Central Catholic football coach Roger Canepa seeks win No. 200

Roger Canepa’s next victory will put him in elite company. Not that a fistful of rings hasn’t already accomplished that.

The fiery leader of the Central Catholic High School football team is sitting on 199 career wins. The Raiders’ next triumph will vault Canepa into a class occupied by three others in the rich history of the Stanislaus District.

Not that he’s keeping score or anything.

“I’ll be honest – I didn’t even know when I had 100 wins,” said Canepa, whose 22-year career began with stops at Sonora and Calaveras. “I didn’t get into coaching for a certain number of wins. I like winning, but when I first started, I didn’t say I want to win 100 games or 200 games. I’ve never been one to say I want this many wins or that many championships.

“You just try to be the best you can be.”

Few have been better.

Escalon coach Mark Loureiro is the winningest coach in Sac-Joaquin Section history and the last to cross the 200-win threshold. Loureiro notched that milestone in 2008 and passed Max Miller on the section’s career wins list last fall with a 35-20 victory over Hughson.

Loureiro has 265 wins – and counting.

The others on the district’s Mount Rushmore of coaching are familiar names to high school football fans: Wayne Schneider of Tracy (224) and Mike Glines (207), Canepa’s predecessor at Central Catholic.

“I joke with coach Lou all the time. I tell him the only reason why he has more wins is because he’s coached longer,” Canepa said. “To get to 200 wins, it puts you into a good group with guys like Wayne and coach Glines. You’re getting into an area where there’s not a lot of guys, so I guess that makes it something.”

Canepa squirms in the spotlight. He doesn’t like the distraction this milestone has created ... not when the Raiders are preparing for their toughest title defense yet.

The three-time reigning CIF state Division IV champion begins the season Friday at home against Atwater, a Division I team the Raiders pulverized last fall, 62-13.

Then, it’s onto the Holy Bowl against St. Mary’s, ranked 23rd in Northern California by MaxPreps, followed by the wars of the Valley Oak League.

If Central Catholic can clinch a postseason berth, the reigning Division IV champion will be elevated into the D-III playoffs because of the section’s “Continued Success” rule. Those three state titles were preempted by D-IV section titles.

“Our kids have worked hard and our coaches have worked hard to get this program to where it’s one of the most elite small-school football programs in the state,” Canepa said, “and it’s right here in Modesto. That’s impressive.”

Canepa had eyes in the stands when Atwater scrimmaged Livingston and again Friday when the Falcons pulled away from Central Valley 34-20. He was impressed by their athleticism, and he’s cautioned his team to not look past Atwater.

“We beat them by 40-something, but they have good athletes,” Canepa added. “I’m hoping it’s a good game, and then after that we’ll (take the season) one game at a time. Teams that look down the road get upset. We’re going in there with a task.

“We know we’ll get a good game. When you’re the three-time defending state champion, you get everyone’s best game. We can’t afford to have a bad week.”

Capital Christian at Modesto Christian: Capital Christian (1-0) dashed the Crusaders’ dream season last fall, dealing Modesto Christian bookend losses. The Cougars eked out a victory in their season opener, 23-22, then eliminated the Crusaders from state consideration with a 35-28 win in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI final. Junior running back Chris Brown says he trained all offseason with this game in mind.

Calaveras at Escalon: Loureiro served as the guest director at the Mountain Misery football camp and got a close look at the Redskins’ Dylan Byrd, a junior quarterback who impressed with his decision-making and touch. With abundant talent, including tall pass catchers Shane Torre and Trevor Ramirez, the Redskins (0-1) believe they are a playoff-caliber team. Matchups like this are the true barometer.

Turlock at Oakdale: The last two meetings have been decided by one point, with the home team holding serve each time. That should bode well for the host Mustangs (1-0), who own a slim advantage in the all-time series. Oakdale is 38-34-6 against Turlock (1-0) since 1956, including a 30-29 victory last fall.

Ripon at Patterson: Tigers running back Michael Lawson likes this matchup. A lot. The slippery senior torched the Indians (1-0) for 104 yards and a touchdown on just 10 carries last season. Do the math: Lawson averaged a first down on every touch as Patterson (1-0) rolled Ripon 38-14.

Beyer at Golden Valley: The Patriots’ nonconference schedule is front-loaded with heavyweights, including Tracy and Central Catholic. This would appear to be one game that would offer Beyer (0-1) a reprieve, but this isn’t the same winless Golden Valley (0-1) bunch from a year ago. The Cougars feature a potent 1-2 punch in quarterback Armando Muzquiz and tailback Isaiah Montanez.

This story was originally published August 29, 2015 at 10:33 PM with the headline "Central Catholic football coach Roger Canepa seeks win No. 200."