It was a three-way tie atop the West Alameda County Conference’s Shoreline Division in 2018, with Hayward, Alameda and Tennyson sharing the crown. All three teams, however, suffered a quick exit from the section playoffs, leaving each program with not only aspirations for an outright title but also for playoff advancement.
The early consensus among coaches is that Hayward is the favorite, with a large number of returners from last year’s group which suffered numerous injuries but rallied to beat Tennyson late in the year to share the crown. The Farmers certainly appear capable of living up to the hype under head coach Justin Redemer, who enters his ninth season at the helm. But don’t rule either of last year’s teams to share the title with Hayward, especially a Tennyson team which will be strong up front and is led by the league’s longest-tenured head coach in Terry Smith, who has been guiding the Lancers since 2003.
Alameda plays a physical style of game which will keep the Hornets in contention, and a darkhorse could be Mt. Eden, which has the veteran Paul Perenon at the helm and returns 20 of 22 starters.
“We expect Hayward to be the team to beat, and Tennyson is always tough,” said Alameda coach Paulo Sunia. “But we plan on doing our thing and making it difficult on our opponents as well.”
Teams are listed in alphabetical order, displaying records from last season.
ALAMEDA (8-3, 4-1)
The Hornets graduated their top two offensive threats from last year’s team which shared the division title, but Sunia sees no reason to lower the expectations if the Hornets can buy-in as a team.
“We just have to get these guys to believe in themselves. The talent has always been here, and that’s what we did last year, we believed in ourselves,” Sunia said. “We play a physical, in-your-face game. Not everyone likes to face that.”
One big returner for Alameda is senior fullback and middle linebacker Dewayne DeGuzman, who earned all-league honors as a junior, while safety and running back Kyle Arndt is another returner with plenty of experience who carry a large load. Senior Eric Jarecki steps into the role of starting quarterback in 2019, and has already become what Sunia refers to as the “true leader of the offense.”
Those three along with receiver and cornerback Bryce Nachtsheim give the Hornets some experience at the skill positions, but if Alameda is going to succeed, it will be due to the play of their line. 6-foot-2, 285-pound senior Gabriel Zuno returns as the leader of that group, at guard and defensive tackle.
“Gabriel is going to be the key at making holes and moving people,” Sunia said. “He is our anchor with our physical approach.”
Zuno is joined up front by returning starter Diego Barajas, a 6-foot-4, 280-pound junior who is the Hornets’ top offensive tackle. 6-foot-1 junior Tanner Mackenzie moves up the junior varsity and should contribute immediately at defensive end. Two other newcomers mentioned by Sunia include junior linebacker Jason Nguyen, who had a tremendous off-season in the weight room, and sophomore athlete Dylan Lang, who should help ease the loss of last year’s production at the running back position.
“We know there are a couple teams in this league who return a lot of key athletes and will be difficult to beat,” Sunia acknowledged. “But we’re going to roll in and play our game as well. And we feel good about that.”
Alameda opens its season with a league game against Oakland Military Institute, at Emery High on Aug. 24.
ARROYO (1-9, 0-5)
The Dons struggled to back-to-back one-win seasons under coach Kurt Bryan, who brought his innovative offensive thinking to the program but struggled to score points. Mikel Dace is the new man in charge and inherits a roster stocked with underclassmen, indicating that a turnaround might still be a year or two away.
Arroyo does have one returning all-league player in senior Tom Raymond, who was an honorable mention selection in 2018 and will likely take the snaps for the Dons this season.
Arroyo opens its season at Concord on Aug. 30.
HAYWARD (6-5, 4-1)
With coaches around the league pointing fingers at the Farmers as a team to beat, after they shared the division title last season, Hayward is doing little to dispel those early thoughts.
“We have a number of returning players who we are looking forward to having back on the field,” Redemer said. “We have high expectations this season.”
The returning talent is scattered across the field for the Farmers. It includes senior receiver and defensive back Asi Bailey, who had over 400 yards through the air as a junior and was first-team all-league on the defensive side of the ball, and running back Reggie Garrett, who had back-to-back 100-yard games late in the season. Meanwhile, junior linebacker Nelson Suisala is back to anchor the defense, joined by a plethora of playmakers which includes senior linebacker Treyvon Wilson and 6-foot-4, 265-pound defensive end Malik Williams.
Senior Daniel Fukofuka anchors the interior of the line, along with senior Jamal Boyd, after both players earned first-team All-WACC honors in 2018. Redemer is counting on the pair of 270-pound tackles to keep bodies off those guys at the second level. Then there are the Misi brothers, junior Lopati – who was limited to six games last year due to injury – and sophomore Enoke, who started as a freshman last season. The coaching staff expects big things from both of them.
The biggest question mark will be at quarterback, where junior Francisco Sedano moves up from the junior varsity.
“Replacing a quarterback is always a big deal,” Redemer said. “We also had a weapon at kicker last year, and he is gone, so we have a few holes to fill.”
Helping Sedano make the transition, however, should be receivers such as Bailey, Peyton Churchwell and two-way standout Alzillion Hamilton. Churchwell started half of last season, while Hamilton was having a strong year until missing the final three games due to injury.
“One big thing for us this season is that we need to stay relatively injury-free and stay hungry all season long,” Redemer added. “Being hungry every day will be the key for us. We can’t overcome complacency.”
Hayward opens its season at Pinole Valley on Aug. 23.
MT. EDEN (2-8, 2-3)
The Monarchs struggled to a two-win campaign last season, but only graduated two seniors who contributed on the field, leading many across the league to believe that they will be a force in the league standings in 2019.
In addition to the large number of returners, head coach Paul Perenon feels that Mt. Eden took significant steps in the off-season to address its shortcomings from last fall.
“We really struggled defensively last year, but we really addressed our strength and conditioning this off-season and have been teaching tackling throughout our workouts,” Perenon said. “Our returners are better now, and we have improved as a coaching staff as well.”
One of the big moves defensively is transitioning senior Danny Beleche from free safety to strong safety, getting him in the box as a primary run-stopper. He led the team in tackling last year, but many of those stops were for large gains.
“Danny is one of our two best players and a great tackler, and he will be a key to stopping the run,” Perenon added. “He loves the game and plays with a passion. Our commitment this year is to improving our first two levels of defense, and moving him fits into that commitment.”
Linebackers Ryan Hill and Adrian Cabrera have also both had strong off-seasons. Offensively, quarterback Tuakoi Mahe returns after a promising junior season.
“We are going to feature (Mahe) after the way he finished last year,” Perenon said. “He allows us to thrive at what we do, which is to emphasize our spread zone read attack, and he is a kid we can really feature.”
Since Perenon took over the Monarchs’ program in 2010, they have improved steadily in terms of consistency, going .500 or better six straight times before last year. In other words, it’s fair to say that a return towards the top of the standings should be expected with so many returners back in the mix.
“We are having fun here, building a program that had very little prior football tradition,” Perenon stated.
Mt. Eden opens its season at home against Irvington on Aug. 23.
OAKLAND MILITARY INSTITUTE (0-1)
The Grizzlies make their true varsity debut in 2019, after playing one game at that level last year, a loss to Albany. OMI will actually field a somewhat veteran roster this season, with 15 seniors among the 24 players listed on the roster.
One of the big names to watch for, however, will be sophomore quarterback Charles Colvin. A dual-threat athlete, Colvin displayed arm strength, touch and accuracy as a freshman, along with the speed to execute the Grizzlies’ spread zone-read system. He could be a rising star on the OMI roster.
The Grizzlies will make their debut in the WACC-Shoreline with a league game as their opener, facing Alameda at Emery High on Aug. 24.
SAN LORENZO (1-9, 1-4)
The Rebels’ lone win last season came against Arroyo in the Helmet Game, and Jason Howard is the lone returner to have earned all-league status last year.
6-foot-2, 280-pound senior Mario Orantes also returns to give San Lorenzo some size up front heading into coach Antoine Stocker’s third season at the helm. Juniors Tytrell Celestine, Augie Solorzano and Junior Vasquez are among a group of underclassmen to keep an eye on, after they got varsity experience as sophomores.
San Lorenzo opens its season at home against Los Molinos on Aug. 31.
TENNYSON (8-3, 4-1)
The Lancers must replace their entire starting backfield from last season, but the cupboard is far from bare and plenty of newcomers will contribute from a junior varsity team which went 8-1-1 last year.
Sophomore Salesi Moala is set to replace Mustafa Nassirruddin at quarterback, and he has a bit of varsity experience after being a playoff call-up in 2018. He also brings many of the qualities which head coach Terry Smith embraces at the position.
“Salesi can run and throw, and he is the type of athlete who can be a difference maker,” Smith said. “He’ll go through some growing pains, but his upside is huge.”
Senior Sostan Jacks was a two-way starter as a sophomore, and after being hurt last year, will return to that role in his final high school season. Senior linebacker and fullback Alex Laurie will join Jacks in the backfield, along with being the heart and soul of the defense.
Tennyson figures to be strong once again up front as well, especially with the return of two-way starter Carlos Gonzalez and three-year varsity starter Jonathan Barber. Junior Marlin Brown could be a key newcomer on the line as well.
Speaking of newcomers, Smith is also excited with the progress made so far by junior running back Nick Mendoza, who will also line up in the slot for the Lancers. Mendoza brings both extra speed and toughness, as a rugby player. Meanwhile, junior Travon Green adds to the backfield in his first year up from junior varsity, joining his brother Javon Green, who is a returning starter on the line.
“Our expectations don’t change, even with a large group of newcomers,” Smith said. “We expect to win, to compete for a league title and to be a playoff team.”
Tennyson opens its season at home against Newark Memorial on Aug. 23.
