Reason to believe in BC, young Cougar and Turlock's line

With consecutive undefeated regular seasons, two straight Sac-Joaquin Section Division 2 semifinal appearances, 10 consecutive Central California Conference victories and a pair of league titles, the last two years can unquestionably be called The Days of Thunder. Still, four-star recruit Aaron Cochran believes there’s much left to prove. In skilled players, the Thunder have an embarrass- ment of riches with running backs Leon Miles (809 yards), Stefon Gold (931 yards, 16 TDs), Kevin Kellerher (474) and Shane Bel (218). Joe Marquez, the team’s top receiver from a year ago, will shift under center.

Cougar And His Cub

Golden Valley's Ridge Bertuccio unleashed an aerial assault on the school's record books last fall. Bertuccio attempted 40 passes per game and racked up 3,078 yards and 27 touchdowns. The senior will be the Cougars' top gun again this year, but he'll be in a new offensive system with the return of head coach Dennis Stubbs. Stubbs is GV's third coach in four years. For the fourth straight year, the Cougars will be changing offenses. Stubbs was 78-54-1 during his first 12-year stint at Golden Valley before resurrecting the program in Los Banos. In five years, Stubbs led the Tigers to four postseason appearances.

Turlock Puts it on Line

Coach James Peterson has brought the program back from the depths of despair (that first-ever 0-10 season in 2009) to back-to-back playoff berths. The Bulldogs will have to overachieve if they expect to extend their playoff success to three years in a row, as its offensive and defensive lines need to be rebuilt. It's a bad year to overhaul the lines because the CCC — top to bottom — is the best conference in the district when it comes to strength up front. QB Sean Downs might have to be nimble on his feet, at least until his line matures.