Making the 90-minute trip to Mariposa for the second time in five weeks, No. 5 Denair High avenged a regular-season loss to the fourth-seeded Grizzlies with a 33-28 triumph in the opening round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 7 playoffs.
The Coyotes will have to be road warriors once again this week when they make a similar trip to San Andreas, where they’ll take on top-seeded Calaveras at Frank Meyer Field. The Red Hawks advanced by topping No. 8 Le Grand, 33-6.
“It’s going to be a tough one,” said head coach Anthony Armas, who guided Denair to a state championship in 2019. “Watching them on film, they seem well-coached, physical, with a lot of size. They’re the one seed for a reason.”
On the other side of the bracket, No. 7 Linden, a 21-13 upset winner over second-seeded Stone Ridge Christian, will take on No. 3 seed and defending state champ Summerville, which cruised past No. 6 Rio Vista, 41-6.
Kickoff for each semifinal matchup is slated for 7 p.m.
Mariposa and Stone Ridge Christian each shared a piece of the Southern League title with Denair this season. The Coyotes defeated SRC 36-21 on Sept. 19 but fell 24-23 to Mariposa in overtime on Oct. 10.
Now, however, Denair is the sole Southern League team still competing for a championship.
“We talked a lot about second chances this week,” said Armas. “We wanted to make sure we capitalized on the opportunity. We didn’t think we played our best the first time around, and we were really looking forward to that second chance.”
The Coyotes’ three-pronged rushing attack was the key, with Bryson Salazar (134 yards), Degan Butler (117) and Connor Hart (95) combining for 346 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. Hart also had a TD reception in the contest.
In the teams’ October matchup, Hart was injured in the first quarter and missed the remainder of that game. He was healthy for four quarters Friday night.
The Coyotes also limited the miscues this time around. After turning the ball over four times in October, they committed just one turnover in the rematch.
Armas doesn’t think another lengthy road trip will be a detriment for his squad.
“We’ve made trips this season to Summerville (Tuolumne), Pajaro Valley (Watsonville) and Mariposa twice,” Armas pointed out. “If we don’t know how to handle the travel by now, we never will.”
A DHS rooters’ bus will be making the trip to San Andreas, with only 15 more seats available. Interested students should pick up a permission slip in Mrs. Hilton’s classroom – Room 405 – during lunch. Once the permission slip is returned, a seat will be reserved, free of charge, though students eventually will have to verify their ticket purchase. Tickets are $13.60 for adults, $11.50 for seniors and members of the military, and $8.35 for students (prices include processing fees). Tickets must be purchased via the GoFan app.
