Sept. 16, 2024
Contact: Breanne Aguiar, Denair High School principal
(209) 632-9911 or baguiar@dusd.k12.ca.us
After rough start, Denair rallies for 44-23 victory
It wasn’t the beginning Anthony Armas or any Denair High football fan envisioned Friday night. The Coyotes were down 20-0 at home to Pajaro Valley of Watsonville before some people were even settled in their seats.
The visitors from Watsonville took the opening kickoff and drove for a touchdown, then capitalized on a Denair fumble to score another. The Grizzlies then recovered an onside kick to set up their third TD.
“They were up three touchdowns before we did anything. We had a really rough start,” summarized Armas.
Fortunately, for the Coyotes and their fans, plenty of time remained in the game. Spurred on by running back Alex Vargas, Denair cut Pajaro Valley’s lead to 23-14 by halftime. Then, with a resilient defense holding the Grizzlies scoreless in the second half, Denair scored 30 unanswered points to win going away 44-23.
“It was exciting. The kids had a great time. I was almost speechless after the game,” Armas admitted. “We were on one end of the emotional spectrum in the first quarter and then we were on the other end after the game.”
The victory gave the Coyotes to a 2-2 preseason record and a two-game winning streak heading into this week’s Southern League opener in Merced against Stone Valley Christian (2-1).
At halftime Friday, Armas reminded his team that they had plenty of time left and the ability to come from behind.
“As bad as we played, we were only down nine,” he said. “We talked on defense about doing our assignments, playing as a team and trusting the guys around you. On offense, we thought what we were doing was fine; we just can’t put the ball on the ground.”
Those sage bits of coaching wisdom proved prophetic in the final two quarters, when Denair’s defense rose to the occasion and Armas used some trickery of his own.
After the Coyotes had closed the gap to 23-21, he directed his kicker to “pooch” the ball on the kickoff into no man’s land — behind Pajaro Valley’s blockers and in front of its return man. Denair recovered and, with all the momentum now on the home sideline, scored another TD to take the lead for good. Later, the defense came through with a fumble recovery to set the Coyotes up for another score.
“We beat them up pretty good in the second half,” Armas said.
As good as Denair’s defense in the third and fourth quarters, it was the offense that really helped the Coyotes dig out of their early hole. And just like the previous game, it was Vargas who was the main man.
A week after scoring five TDs in a 54-35 victory over Bret Harte, he found the end zone four more times against Pajaro Valley. He finished the game with 20 carries for 103 yds and three scores on the ground and added another TD on a 5-yard pass from Derek Potter.
Vargas wasn’t alone, however. Jess Ruelas ran hard for 83 yards and a touchdown, Jayden Hensley added 72 yards on the ground, and Potter completed three of his six passes, including the TD to Vargas and a 37-yard strike to Austin Silva (which came after Denair had been flagged for three false start penalties in the previous four plays).
All in all, it was a satisfactory non-league schedule for Denair in Armas’ mind.
“I feel good about where we’re at, but we still have a lot of work to do,” he said.
Stone Ridge Christian – new to the Southern League this year – is a familiar opponent, nonetheless. The teams matched up in a scrimmage in August.
“They’re good,” Armas said. “They’ve got some athletes on both sides of the ball.”
