Here are new faces who will be on Stanislaus District football sidelines in 2025

July 28 marked the official beginning of the new high school football season in the Sac-Joaquin Section. In the Stanislaus District, at least five head coaches led their first varsity practice, each tasked with his own challenges, either rebuilding a program or following in the footsteps of a coach who made school history.

Braden Plaa takes over at Pitman High, following in the footsteps or his father, Jeremy, as a high school head coach. Jeremy Plaa, the coach at Downey, and his son will face off for the first time on Oct. 10.

Also in the Central California Athletic League, Modesto High found longtime coach Dylan Miller’s replacement and Enochs called on its most recent junior varsity head coach to replace its leader for the past four seasons, Tracey Traub.

In the Trans-Valley League, a former interim coach fully takes the reins and a former Division I player from Orestimba returns to his alma mater to pass the knowledge he gained from the school’s winningest coach and his well-respected college coaches to kids who walk the same hallways he did.

Here is more information about some of the new local head football coaches.

ENOCHS

Former Head Coach: Tracey Traub

New Head Coach: Joshua Bradshaw

Bradshaw takes over the Enochs football program after Tracey Traub’s departure this offseason. Traub led the Eagles the past four seasons, leading them to the playoffs for the first time in 10 seasons. Bradshaw was the junior varsity head coach, leading the team to a shared CCAL title with Downey. They got out of their comfort zone this offseason. A change their first-year leader hopes will pay dividends.

“Our motto this year is ‘Why not us?’” Bradshaw said. “We’re just kind of changing things up.”

A lot of those JV players will be at the varsity level this year and coach and players will have to get used to jumping headfirst into new roles with the Eagles’ varsity squad. Bradshaw has some familiarity with Friday night lights, serving as the receivers coach on Traub’s staff before taking over as the junior varsity coach, a position he’s held for the past two seasons. Prior to coaching high school, he coached in the Modesto Rams youth football program.

Bradshaw says he plans to simplify things, removing a more structured scheme and letting players “fly around and play football.” He emphasized the weight room, having players lift four days a week. Extra attention in the weight room could be a much-needed addition after injury-riddled seasons the past two years.

“I think we’re just ahead of the curve from where we’ve been before,” he said.

MODESTO

Former Head Coach: Dylan Miller

New Head Coach: Moises Tabarez

“Surreal” is how Moises Tabarez described his new gig.

A 2015 Modesto High graduate and two-year varsity player, Tabarez’s first coaching job after graduating from Fresno State was as an assistant on the combined JV/Frosh team at Modesto High under Dylan Miller. After two years, he left for a PE teaching job at East Union, where he was the JV head coach. After a year, he returned to Modesto as an assistant with Miller.

Now, just over 10 years after graduating, he is the man in charge of the football program.

“It’s just a full-circle moment,” Tabarez explained, “and kind of a surreal feeling. I’m just happy to be back at Modesto, first as an assistant and now being the head coach. It’s just a surreal feeling and I’m just truly blessed to get the opportunity.”

The transition from Miller to Tabarez was smooth. It started with spring workouts and continued into the summer. Now, just under two weeks from opening night, he’s settled into the role. He kept nearly the entire staff from last season and teaches a lot of the same things Miller did. Last season, the Panthers had a near-record number of players on All-CCAL teams and Tabarez wants that trend to continue.

His voice isn’t foreign to this year’s senior class, a group he coached as the frosh/JV coach when they were freshmen.

“It’s pretty sweet to see them now,” he said. “They’re growing into young men. … It’s a beautiful moment. They started with me now I get to see them going into their senior year.

“The same expectation is there, whether it was with coach Miller or myself.”

ORESTIMBA

Former Head Coach: Aaron Souza

New Head Coach: Austin Martins

Martins’ main goal is to pass the knowledge he gained from the three levels of excellent coaching he received to the kids at his alma mater. Martins played for former coach Aaron Souza, went to a successful Division III program at Linfield University, transferred back home to play for Rusty Stivers at Modesto JC, then after one season, played three years at Division I Valparaiso University under Landon Fox.

Martins returned to Newman after his final season at Valparaiso because he knew he wanted to give back. He started teaching and joined Souza’s staff, coaching the defensive line, where he played in college, special teams and helping with strength and conditioning.

“My mission was always to come back to Orestimba to teach and coach and give the kids in our area, specifically at Oestimba, the knowledge and tools that I had and learned from these colleges that I went to,” he said. “I was blessed to have great coaches at the next level … so trying to bring that new type of football and how the small things are being done now.”

A lot of things will carry over from Souza’s time, but some things will change. While the defense will have some of the same principles, structure-wise, Martins says it will look different. A new offensive coordinator will also bring more change.

RIPON

Former Head Coach: Chris Musseman

New Head Coach: Cole Williams

Williams took over the Ripon High program last season in an interim head coach position just days before their rivalry game against Ripon Christian. He described it as a being thrown into the fire not only because their opponent was the school just one street over, but also because both teams were fighting for playoff positioning as members of the ultra-competitive Trans-Valley League.

Ripon lost the game, but quickly rebounded during TVL play, beating the league’s second place team and eventual Division VI section champion and Division 4-A state champion Sonora, claiming a one-point win over Hilmar and securing a spot in the Division VI playoffs.

Now, they’re looking to build on winning two of their final three regular season games.

“It ended up being good for us, all things considered,” Williams said. “We were able to find a couple wins we needed and use them as a springboard.”

Williams has been coaching at the school since 2008 and has seen it all, from tough seasons to a 2019 state title run. But now that the interim tag removed, it’s his show. The transition from assistant to interim head coach to full-time head coach has been one of reflection, he says. Wondering what he wants to keep from the previous regime, what he wants to change.

“It doesn’t matter what we know, it’s about what our kids know,” he said, “and how we get our kids to have that understanding of our goal and our design. How do we become better teachers and better coaches and better leaders?”

They took down Sonora and beat Hilmar for the first time in years. Now, it’s about how they build on that.

This story was originally published August 11, 2025 at 12:02 PM.