Author Archives: DenairPulse Editor

No. 1 Denair Will Host Southern League Rival Gustine in First Home Football Playoff Game Since 2007

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Submitted by Denair High School

It will be a Southern League rematch in the second round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VII football playoffs.

Top-seeded Denair (9-1) vs. No. 4 Gustine (6-5), with a spot in the championship game at stake. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. Friday at Jack Lytton Stadium.

The teams know each other well and played Sept. 28 in Gustine. Denair, trailing 14-7 at halftime, ambushed the Reds with six touchdowns in the second half to win 49-14 and ruin Gustine’s homecoming.

That victory launched the Coyotes on a five-game winning streak that earned them solo second place in league behind unbeaten Ripon Christian, the coveted No. 1 seed in the playoffs and a first-round bye last week.

Gustine earned its rematch with Denair edging Millennium of Tracy 28-27 in Gustine last Friday.

Denair coach Anthony Armas said he didn’t have a preference of who his team would play, but isn’t surprised that it’s Gustine. The Coyotes also defeated Millennium earlier this season.

“They’re both physical and have some talented kids,” Armas said. “Gustine has some big kids up front. They have a pretty talented running back. And their quarterback is pretty good.”

Denair overpowered Gustine in the first game. Hunter Musgrave had his best game of the season, ripping off 206 yards on 18 carries and scoring three touchdowns. Steffin Winston ran 14 times for 84 yards and a TD, and Dylan DeSilva added 61 yards and three more touchdowns. Denair also forced three turnovers.

“I don’t think they’re 100% convinced that that win was legit,” Armas said of Gustine. “I think they think it was a fluke. They’re going to try to take it to us.”

The coach said his message this week will be the same as it’s been since practice began in August. “Just keep getting better at what we do.”

What the Coyotes thrive on is a Wing T offense that keeps opponents guessing about which running back will carry the ball and which direction that will be. Other than Ripon Christian, no one has stopped Denair this year. The Coyotes are averaging 44 points a game in their nine victories.

What’s equally important is Denair’s defense. The Coyotes are holding opponents to 18 points a game, including one shutout and three games allowing just one touchdown.

“We’ve done pretty well offensively, but I think our defense gets overlooked,” Armas said. “It was in the second half of that Gustine game that we became ball hawks. We’ve been good about creating turnovers ever since.”

He expects Friday’s game to be closer than the first meeting, if only because Gustine will be looking for payback and to spoil Denair’s season.

“It’s easier to make adjustments when you lose like that,” Armas said.

Extra points: This will be the first home playoff game for Denair since 2007, according to athletic director Darrin Allen. … The Coyotes last were in the playoffs two seasons ago, when they were beaten on the road by Amador in the first round. … The other Division VII semifinal on Friday night has No. 3 seed Golden Sierra (7-4) of Grass Valley at No. 2 Big Valley Christian (9-1) of Modesto. … The championship game will be played Saturday, Nov. 17 at 1 p.m. at a site still to be determined.

Denair MAC Meeting Agenda for November 6, 2018

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Submitted by Denair Municipal Advisory Council.

The Denair Municipal Advisory Council has posted the MAC Agenda for their November meeting, scheduled for November 6, 2018. The meeting starts at 7:00 pm. The meeting will be held in the DUSD Leadership Center/Board Room.

I. Opening and Pledge of Allegiance

II. Introduction and Roll Call

III. Public Comment*

IV. Approval of the minutes from the October 2, 2018 meeting

V. Agency Reports and Updates:

A. Public Safety:

i. California Highway Patrol

ii. Stanislaus County Sheriff

iii. Denair Fire Department

B. Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors

C. Denair Public Library

D. Denair High School Leadership

E. Denair Unified School District (DUSD)

VI. Informational Items

VII. Action Items

A. Discussion of 2019 Denair MAC meeting calendar.

VIII. MAC Comments and Topics for the Next Agenda

IX. Adjournment: Next regular meeting – Tuesday, December 4, 2018

Cajun Crab Boil on Nov. 17 Will Raise Money for Boys Basketball Team

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Submitted by Denair High School

Fans of the Denair High School boys basketball team who also enjoy Cajun food should mark their calendars for Nov. 17. That’s when the coaching staff will host its first-ever Cajun Crab Boil.

Tickets are $50 and include all-you-can-eat crab, shrimp, sausage, veggies and garlic bread served family style.

There also will be live music and raffle/silent auction items. An optional $10 wristband entitles adults to all-you-can-drink beer and wine.

Proceeds will help offset travel and equipment expenses for the team. Some will be set aside to fund future scholarships for players.

The event will run from 6 to 11 p.m. at 843 Helena Ave. in Waterford.

For more information, contact coaches R.J. Henderson (209) 535-8332 or Clayton McDonald (209) 485-4897.

Denair’s team has high hopes for this season. The Coyotes were 13-13 and finished second in the Southern League a year ago, and return many of the key players who helped that team qualify for the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs for the first time in seven seasons.

Denair Crushes Waterford 60-26 to Earn No. 1 Playoff Seeding and First-Round Bye

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Submitted by Denair High School

It’s only fitting that on Senior Night, it was senior Steffin Winston who grabbed the spotlight and led Denair’s turbocharged offense to a 60-26 romp over rival Waterford on Friday night.

Winston ran for 259 and five touchdowns, and also picked off a pass on defense, as the Coyotes finished their best regular season in more than a decade and clinched the top seed and an all-important first-round bye in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VII playoffs.

Denair increased its record to 9-1 overall and 6-1 in the Southern League, good enough for second place alone behind unbeaten Ripon Christian.

More importantly, the Coyotes marked themselves as the team to beat in the six-team Division VII playoffs.

“It’s pretty exciting,” Denair Coach Anthony Armas said of earning the No. 1 seed. “I think our kids expect to win now, which is good. I always worry about complacency, but I haven’t seen it.”

Denair is assured of hosting a second-round playoff game on Nov. 9 at Jack Lytton Stadium against the winner of this week’s game between No. 4 Gustine (5-5) and No. 5 Millennium (5-5).

No matter the opponent, the Coyotes should be confident, having beaten both schools earlier this season (56-18 against Millennium on Aug. 31 and 49-14 against Gustine on Sept. 28).

The other half of the Division VII bracket features No. 2 seed Big Valley Christian (9-1), which also has a bye this week while awaiting the winner of No. 3 Golden Sierra (6-4) and No. 6 Woodland Christian (6-4).

The Division VII championship game will be played Saturday, Nov. 17 at a site still to be determined.

Whichever team aspires to knock off Denair will have to deal with the Coyotes’ fast-paced offense, which scored 400 points in 10 games and averaged more than 44 points in their nine victories.

Denair uses motion and misdirection to confuse opponents, relying on the deft ball-handling of quarterback Elvis Silva, powerful fullbacks Dylan De Silva and Drew Pritchard, and elusive running backs in Hunter Musgrave and Winston. It’s a lethal combination.

Friday night, Waterford (6-4, 3-4) had no answer for Winston, who shredded the Wildcats’ defense over and over, mostly on runs to the outside.

“Steffin’s just got a good combination of size and speed,” Armas said. “He can do outside stuff where it’s speed and make people miss. But he can also run between the tackles. … He’s always been fast and athletic, but he’s got bigger and stronger from his time in the weight room.”

Winston finished the regular season with 1,124 yards rushing, but he’s far from a one-man attack. Musgrave (967 yards), De Silva (746) and Pritchard (537) all have had big games this fall.

Against Waterford, the Coyotes piled up 504 yards on the ground and scored their season high for points.

The game was closer – at least in the first half, which ended with Denair ahead 21-14 – than the final score might indicate.

Armas said the biggest play came in the third quarter, right after Waterford had connected on a long touchdown pass. That’s when Musgrave re-energized the home crowd with an 80-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

“It was a huge part of the game,” Armas said. “It really got the momentum back to our side.”

Looking ahead, Armas said it will be a normal week of practice for the Coyotes, with Friday off.

“We won’t have as much contact this week. We’ve got some kids dinged, so we’ll get them healthy,” he said. “We’ll go over stuff about both teams (Gustine and Millennium) to keep them fresh, but we’ll tell the kids from here on out, there’s not a defense or offense that we haven’t seen. We’ll just keep working on stuff that we can get better at — assignments, footwork, alignments.”

Armas said he won’t attend the Gustine and Millennium game, preferring to do his scouting by watching film. He’ll encourage his players to go to another playoff game this week just to get a sense of what other teams are doing.

By the time they all return next Monday, they’ll know exactly who they’re playing at what’s at stake.

Armas said this fall’s success is no surprise to him or his coaching staff.

“I think we all thought we were going to have a good team,” he said, “but I can’t say enough about what a great group of human beings these kids are. As a coach, it’s a joy to coach them. They have a great attitude.”

JV Game: Waterford 31, Denair 6. The Coyotes finished 1-7-1 overall and 1-6 in league play.

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New Coyote Reading Circle Program Introduces Students to the Wonders of Books

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Submitted by Denair Elementary Charter Academy

Pattie Hegg has a special relationship with books. Which makes sense. She’s a librarian, after all. She loves the way books feel, their smell and their ability to spirit her away on another adventure.

Her enthusiasm is contagious, which is why Hegg is the perfect person to help introduce children to the wonders of reading at Denair Elementary Charter Academy.

“You can do anything in the whole world if you can read,” said Hegg, who has worked at DECA the past six years and, before that, at a used bookstore in Modesto.

This year, for the first time, Hegg created a voluntary program she calls Coyote Reading Circle. Three times a month – every other Thursday with second- and third-graders, and once with fifth- and sixth-graders – Hegg invites students into her world for an hour after school.

Recently, 29 second- and third-graders lined up outside the library door – first to enjoy an afternoon snack, then to answer questions about “Bunnicula,” a story by Deborah and James Howe about a bunny with “unusual habits.” Students were expected to have finished the book at home so they can participate in the discussion.

Hegg asked the youngsters how they know Bunnicula is a vampire. Eager students sitting at the low desks excitedly raised their arms.

“He turned the red fruit white when he sucked all the juice out of it,” says one young boy.

Next, Hegg introduced the group to “Freckle Juice,” a book by Judy Blume about a young boy named Nicky who wants to have freckles. She asked for volunteers to help her read passages aloud, then patiently encouraged the boys and girls whom she selected.

“So many of them don’t feel confident reading out loud,” explained Hegg, sporting a T-shirt that said I Still Read Children’s Books. “I had a speech impediment when I was in fifth grade. I got teased a lot, so I want kids to be comfortable.”

She didn’t have to work hard to convince DECA Principal Kelly Beard that the Coyote Reading Circle was a good idea.

“We want to foster a love of reading and books within our students,” said Beard, praising the Denair Parent Service Club ($1,200), Denair Education Foundation ($500) and Denair Lions Club ($250) for their donations that helped pay for each child’s books this school year.

“Students will get to keep the books they are reading and be able to add to or begin building their own library at home,” said Beard. “We encourage families to spend time together reading the book.”

Hegg picks books that are appropriate to the grade level and the students’ abilities. There are no grades. It’s all about cultivating a fun habit she hopes serves them their entire lives.

“I love books. Books are my best friends,” said Hegg. “You can find anything in a book. … I just want these children to love to read.”

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