With our summer content starting to come out, football will become the primary focus in a few weeks from now, as teams prepare for their late-August season openers.
For now, we take a sneak peek at some of the main issues around the Central Coast Section, as teams hit the summer grind.
Which teams can handle the losses of graduation the best?
As ironic as it may sound, the team best equipped to handle graduation losses might be the team which loses last year’s CCS Player of the Year, Leki Nunn. That, of course, would be Serra.
Coach Patrick Walsh and the Padres could be moving the ball more through the air this coming season, as junior quarterback Luke Bottari returns with plenty of experience under his belt. He also has one of the most highly recruited receivers in the section to throw to, with Patrick Nunn, not to mention returning all-section receiver Shane Villaroman.
The Serra running game, meanwhile, is bolstered by the return of Isiah Kendrick, who ran for 1,200 yards last year, and top lineman Atonio Mafi.
Another team hit heavily by graduation is Menlo-Atherton, who lost standouts such as Aajon Johnson, Jordan Mims, Mekhi Blackmon, and Christian Wiseman. The Bears, however, do return standout lineman Noa Ngalu, defensive end Dimitri Sakalia, and quarterback Miles Conrad, who showed his potential during limited playing time last year. To expect too big of a drop-off would be a bit foolish at this point.
Will defenses reign supreme in the WCAL?
If success of a defense starts up front, then it might be tough sledding for offenses in the West Catholic Athletic League this season. Consider just a few of the key returners – Bellarmine’s Cade Hall, Valley Christian’s RJ Stone, Saint Francis’ Tyler Manoa, and Riordan’s Lasa Tofi. And that’s just a slice of the talent returning defensively.
Mitty’s Nick Alftin figures to be a match-up nightmare at defensive end as well, with his speed and athleticism off the edge, and he is joined again by defensive tackle Gabriel Meza. The pair combined for 39 tackles for a loss last season. Alftin, however, figures to also be in the battle for the Mitty quarterback position, along with Clay Crisafulli.
Stone will certainly get his share of attention on the front line for the Warriors, but he should also have time to get to opposing quarterbacks, with a defensive secondary featuring Charlie Bostic, D’angelo McKenzie, and Alton Julian. The return of linebacker Billy Stonitsch only further complicates things for opposing offenses.
Which coaching changes could have the biggest impact?
It has been an off-season filled with high profile coaching changes, which figure to result in some key changes in regards to scheme and results.
After a storied career at Sacred Heart Prep, Pete Lavorato is holding the reins at The King’s Academy, but doing so without Michael Johnson, Jr., who is now in Oregon. He does, however, have a feature back to give the ball to in his fly sweep system, and that is Demonte Aleem, who had to sit out most of last season due to transfer rules. Lavorato runs one of the most disciplined fly offense systems you can find in Northern California, and that should be a huge factor for a program breaking in a new quarterback.
Meanwhile, former San Jose Sabercats quarterback Mark Grieb is in charge at Sacred Heart Prep. While Grieb has been an assistant already for the Gators, and has stated there will not be wholesale changes, it remains to be seen whether his roots in more wide-open offenses starts to trickle into the on-field product.
Two programs hoping for big turnarounds with coaching changes are Riordan and Sacred Heart Cathedral. Two years ago, new coach Kevin Fordon led the Crusaders to a break-through season, but he is now gone, replaced by Jay’Sen Morris, who teaches on-campus and is graduate of the school.
Morris will look for a rebound year after Riordan went 2-8 last season, but the schedule is not a forgiving one, opening with Central Catholic-Modesto, and a week three visit from Napa before league play starts.
Sacred Heart Cathedral is now led by Barry McLaughlin, who has been on staff for the Fightin’ Irish since 2006. He will try to snap a string of five straight losing seasons for the Irish, who have won one league game in the last four years, after snapping a 23-game WCAL losing streak with a win over Riordan last season. SHC has not won more than two league games in a season since 2008, when they also won the CCS Small School section championship.
Capuchino also has a new coach in Miguel Nava, who will try to build on the foundation built by Ben White, who led the Mustangs to winning seasons in all three of his years at the helm.
Which teams need to be in ‘mid-season form’ for week one?
We already referenced Riordan’s brutal opener against Central Catholic, but plenty of other teams are also preparing for big challenges to open the season.
Valley Christian’s aforementioned defense will get an early challenge from Manteca and quarterback Gino Campiotti, while Serra once again opens with St. Mary’s-Stockton, who returns running back Dusty Frampton and dual-threat quarterback Marcus Aponte.
Menlo hits the road for a trip to the Northern Section, facing perennial power East Nicolaus, while Saint Francis’ opener at Oak Grove will no doubt get some extra hype due to the on-field return of Maurice Washington III, in his debut for the Eagles after sitting out last season.
There are also a lot of early playoff points at stake when Bellarmine and Menlo-Atherton clash again in the season opener, with the same holding true for San Benito and Sacred Heart Prep.
The early schedule does not get any easier for Menlo-Atherton, who faces Mitty after Bellarmine, while Serra faces Pittsburg after St. Mary’s, and Saint Francis has a real gauntlet ahead, hosting Palma after the Oak Grove game, and finishing non-league play against De La Salle.
