VOL Football Preview: Central Catholic to incorporate passing game into offense
Stanislaus District football teams went all out last season. There were seven league champions, 16 teams earning playoff spots, three section champions, two runners up and one Northern California Champion from this area. It might be hard to top the success we saw last year, but the beauty of sports is every team is going to try.
The Bee will preview each league highlighting last season’s league winner along with notes on what to expect from teams this season.
Last season, the Valley Oak League produced three teams that appeared in section championships and one in the state finals. Oakdale and Manteca battled for the Division III title, which Manteca won on a last-second defensive stand, and Central Catholic bullied its way to the top of Division II.
2021 VOL Standings
Team (Overall record, League record)
Central Catholic (13-2,6-0)
Kimball (10-2, 5-1)
Oakdale (9-3, 4-2)
Manteca (10-4, 3-3)
East Union (6-6, 2-4)
Sierra (1-9, 1-5)
Weston Ranch (1-9, 0-6)
The Raiders took the VOL title last season, but a great competitor is always looking for ways to improve. For coach Roger Canepa, the improvement came on offense. Over the summer, Canepa met with Modesto Junior College coach Rusty Stivers to incorporate more passing. Last season, running backs Julian Lopez and Aiden Taylor led the offense with 3,515 combined rushing yards, but junior quarterback Tyler Wentworth has continued to improve and talented two-way players Brooklyn Cheek and Jaelen Nichols will likely benefit from the evolution of the offense.
“We’re playing a lot of good football teams so we got to be well-rounded on offense,” Canepa said. “We want to use our talent. We want to be good at multiple formations.”
They won’t get too far from the run, however. That’s where the Raiders have thrived for years.
“We’re not gonna reinvent the wheel,” Canepa said. “We’re just gonna shine it a little bit.”
After holding opponents to an average of 21 points last season, Canepa wanted to make sure they would be harder to defend. Central Catholic returns players at all three levels of its defense. Linebacker and defensive lineman Mario Savala III, Nichols and Roland Brown, who both played in the secondary, are all returners who finished with more than 40 total tackles last season. Cheek, who recently got an offer from Cal Berkeley, finished with 38 total tackles and a team-high five interceptions. Nichols finished second with four.
“We expect to always play good defense,” Canepa said. “We return a lot of secondary guys, some d-linemen and good young people. We emphasize that (defense) a lot.”
The Raiders will play one of the toughest schedules in Northern California, with road games against Merced and Saint Francis (Mountain View). They end the preseason against national No. 1 ranked St. John Bosco in Bellflower before facing the Oakdales, Mantecas and Kimballs of the VOL.
VOL Notes
Business as usual for Oakdale
Every year, coach Trent Merzon has to replace players. It comes with the job. What Merzon takes pride in is his team’s ability to bounce back year after year. He doesn’t believe in “down years.”
“Every year, everybody wants to talk about what we’ve lost, but you know, it’s part of the gig, this is high school football,” Merzon said. “You get your dudes for a very small window. When you lose dudes, somebody steps up.”
The retooled offense that replaced last year’s quarterback and cast of running backs and returns its best defender, Brock Osmundson, will look to extend its streak of nine or more wins that dates back to 2014.
The Mustangs lost to Manteca in the Division III section championship but they’ve put the loss behind them to focus on the tough schedule ahead.
“Last year’s season ending was tough, but it wasn’t like we lost to a bad team,” Merzon said. “They got us late. I thought our kids played well. One game doesn’t define who we are and one season doesn’t define this program. As far as our kids putting last year behind them, that’s part of the gig. At this time of year, everybody’s undefeated. Everybody’s a league champion right now.”
Manteca defending its title
All four VOL teams that made the playoffs earned top three seeds and advanced to at least the semifinals in their respective divisions. The Division III bracket featured an all-VOL final when the Buffaloes played Oakdale. Three catches, two touchdowns and 116 yards from Zion Allen, who is entering his freshman season as defensive back at BYU, led Manteca to a 35-28 win.
Returning to defend their title are quarterback Hudson Wyatt and running back/four-star linebacker Blake Nichelson. Nichelson rushed for 210 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries in the section title game. They say the only thing harder than winning a title is defending it the next season, but Manteca has the firepower to improve on its 3-3 league record and advance far in the playoffs again.
Will Kimball be the same?
Kimball had what was probably the best season in school history last year. The Jaguars shocked everyone in the VOL, going 5-1 and beating Oakdale and Manteca to finish second in the league. Latef Grim completely turned the program around in his one season as head coach. Kimball ran a spread offense that featured California’s leading passer, Nicholas Coronado, who threw for 4,315 yards and 56 touchdowns. Receivers Willie Clifton and Mason Rivera each had more than 1,200 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Coming into the year, Kimball is without all four catalysts from last year’s 10-win team. Grim took a coaching position at Cal Poly, Rivera will play defensive back for the Mustangs and Coronado signed to play at Adams State.
The new regime brings questions about if the Jaguars will continue to be the same team that averaged 50 points a game. There’s no element of surprise to them this year as they’ll get everyone’s best shot.
