Central Catholic, Oakdale football overcome injuries

The Central Catholic secondary will get a boost Friday as it looks to slow down Oakdale’s high-scoring attack.

Senior safety Josh Frowein is set to play after missing two games with a knee injury. Frowein was injured in practice before the Raiders’ 28-6 victory at Manteca on Oct. 16.

Though he didn’t play, Frowein was awarded an honorary black practice jersey by defensive coordinator Billy Hylla after the game. The jerseys are awarded to players who best exemplify the principles of the unit: discipline, desire and dedication.

“He’s been like a coach on the sideline,” Hylla said that night.

Head coach Roger Canepa looks forward to Frowein’s return because it lightens the load on reigning Bee Player of the Year Justin Rice, the Raiders’ Fresno State-bound running back. Rice has been filling in for Frowein, who has 25 tackles, one sack and one interception in six games.

“He’s going to play,” Canepa said, “and he’ll give us a big boost.”

Even if Frowein weren’t ready, Canepa said he would be comfortable with whatever personnel grouping he and Hylla decide to play, even against a team as formidable as the Mustangs.

Oakdale (9-0, 6-0 Valley Oak League) is ranked No. 2 behind Central Catholic (9-0, 6-0) in The Bee’s large-school poll. The two are also expected to be Nos. 2 and 3 in Division III when Cal-Hi Sports’ new state rankings are released this week.

The programs arrive at this moment with a season’s worth of expectation hanging over them. Central Catholic-Oakdale is one of two games in the Stanislaus District featuring two 9-0 teams vying for a league championship. The other is Orestimba at rival Gustine in the Southern League.

“It should be a great football game. I tell people this should be one of the best games to watch,” Canepa said. “When you’re 9-0 and they’re 9-0, that doesn’t happen very often. It’s going to come down to who’s ready to play.

“Me, personally, I just deal with stuff. I don’t get caught up in who we play or who is injured. Instead of saying ‘Poor me’ or ‘The world is crashing down on us,’ I stick to the task at hand,” he added. “All of that is wasted energy.”

The Raiders program has taken on its coach’s next-man-up persona. Central Catholic has won back-to-back state championships without the full services of two 2,000-yard running backs.

In 2013, Central Catholic defeated Bakersfield Christian 36-23 in the CIF Division IV State Bowl without Matt Ringer, who rushed for a school season-record 2,348 yards on 323 carries. Ringer sat out with a deep thigh bruise. Junior Montell Bland, then a freshman, stepped in and rushed for 103 yards.

Last season, Rice was pulled at halftime of Central Catholic’s 31-9 win over St. Margaret’s-San Juan Capistrano with a knee injury, snapping a streak of 10 100-yard games. His older brother, Jared Rice, picked up the slack with one sack, two interceptions and six receptions for 73 yards and two touchdowns.

When one falls, another steps up in his place.

“We’ve taken tough injuries over the years. We lost Ringer and Justin for the state games,” Canepa said. “When we’ve got an injury, someone has to step in and play.”

He believes mentality is what separates programs like Central Catholic and Oakdale from the rest. The teams are built to weather even major injury.

For instance, Oakdale has overcome the loss of star running back Darus Nelson, who suffered a torn left ACL in a 54-14 victory over Sierra at the start of league play.

Oakdale coach Trent Merzon said Nelson is one of the best instinctual football players he’s coached in 15-plus years. Nelson rushed for 1,500 yards last season and ignited the Mustangs’ comeback in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III championship game against Inderkum. He is scheduled to have surgery this month.

While the news of Nelson’s knee injury was devastating, the Mustangs haven’t skipped a beat. Austin Burke and Bobby DePuy join fullback Brad Aquino to fill out the wing-T. Burke and Aquino scored three touchdowns apiece in last week’s 45-14 victory over Manteca, Oakdale’s seventh consecutive victory by 24 or more points.

“We can win without any player. Do we want to? No, but it’s a mindset,” Canepa said. “Oakdale did the same thing with their running back. It’s a program thing. That’s probably what we do best. It’s not about the individual; it’s about the program. When it is, you win more games.

“That’s what Oakdale and Central do so well, in my opinion. We have built programs where it’s not so-and-so running the ball 50 times or throwing the ball 50 times. It’s whoever’s turn it is – you take the ball and just win. You don’t win this many games if you’re worried about stats. You do what it takes to win.”

This story was originally published November 3, 2015 at 3:59 PM with the headline "Central Catholic, Oakdale football overcome injuries."