Prep notebook: Bye week coming at an ideal time for Davis

The final score may have been 60-36, but it wasn’t indicative of how close Friday’s game was between Atwater and Davis.

“We went for two-point conversions after every touchdown (0-6 on attempts),” Davis coach Tim Garcia said at the Modesto Quarterback Club luncheon on Tuesday. “We had kicking issues throughout the week.”

Davis, which fell to 1-2 after the defeat, trailed by 17 early in the fourth quarter and had the ball in Falcons territory but couldn’t come away with points.

Davis needs to work on is its run defense, which allowed 489 rushing yards, including two touchdown over 75 yards.

“We need to get back to the drawing board on fundamentals.” Garcia said.

Davis is off this week and it couldn’t come at a better time.

“There were 194 plays on Friday and much of my team played offense, defense, and special teams,” he said.

Modesto brings kids who shine on and off the field to QB Club

Gregori was the first team to bring athletes to the meeting last week. On Tuesday, it was Modesto’s turn.

Of the six athletes in the attendance:

• Senior wide receiver and captain Grant Sutter has a 4.68 grade-point average and is in the International Baccalaureate Program.
  
  
• Senior offensive and defensive lineman and captain Chanveer Hothi has been class president for the last two years and has a 4.5 GPA.
• Senior running back Zaire Eugene has plans to play football or to be a police officer.
• Senior lineman Jacob Angle wants to join the military.
  
  

“We have a diverse group of individuals,” Modesto coach Brett Wagner said.

Downey will be bringing kids next week.

Central Catholic defense struggles in first half against St. Mary’s

Despite a 33-20 win in the Holy Bowl, Central Catholic has a lot to work on, most notably defense.

“In the first half, our defense was as bad as it has been in a couple of years,” Raiders assistant coach Myron Larson said. “We have to give credit to St. Mary’s and their offense and their playmakers.”

Indeed, a couple of players said after the game, the team received a talking-to at halftime.

The Rams had a four-play, 67-yard drive right before halftime to take a 20-13 lead but didn’t score in the second half. Part of the reason why they didn’t score in the second half was because Central Catholic controlled the ball.

“We didn’t throw a pass in the second half,” Larson said. “We played Roger Canepa football.”

News and Notes

• After a hard-fought loss to Merced on Friday, Downey coach Jeremy Plaa said he “would be very surprised if Merced doesn’t go 10-0.”
  
  

Plaa also spoke highly of Bears senior quarterback Dhameer Warren, who had 11 carries for 154 yards and two touchdowns along with a 65-yard passing touchdown and an interception on defense.

“He is a special athlete,” Plaa said. “He is one of those guys who is fast and is smooth with his game.” ...

• Davis senior quarterback Xavier Rodriguez threw for over 300 yards on Friday and leads the Sac-Joaquin Section with 1,071 passing yards. ...
  
  
• Central Catholic senior running back Dawaiian McNeely is still recovering from a shoulder separation he suffered in the Raiders loss to De La Salle and is “day-to-day.” ....
  
  
• Enochs athletic director Randy Rubio spoke for head coach James Stacy, who was unavailable due to a teaching conflict.
  
  

The Eagles had five turnovers and two touchdowns called back due to penalties in their 36-22 loss to McNair and Stacy said “it was something that they need to keep working on.”

One touchdown called back was because of a penalty that occurred 20 yards away from the play....

• The Modesto Quarterback Club, which meets every Monday at noon at the Coaches Corner on Oakdale Road, gathers local high school football coaches together to talk about their games. ...
  
  
• For the third straight year, Central Valley Automotive is sponsoring a $10,000 worth of scholarships (Gold, $5,000; Silver, $3,000 and Bronze ($2,000) for area football players based on performance, academics and community service. Go to www.modbee.com/playerwithdrive to enter.
  
  

This story was originally published September 4, 2018 at 4:29 PM with the headline "Prep notebook: Bye week coming at an ideal time for Davis."