Denair High School’s football team kicked off the 2025 season with a convincing victory over Modesto Christian, scoring eight of its 10 touchdowns in the first half en route to a dominating 66-0 victory.
“Points have come at a premium the last few years,” said head coach Anthony Armas, who guided the Coyotes to the state’s Division 7-AA championship in 2018. “This year, we have kids who expect to score every time they touch the ball.” Friday night, they did precisely that.
Quarterback Derek Potter was 4-of-4 passing — with all four completions resulting in touchdowns — for 155 yards (38.8 yards per completion).
Running back Bryson Salazar had four carries for 143 yards (35.8 yards per attempt) and two touchdowns, while Degan Butler carried the ball five times for 73 yards (14.6 per attempt) and one TD. Connor Hart finished with six totes for 63 yards (10.5 per attempt) and a pair of scores.
Receiver Harlan Brown caught two passes for 126 yards and two first-quarter touchdowns — one a 69-yarder to open the scoring, and the other a 57-yarder to make it 26-0 heading into the second stanza.
“I was just excited by the way we executed and the way we got after it,” said Armas, whose team was 6-6 with a playoff victory over Delta (Clarksburg) in 2024. “The first game is always exciting. You wonder how the team will react and, leading up to the game, I couldn’t tell if they weren’t taking it seriously or if they were just loose. Turns out, they were just loose. They were ready, and it was nice to see.”
Things will get tougher this week as the Coyotes head to Tuolumne to take on Summerville, the defending state champion in Division 6-A.
“That’s why we put them on the schedule,” said Armas, now in his 11th season as head coach. “They’ve been a pretty successful program, winning section and state titles last year. We got roughed up by them pretty good last season, but our JV team nearly came back and won their game, so we’re excited to see where we stand this year.”
Summerville lost to Ripon Christian, 35-21, in its opener last week.
