Following a 36-21 victory over Stone Ridge Christian (Merced) on Friday night at Jack Lytton Stadium, Denair High School’s football team is off to a 4-1 start for just the second time in the past two decades.

The last time the Coyotes won four of their first five came seven years ago when they captured the CIF Division 7-AA state championship. And while it’s too early to compare this year’s squad to its 2018 counterpart, it’s clear that the 2025 campaign is shaping up to be something special for the Purple and White.

“We definitely think this can be a special team,” said Anthony Armas, now in his 11th season as Denair’s head coach. “We’re just not sure yet how special we can be.”

Once again, the Coyotes’ running attack led the way, picking up 8.4 yards per carry.

Junior running back Connor Hart produced 164 yards on eight carries (20.5 per attempt) — with nearly half of that coming on a 73-yard scamper that gave Denair a 15-7 first-quarter lead — and Degan Butler amassed 117 yards and three touchdowns on 20 totes (5.9 per attempt). Bryson Salazar, meanwhile, chipped in with 63 yards on 13 tries (4.9). For the season, the Coyotes are averaging 9 yards every time they rush the football.

“Having options as to what we can do and who we can give the ball to, not to mention the confidence that the play will be successful, makes play-calling so much easier,” said Armas.

Through the air, Derek Potter connected on three of six attempts for 41 yards and a 24-yard scoring strike to Harlan Brown, who was good on all four of his PAT attempts and had an interception on defense.

Up next for the Coyotes is a Southern League matchup at Gustine (2-3), which is coming off a 22-16 loss to Mariposa.

Denair High School’s football team concluded the non-league portion of its schedule with a 3-1 record following Friday night’s 41-0 victory over Pajaro Valley of Watsonville.

The Coyotes will open Southern League play this coming Friday when they host undefeated Stone Ridge Christian (Merced), the reigning Southern League champion.

Head coach Anthony Armas likes the way his team is playing heading into the games that matter most.

“There are always things that you can clean up, but I think we’re in a good place,” he said.

Denair will need to be at its best against the Knights, who defeated the Coyotes 28-6 in the 2024 regular season matchup and 35-15 eight weeks later in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 7 playoffs.

“They’ve got some really good athletes and they’re well coached,” Armas said of the Knights, who fell to eventual state champ Summerville in the D-7 playoffs. “They’re an aggressive, physical football team. They’re the defending league champs, it’s the first league game, and we’re at home. We’re up to the challenge.”

Against Pajaro Valley, the Coyotes held a comfortable 13-0 lead at the intermission — thanks to a Degan Butler 6-yard touchdown run and a 49-yard scoring strike from Derek Potter to Harlan Brown — then put the game out of reach when they outscored the Grizzlies 21-0 in the third quarter on a Potter-to-Butler 10-yard score, a 17-yard TD run by Connor Hart, and a 9-yard TD run from Potter.

DHS added one more touchdown in the fourth quarter — a 75-yard TD run on John Wilmoth’s lone carry of the contest — to produce the final margin.

Potter finished by completing five of seven attempts for 143 yards, while Bryson Salazar led the way on the ground with 96 yards on seven carries. Butler totaled 75 yards on 14 attempts, and Hart contributed 72 yards on seven tries.

Harlan Brown caught three passes for 100 yards.

Barring potential injuries in the lead-up to Friday’s league opener, Armas said the Coyotes are in good health.

“Right now, we’re good,” he said. “There’s always one or two guys who are under the weather, but there no injuries to speak of.”

Kickoff for Friday’s game is 7:15 p.m.

Southern League volleyball — The Coyotes saw their six-match winning streak come to an end last week with a 3-0 loss to Stone Ridge Christian. Denair also dropped its first set since Aug. 28 in the loss to the Knights.

The Coyotes will look to get back on track with a pair of Southern League home matches this week: Monday, Sept. 15, against Le Grand and Wednesday, Sept. 17, against Gustine. Both varsity contests are set to begin at 6 p.m.

Denair High School’s multipurpose building will get a much-needed needed new roof.

The Denair Unified School District board of trustees Thursday night approved a $1.5 million contract with Omnia Partners and Garland/DBS.

Initially, the plan was to replace the roof over the gymnasium portion of the building, according to Daisy Swearingen, chief business official.

“But it’s actually the entire multipurpose building,” she said. A storm two winters ago caused significant water damage, and though the district made short-term repairs, a longer-term fix is needed.

Board members unanimously approved the project.

Work is expected to start in the next few weeks and wrap up in the spring, Swearingen said. Board members asked if it was important to complete the work ahead of this year’s rainy season, but Swearingen said while rain might cause a brief work stoppage the project overall would not be impacted.

Expenditures will be tracked in accordance with bond program requirements, reported through the district’s annual independent audit and review by the Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee, according to a staff report on the contract.

In other business, the board:

Welcomed student board member Dakota Shaw and alternate Cloey Ellard. Both were sworn in and Shaw took her seat with the rest of the board. 

“I took this role because I wanted to make my voice heard,” said Shaw, who also is involved in yearbook and leadership. “I thought it was a good opportunity to get out there.”

Recognized two employees of the month in a new district initiative.

“At our end of year retreat in May, we were talking about ways we could recognize our employees,” said Superintendent Terry Metzger. Administrators came up with the idea of celebrating two employees of the month, one classified and one certificated. The first two to be recognized were Jenna Nascimento, a TK paraeducator at Denair Elementary Charter Academy and Brittany Heinsaar, a counselor at Denair High School. 

Reviewed state testing results. While some of the results still showed a lag in learning due to the COVID-19 shutdown, Metzger said students have been showing improvement in the ensuing years.

“We have seen growth,” she said. “We are not happy with these numbers, but we have been working toward that.” Teachers have taken several professional development courses aimed at improving performance, and a new math curriculum the district has adopted is aimed more directly at achieving state standards, Metzger said.

Running backs Bryson Salazar and Degan Butler each rushed for more than 100 yards, leading Denair High School to a 42-21 non-conference victory over McClatchy (Sacramento) on Friday night at Jack Lytton Stadium.

Overall, Salazar carried the ball eight times for 113 yards and four touchdowns, while Butler finished with 106 yards on 10 attempts.

Quarterback Derek Potter attempted only four passes in the contest but completed three of them for 71 yards. Running back Connor Hart, who wasn’t that far from topping the 100-yard plateau himself, carried the ball eight times for 77 yards.

All told, the trio of Salazar, Butler, and Hart amassed 296 yards on 26 carries — good for 11.4 yards per attempt.

At 5-10 and 155 pounds, Salazar is the speedster of the trio, while the 5-11, 195-pound Butler is the bruiser. Hart, at 5-9 and 175 pounds, is a combination of speedster and bruiser.

“I think all three are capable of being ‘the guy,’” said Denair head coach Anthony Armas. “It depends a lot on what the defense decides to focus on.”

Salazar gave the Coyotes (2-1) a 6-0 lead with his 4-yard run in the first quarter.

After McClatchy (2-1) grabbed a 7-6 advantage, Potter hooked up with Butler on a 13-yard scoring strike to give the Coyotes a 14-7 lead — one they wouldn’t relinquish.

Salazar scored on a 1-yard plunge in the second quarter to make it 21-7, and Potter cashed in on an 8-yard scramble to make it 29-7 at the break.

Salazar opened the second-half scoring with an 18-yard run that made it 35-7. Following a TD by the Lions that trimmed the deficit to 22 points, Salazar struck again, this time from 12 yards out, to make it 42-13.

“Our execution is getting better, and we limited the mistakes this week,” said Armas. “The offense had zero turnovers, and our defense did a good job of corralling their quarterback and skill players.”

The Coyotes will see action again on Saturday at 2 p.m. when they make their longest road trip of the season — a 100-mile trek to Watsonville — to face Pajaro Valley (1-1).

Denair will open Southern League action the following week when it entertains undefeated Stone Ridge Christian (Merced), which has a bye this Friday night.

TUOLUMNE — It was a tale of two halves for the Denair Coyotes.

Trailing by just four points at halftime, DHS was shut out in the third and fourth quarters as defending state champion Summerville (Division 6-A) raced to a 47-17 non-conference victory Friday night at Thorsted Field.

“I think the first half showed the potential of where we can be,” said Coyotes head coach Anthony Armas. “We were down 21-17 at halftime and were getting the ball to start the second half, but they recovered an onside kick and things kind of got away from us from there.”

Armas believes the 30-point final margin is not indicative of how his team played.

“It was a running clock in the fourth quarter, so it looks like a blowout, but we made a bunch of little mistakes in the second half,” said Armas. “I think they’re all things that can easily be cleaned up.”

Denair jumped out to a 7-0 lead when junior quarterback Derek Potter connected with junior running back Connor Hart for a 24-yard completion.

After the Bears tied the score, the Coyotes regained the advantage when Potter found junior wide receiver Harlan Brown for a 33-yard strike to make it 14-7.

Summerville tied the contest again and then took a 21-14 lead before Brown connected on a 35-yard field goal to make 21-17 at the break.

“We’ve played Summerville before and we had problems with their physicality,” said Armas. “But physically, we were right there with them on Friday. We saw this game as a measuring stick; we can play with these guys.”

Potter finished the contest with five completions on 13 attempts, for 84 yards. Bryson Salazar had 10 carries for 93 yards, while Hart totaled 52 yards on 11 totes. Degan Butler finished with 12 carries for 53 yards, and Brown totaled three receptions for 63 yards.

The Coyotes (1-1) will see action again Friday night when they take on McClatchy (2-0), a 35-28 winner over Davis-Yolo last week.

Kickoff is slated for 7:15 p.m. at Jack Lytton Stadium.