Denair clinched no worse than second place in the Southern League and moved one step closer to the No. 1 seed in the upcoming playoffs with Friday’s narrow 14-13 victory over Mariposa at Jack Lytton Stadium.

The Coyotes overcame three fumbles, one of which set up Mariposa late in the fourth quarter with a final chance to win the game. A 29-yard field goal try was wide with 40 seconds to play after Denair took time out to ice the kicker.

The game had more drama earlier in the fourth quarter when Denair dodged a two-point conversion attempt after Mariposa scored to get within 14-13. The Grizzlies lined up in a trick formation in an effort to confuse the Coyote defense, but a botched snap doomed the play and Denair retained the lead.

“It was about as close as it could get,” said Denair Coach Anthony Armas of the final outcome. 

The victory left Denair (7-2 overall, 5-1 in the SL) alone in second place with one regular-season game to go and the head-to-head tiebreaker advantage over Mariposa (5-4, 4-2). 

With presumptive SL champion Ripon Christian (8-1, 6-0) – which defeated Denair earlier – required to move up to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI playoffs, Denair has a clear path to the No. 1 seed in Division VII with a win this week over Waterford.

“If we get healthy, we’ll be fine,” said Armas, whose team played without its two starting tackles against Mariposa and lost do-everything running back Dylan De Silva to an ankle injury early in the third quarter.

Even without De Silva, the Coyotes continued to pound away on the ground against Mariposa. Damien Peral and Jorge Yanez picked up the slack and each scored a touchdown.

Yanez’s 4-yard run capped an 80-yard drive to open the second half and gave Denair a 14-7 lead. 

Peral’s 6-yard scamper capped a wild sequence late in the first half. Denair was poised to score with less than minute left in the second quarter, but was stopped on fourth down deep in Mariposa territory. The Grizzlies – leading 7-0 – surprised the Coyotes with a hook-and-lateral play that appeared to go for a long touchdown. But the officials ruled the ball had been lateraled forward and wiped out the score. 

On the next play, Mariposa fumbled inside the 10-yard line and Denair recovered with 11 seconds to go in the half. Peral’s TD then tied the game at halftime – a 14-point swing in just a few seconds.

“That was a big deal,” Armas admitted.

Denair was its own worst enemy at points during the game, losing two of its three fumbles and getting stopped on downs. Armas credited some of that to Mariposa’s defense, which came out in a different look than the Grizzlies have played all season designed to stop Denair’s powerful running game.

“Their defense was pretty active. They were getting to the ball pretty well,” Armas acknowledged. “We made some adjustments in the second half.”

The Coyotes also play defense and – led by linebackers Christian Obando and Will Knox – they contained Mariposa most of the game.

“Those two guys played really well,” Armas praised. 

JV score: Mariposa 56, Denair 7. The Coyotes are 1-8 overall and 0-6 in the Southern League.

This week: The Coyotes close the regular season with a short bus ride to Waterford (3-6, 1-5), which was beaten 52-7 at home last week by Gustine. “They’re struggling,” Armas said. “They have a new head coach so they’re a team in transition. But they’ve got a good JV team, so they’re going to be better next year.” … The Wildcats have lost four games in a row, allowing the opposition to score at least 50 points in all of them. … Denair has won straight and not allowed more than 13 points in any of those contests. … The Coyotes’ only league losses in the past two seasons have been to Ripon Christian. Their last league defeat to anyone other than RC was the final game of the 2017 season, 27-21 to Waterford.

Submitted by Denair Lions Club:

Sunday, November 3rd, the Denair Community Center will open at 7:00am for the Annual Lions Pancake Breakfast. This year proceeds will be donated to the family of Ben Perez, who is battling stage-4 melanoma cancer. The Perez family have lived in and been involved in the Denair community for 51 years. Ben has recently completed chemotherapy treatment and the family continues to bear a large financial burden.

For over 40 years, the Denair Lions Club has hosted a pancake breakfast on the first Sunday in November. The breakfast has become not only a great fundraiser but also an annual social event for 400 to 600 supporters. Each year the club chooses a person or cause to receive all proceeds from the breakfast. In past years, proceeds have funded such causes as new uniforms and equipment for the Denair Lions Youth Football program, updates and repairs to Denair High School sports facilities and programs, and many local residents in need of financial aid for medical bills during or following a tragedy.

The meal includes pancakes, scrambled eggs, and ham, served with coffee, hot chocolate, orange juice, or milk. No tickets are required but donations are accepted at the doors. As always, no person is turned away who is unable to donate. A small number of raffle prizes will be offered together with the traditional Quilt Raffle, which for over 15 years has featured a beautiful handmade quilt crafted and donated by Betty Thomas, a club member’s mother. Donations are also accepted by mail to the Denair Lions Club at P.O. Box 32, Denair, CA 95316.

Next week is Red Ribbon Week at schools across the country. Red Ribbon Week began in 1980 as a way to discourage drug use among children while promoting healthy behaviors. Former First Lady Nancy Reagan was one of the original proponents.

The campuses in the Denair Unified School District have a number events planned starting Monday. All are being coordinated by staff as well as student members of the PHAST (Protecting Health and Slamming Tobacco) Clubs. The theme is “Send a message. Stay drug-free.”

Last year, Denair High finished third in Stanislaus County in the contest for the best decorated campus. The previous year, the Coyotes were second in the county.

Denair High School

• Monday: Disney day. Don’t be a character on drugs Disney day.
• Tuesday: Too bright for drugs neon day. Wear bright clothing.
• Wednesday: PJ day. Wake up drug-free and wear pajamas to school.
• Thursday: Drugs are scary. Halloween dress-up day.
• Friday: Drug-free spirit day. Wear purple or red to school.

There will be activities each day, including a visit from the Fire Department on Wednesday, a stage car crash scene and plenty of games at lunchtime.

Denair Middle School

• Monday:  Team up against drugs. Wear your favorite team jersey or shirt.
• Tuesday: Catch the drug-free wave. Wear your favorite beach clothing. Flip flops are OK, but no swimsuits.
• Wednesday: Put your boots on and stomp out drugs. Wear your favorite Western clothing.
• Thursday: Boo to drugs. Students are allowed to wear Halloween costumes. No masks, face paint or weapons of any kind will be allowed. Dress code rules still apply.
• Friday: Grab a friend and pair up against drugs. Dress like twins or just wear purple to show your spirit!

There will be numerous lunchtime activities to help educate students about the dangers of tobacco and drug use. There also will be educational announcements through the daily bulletin. The campus will be decked out in red ribbons as well.

Denair Elementary Charter Academy

• Monday: Wake up drug-free day. Wear pajamas to school.
• Tuesday: Working to be drug-free. Wear career clothing.
• Wednesday: Drugs are old school. Decade dress-up day.  
• Thursday: Say “boo” to drugs! Students can wear their Halloween costumes.
• Friday: I have the power to be drug-free.  Students dress up as their favorite superhero or movie character. There also will be a door decoration parade.

Denair Charter Academy

• Monday:  Disney day. Dress up as your favorite Disney character or any Disney apparel.
• Tuesday: Sports/Jersey day. Show pride in your sports team by wearing their gear.
• Wednesday: Rainbow day. Let’s liven things up with color by wearing them all.
• Thursday: Spirit day. Keep your spirits high by wearing red, purple, and white!
• Friday: Crazy socks/hair day. Let loose and show your crazy side with your locks and socks.

Monday and Thursday, there will be activities, including trying to pick something up while wearing distorted vision goggles. There also will be a tabling event as well as PHAST information.

Denair Unified District Office

• Monday: Team up against drugs. All employees are encouraged to wear their favorite team jersey or shirt.
• Tuesday: Too bright for drugs neon day. Wear neon colors.
• Wednesday: Drugs are old school. Dress up as your favorite decade.
• Thursday: Sock it to drugs. Wear your favorite fun socks.

Friday: Our district is drug-free. Wear your favorite red shirt.

Winning never gets old and Denair – even after earning its first-ever state championship in football last year – certainly isn’t in a position to take any victory for granted.

So Friday’s methodical and workmanlike 21-8 win over Delhi was satisfying in a different way for the Coyotes, who have shown a tendency at times to play down to the level of the competition.

Delhi, which hasn’t won a game this year, presented that kind of challenge. Denair clearly was the better team. But to the Hawks’ credit, they devised a game plan intended to keep the ball away from the Coyotes as much as they could and bleed the clock on every position.

Instead of becoming frustrated, Denair dug in on defense, holding Delhi scoreless in the first half while grinding its way to a 14-0 lead behind two touchdown runs from Jorge Yanez.

Even when Delhi opened the third quarter with a long drive that resulted in its only score, Armas wasn’t worried. He still believed his players were in control of the game. He didn’t think Delhi could score again on his defense and he was confident in his offense.

That faith was validated when Dylan De Silva scored in a short run in the fourth quarter, giving Denair all the points it would need.

Friday’s dominant 28-13 Southern League victory over Orestimba was the game Denair football Coach Anthony Armas and his coaching staff had been waiting for this season. It was the first time when all facets of the Coyotes’ attack – offense, defense and special teams – came together in a way the coaches imagine as they draw up plays and schemes each week.

“We played well in every aspect of the game,” praised Armas. “We limited our mistakes. The kids really executed everything well.” 

Surprisingly, Armas said he and his staff were uncertain before the game how the Coyotes would come out.

“We were a little nervous because the guys were so quiet,” Armas said. “But that’s the personality of this senior group. They’ pretty quiet. They’ve been that way their whole careers.”

Any doubts were quickly erased as Denair raced to a 21-6 halftime lead behind an offensive line that consistently opened huge holes in Orestimba’s defense that Dylan De Silva, Damien Peral and Jorge Yanez turned into big chunks of yardage.

“We didn’t run a big variety of plays because they were blocking so well,” Armas said of his linemen.

In fact, quarterback Elvis Silva only attempted two passes, though one of them went for a short touchdown to Jacob Lewellen. 

As usual, De Silva led the way on the ground, punishing the Warriors for 140 yards and two more TDs, raising his season total to 14. All that despite missing some time after he tweaked his ankle.

“He’s a workhorse,” praised Armas. “When we get close to the goal line, he’s going to get the ball.”

Peral, who also was sidelined temporarily with a shoulder injury, had his best game of the season, churning out 118 yards. Not included was an 84-yard touchdown run in the third quarter that was called back because of a holding penalty.

Yanez added 55 yards and a short TD run before dinging his knee. At one point in the fourth quarter, De Silva, Peral and Yanez were all on the bench nursing injuries, forcing Denair to turn to its reserves.

Armas said he spoke to all three players over the weekend and they reported they were feeling better. He expects them to play this week against Delhi.

JV score: Orestimba 44, Denair 0. The Coyotes are 1-6 overall and 0-4 in the Southern League.
This week: Friday’s victory allowed Denair (5-2 overall, 3-1 Southern League) to keep pace with Ripon Christian (6-1, 4-0) and Mariposa (5-2, 4-0) in the league standings. Those two teams play this week in Mariposa. If the Grizzlies can knock off the Knights – who handed Denair its only league loss three weeks ago – that would set up a chance for a three-way tie for the SL title. Denair hosts Mariposa on Oct. 25. The Coyotes are 4-0 at Jack Lytton Stadium this year. … Denair goes on the road itself this week to face Delhi (0-7, 0-4), one of its two closest geographic rivals along with Waterford. “We have a tendency to play down to our competition sometimes, so we really want to focus this week on what we do well,” Armas said. “Delhi runs three different kinds of offenses, so we really need to pay attention to our assignments on defense when they’re in different formations.”