Prep football notebook: Modesto coaches weigh in on 5-game CCAL schedule

Modesto High football coach Brett Wagner recalls the days of playing in a 10-team league, and the importance that one non-conference game would play.

Now, with his team in the newly created six-team Central California Athletic League, there’s plenty of time — five non-league games — for his team to find itself before the rigors of playoff-deciding conference play.

“I think it’s good,” said Wagner, at the weekly Modesto Quarterback Club luncheon on Monday. “It’ll get us better prepared for the (league) season, which is what matters. It gives us a better opportunity for us to see the competition around the area. It’ll help us get ready for playoffs, which is the ultimate goal.”

The other positive about five preseason games — the CCAL opens league play Sept. 28 — is an early-season injury might not be so damaging to playoff hopes.

Only the conference champion in each league is guaranteed a Sac-Joaquin Section playoff spot, Assistant Commissioner Will DeBoard said. The remaining spots will be decided by computer rankings.

“Our competition should be good enough that we’ll get a few more bids,” Wagner predicted.

Gregori coach Jason McCoy said the shorter conference schedule leaves his team little room for any “slip-ups.”

“Typically last year, we had some lower-tier opponents that would allow us to get healed up,” he said.

He said those teams struggled with lack of players. Both Turlock and Pitman — who are part of the CCAL that also includes Enochs and Downey — have bigger rosters.

“Depth is going to play a big factor in this league.”

Both Wagner and McCoy said scheduling was a little dicey. Teams in larger conferences start their league season earlier. So, trying to find a team to play in the middle of September was tricky.

“Scheduling Week 4 wasn’t an easy thing,” said McCoy, whose team faces McNair of Stockton.

Wagner said he was informed late that one of his opponents accidentally overbooked, and opted out of its game with Modesto.

NEWS AND NOTES — Central Catholic and Downey coaches declined to name their starting quarterbacks for Friday. Both teams have tightly-contested races for No. 1. ... McCoy, the Bee’s Coach of the Year last year whose team won the former Modesto Metro Conference title and won a section playoff game, said he got to watch his Friday opponent — Buhach Colony — at a scrimmage last week. He came away extremely impressed. ... Johansen coach Scott Sacuskie said he was optimistic heading into the summer about his Vikings, which move to the Western Athletic Conference this year. But he said he had some student-athletes transfer to other schools or quit. Things changed, however, and his starting quarterback, who transferred out, returned. He’s got 37 players on his varsity roster, but only two four-year seniors. But, in a sign of the stability he’s brought to the program, next year, he’s expecting to have 25 four-year seniors. ... One coach referred to the newly realigned WAC with schools to the east (Ceres, Johansen, Davis, Beyer), the west (Pacheco and Los Banos) and north (Lathrop and Mountain House) as “the Bermuda Triangle.” ... MJC coach Rusty Stivers lauded his athletic department for securing state of the art helmets (about $450 a pop) and 50 sets of new shoulder pads, replacing some that were up to a decade old ... Big Valley has reason to be optimistic. They return 1,600-yard running back Javyn Drobnick and quarterback 900-yard passer Gunnar Selover.

QUARTERBACK CLUB — The popular Modesto Quarterback Club luncheon occurs every Monday during the football season at The Coaches Corner restaurant at 960 Oakdale Road just north of Scenic Drive. The public is invited. One coach from every Modesto public and private school attends, along with Modesto Junior College coach Rusty Stivers, to discuss their team’s previous games and talk about their upcoming opponent. Cost for lunch is $11.

MJC KICKOFF DINNER — The annual Modesto Junior College Kickoff Dinner is Saturday, Aug. 18 in the Agriculture Center on the west campus. Coach Rusty Stivers and his assistant coaches will be there to answer questions. The dinner starts with a social at 6 p.m. followed by dinner, an auction and opportunity drawing at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $50 and include a 2018 season pass to MJC home games. The Pirates open the season at home against Laney College. Tickets can be purchased by going to mjc.edu/athletics and follow the links.

Thanks for your strong interest in local journalism. We rely on readers like you more than ever before, and we currently offer free access to five stories a month. We hope you see value in supporting us further with a digital subscription to help ensure we can provide strong local journalism for many years to come.

This story was originally published August 13, 2018 at 3:36 PM.