Yosemite: Clovis def. Bakersfield

Sequoia: Dos Palos

Sierra: Fowler

1998

Division I: Clovis West def. Bak-

ersfield

D-II: Sanger

D-III: Tollhouse-Sierra

D-IV: Dos Palos

D-V: Strathmore

1999

D-I: Clovis def. Clovis West

D-II: Tulare Union

D-III: Fresno-Washington Union

D-IV: Dos Palos

D-V: Visalia-Central Valley Chris-

tian

2000

D-I: Clovis-Buchanan def. Bakers-

field

D-II: Tulare Union

D-III: Tollhouse-Sierra

D-IV: Dos Palos

D-V: Reedley-Immanuel

2001

D-I: Bakersfield 42, Clovis 17

D-II: Sanger 20, Centennial 3

D-III: Liberty 25, Clovis East 13

D-IV: Dos Palos 69, Fresno-

Memorial 7

D-V: Lindsay 14, Woodlake 13

2002

D-I: Clovis 17, Clovis West 10

D-II: Fresno-Edison 28, Centennial

D-III: Oakhurst-Yosemite 31,

Coalinga 14

D-IV: Garces 42, Fresno-Memorial

D-V: Reedley-Immanuel 22,

Caruthers 15

2003

D-I: Clovis East 15, Clovis West 9

D-II: Sanger 23, Centennial 7

D-III: Tehachapi 14, Oakhurst-

Yosemite 10

D-IV: Fresno-Memorial 41, Dos

Palos 14

D-V: Visalia-Central Valley Chris-

tian 20, Parlier 19

2004

D-I: Clovis West 40, Stockdale 10

D-II: East 30, Tulare Union 22

D-III: Oakhurst-Yosemite 45, Fres-

no 13

D-IV: Chowchilla 35, Dos Palos 13

D-V: Visalia-Central Valley Chris-

tian 22, Riverdale 7

2005

D-I: Bakersfield 35, Fresno-Bullard 28

D-II: West 53, Tulare Union 28

D-III: Lemoore 48, Oakhurst-

Yosemite 16

D-IV: Reedley-Immanuel 40,

Chowchilla 7

D-V: Visalia-Central Valley Chris-

tian 31, Tranquillity 0

2006

D-I: Clovis East 33, Clovis West 14

D-II: Visalia-Mt. Whitney 28,

Visalia-El Diamante 9

D-III: Garces 42, Foothill 14

D-IV: Dos Palos 17, Chowchilla 7

D-V: Caruthers 44, Firebaugh 8

2007

D-I: Bakersfield 19, Clovis West 16

D-II: Visalia-El Diamante 63,

Tulare Union 14

D-III: Tehachapi 33, Foothill 28

D-IV: Taft 28, Corcoran 14

D-V: Bakersfield Christian 35,

Fowler 34

2008

D-I: Clovis West 24, Clovis East 7

D-II: Tulare Union 42, Visalia-El

Diamante 33

D-III: Tehachapi 21, Hanford 14

D-IV: Chowchilla 20, Kingsburg 0

D-V: Bakersfield Christian 49, Cor-

coran 27

D-VI: Tranquillity 30, Orange Cove

2009

D-I: Fresno-Bullard 42, Centennial

D-II: Fresno-Edison 23, Frontier 7

D-III: Dinuba 31, Porterville 21

D-IV: Kingsburg 47, Taft 16

D-V: Corcoran 31, Liberty-Madera

Ranchos 28

D-VI: Strathmore 37, Orange Cove 26

2010

D-I: Clovis West 20, Bakersfield 10

D-II: Tehachapi 13, Fresno-Memo-

rial 10

D-III: Kingsburg 26, Porterville 21

D-IV: Fresno-Washington Union

48, Coalinga 21

D-V: Fowler 6, Lindsay 0

D-VI: Orange Cove 21, Strathmore

2011

D-I: Bakersfield 38, Fresno-Bullard 3

D-II: Clovis North 28, Garces 19

D-III: Kingsburg 41, Ridgeview 34

D-IV: Fresno-Washington Union 55,

Wasco 12

D-V: Fowler 21, Liberty-Madera

Ranchos 17

D-VI: Mendota 41, Farmersville 20

2012

D-I: Clovis North 27,

Fresno-Central 10

D-II: Garces 49, Sanger 24

D-III: Ridgeview 55, Dinuba 14

D-IV: Wasco 29,

Bakersfield Christian 22

D-V: Liberty-Madera Ranchos 35,

Corcoran 12

D-VI: Mendota 34, Farmersville 21

2013

D-I: Bakersfield 60, Clovis North 21

D-II: Visalia-El Diamante 28,

Garces 14

D-III: Dinuba 45, Ridgeview 14

D-IV: Bakersfield Christian 35,

Tulare-Mission Oak 34

D-V: Liberty-Madera Ranchos 31,

Mendota 19

D-VI: Farmersville 47, Strathmore 35

2014

D-I: Fresno-Edison 21, Liberty 14

D-II: Ridgeview 16, Dinuba 14

D-III: Hanford 35, Madera 14

D-IV: Liberty-Madera Ranchos 24,

Visalia-Central Valley Christian 6

D-V: Corcoran 44, Reedley-

Immanuel 16

D-VI: Kennedy 41, Avenal 20

2015

D-I: Liberty 56, Clovis 21

D-II: Ridgeview 45, Lemoore 19

D-III: Hanford 42,

Fresno-San Joaquin Memorial 28

D-IV: Chowchilla 20,

Fresno-Washington Union 16

D-V: Reedley-Immanuel 35,

Mendota 20

D-VI: Kennedy 30, Avenal 14

PAST CENTRAL SECTION CHAMPIONS

56 The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, August 25, 2016