Full house for Modesto QB Club meeting

The excitement for the new high school football season was best told by the number of empty seats in the crowd at Coach’s Corner on Monday: None.

They came to this kickoff meeting of the Modesto QB Club to hear from the city’s football coaches: Grant Genasci of Johansen, Doug Severe of Beyer, Tim Garcia of Davis, Jeremy Plaa of Downey, James Stacy of Enochs, Jason McCoy of Gregori, Roger Canepa of Central Catholic, and the newest additions to the panel, Donnie Wallace at Modesto and Rusty Stivers at Modesto Junior College.

Stivers takes over for Sam Young, who found a new seat in the crowd.

Wallace will make his football coaching debut Friday night after stepping into the void left by Richie Alkire, who moved to Michigan in July to be close to his ailing mother. The revamped Panthers return only three starters and open the season with Ceres.

“My head’s still spinning,” Wallace said. “My first job was to order equipment. We didn’t have any footballs to start out.”

As is customary, the coaches took turns in the spotlight, sharing stories from the summer.

▪ Johansen: The Vikings will start the season with 33 varsity players, encouraging numbers for a program that hasn’t won a game in Genasci’s first two seasons. There’s just one problem: 10 of those kids have never played football, “and it showed in the scrimmage (with Waterford),” Genasci said.

▪ Beyer: Severe reports the Patriots have 85 kids in the program. Not a bad turnout, he adds, for a school with a shrinking enrollment. Beyer has a student population of about 1,600, third smallest in Modesto City Schools, according to Severe.

The Patriots go on the road to Sheldon of Sacramento “for the first of 10 road games,” Severe deadpanned.

▪ Davis: Saturday’s scrimmage with Manteca, Sonora and Ripon achieved its purpose.

“Our kids got baptized really fast about what tough football is all about,” Garcia said. “It was a great challenge for us.”

The Spartans will feature 42 players apiece at the varsity and freshman levels, a strong sign that culture is changing on campus. Garcia also thanked MJC and its new athletic director, Nick Stavrianoudakis, for hosting three Davis home games.

▪ Downey: Plaa has led the Knights to at least a share of three consecutive Modesto Metro Conference titles, but with that success have come concerns.

A junior class unaccustomed to losing was dealt a lesson in the varsity scrimmage Saturday at Monterey Trail, a Sac-Joaquin Section Division I semifinalist last fall.

“It was a blessing in disguise. We got our butts kicked; it was ugly,” Plaa said. “The JV team was real successful, and that’s a problem. They’re on the varsity now, and they thought it was going to be real easy.”

The Knights will start junior Brett Neves at quarterback. While Plaa is high on Neves’ ability to create with his arm and legs, “replacing (P.J. Wilson) isn’t going to be easy.”

▪ Enochs: Stacy has his biggest group of linemen in six years, and he’s excited to pit them against Turlock’s beefy front. The Eagles open the season Friday at Joe Debely Stadium in Turlock. The Bulldogs are a chic pick to win the Central California Conference.

“They’re a big, physical team, so we have our work cut out for us,” Stacy said. “We think we can match up with them on the line. I’m excited to see what we can do against a big team like that.”

▪ Gregori: McCoy has added Todd Sevick and Jimmy Oliver to his coaching staff, bolstering the newest program in the city.

Sevick helped build programs at Johansen and Enochs and later resurrected another at Waterford. Oliver was the head coach at Riverbank.

▪ Central Catholic: Canepa provided the comedic interlude. The Raiders’ leading man pumped his fist and predicted a victory Friday.

Central Catholic’s opponent: Boredom, maybe? The Raiders have a bye and will spend it on the road, scouting their first two opponents: Atwater (Sept. 4) and St. Mary’s (Sept. 11).

Canepa’s next victory will be significant. Entering his 22nd season as a high school coach, Canepa is sitting on 199 wins.

“When you get to that number of wins, that just means you’re dumb enough to coach that long,” he joked. “Really, all it means is that I’ve had great assistants. I just get to steer the ship.”

IN OUR THOUGHTS – Longtime QB Club member, Modesto Junior College Hall of Famer and former Modesto High coach Karl Finch was hospitalized after suffering a stroke Saturday night.

MJC DINNER – Stivers still has tickets available for the inaugural MJC Kickoff Dinner on Saturday in the Agriculture Pavilion on the West Campus. Tickets are $125 per couple and include two season passes. Payments can be made by visiting https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/mjcathletics.

The Pirates open the season Sept. 5 at home against American River College.

This story was originally published August 24, 2015 at 8:04 PM with the headline "Full house for Modesto QB Club meeting."