It was a happy homecoming for Denair High School’s varsity football team, which came away with a convincing 49-21 victory over Le Grand on Friday to take sole possession of first place in the Southern League standings.

During halftime, Madison Gonsalves and Jason Araujo were named varsity Homecoming Queen and King, while Angelique Quijano and Seth Hall were selected JV queen and king.

Also, the winner of the parade float competition — featuring a fast-food theme — was announced. The senior class, which chose In-N-Out Burger as it’s fast-food chain, was declared the champion, while the junior class (McDonald’s) was the runner-up. The freshmen (Little Caesars) were third, and the sophomores (Taco Bell) took fourth.

Before a packed home grandstand at Jack Lytton Stadium, the Coyotes improved to 6-1 for the season and 3-0 in conference play, one-half game ahead of undefeated Mariposa (6-0, 2-0), which they’ll face this Friday night in a matchup that will go a long way in determining the league champ.

“Every week is a big game in the Southern League,” said Denair head coach Anthony Armas “This week is no different. Mariposa is playing really well right now. We’ll be playing in the (Mariposa County) fairgrounds, which is always a tough place to play. And, it will be their homecoming, so it’s going to be a tough one.”

Junior running back Bryson Salazar, who was one of the varsity Homecoming King candidates, was a royal pain for the Bulldogs. He ran for season-best 237 yards and four touchdowns on just nine carries — better than 26 yards per try. Salazar had scoring runs of 42, 47, 69, and 15 yards.

Not to be outdone, senior running back Degan Butler had 111 yards on 15 carries (7.4 per attempt) and a score, while junior Connor Hart tallied 59 yards and one TD on four carries (14.8).

Junior quarterback Derek Potter connected with classmate Harlan Brown for a 39-yard score.

The Coyotes appear to be in full stride as they ready for the 75-minute trip to Mariposa — the back half of a tough two-game league stretch that Armas believes will serve his team well.

“We’ve tried to create as many obstacles as possible this year for our players,” said Armas. “We had (state champion) Summerville on the schedule, booked McClatchy (Sacramento), which is a much larger school than we are, and had a long road trip to face Pajaro Valley (Watsonville). Combine that with our regular-season schedule, and I hope it better prepares us for a possible playoff run.”

Following the Mariposa contest, the Coyotes still have Delhi (1-6, 0-3) and Waterford (3-3, 0-2) remaining on the schedule. Postseason action gets underway Nov. 7.

Festivities for homecoming are underway in Denair and will culminate with the Coyotes’ varsity football showdown Friday night against Le Grand High School at Jack Lytton Stadium.

This year’s theme is “Let ’em cook,” and each class at Denair High chose a fast-food chain as inspiration for its parade float.

The seniors selected In-N-Out Burger as their fast-food chain, the juniors picked McDonald’s, the sophomores went with Taco Bell, and the freshmen opted for Little Caesars.

The winning float will be announced during halftime of Friday night’s football game. Of course, the big announcement Friday will come when the homecoming king and queen are crowned.

Good luck to this year’s royal nominees: seniors Madison Gonsalves, Dakota Shaw, Daisy Rosas, Jason Araujo, Ernesto Silva, and Darren Coleman, juniors Brianna Thomas, Alizey Gonzalez, Jazmin Padilla, Bryson Salazar, Cruz Stallings, and Elias Alvarez, sophomores Emery Miranda, Angelique Quijano, Alexa Camacho, Seth Hall, Philip Brigham, and Isaac Maldonado, freshmen Abigail Brasher, Brynna Butler, Avery Andrion, Jose Avila, Nolan Peardon, and Trystyn Runnels.

To get the students revved up for the big game, a rally will be held on campus Friday at 11 a.m. in the high school gym, followed by the downtown parade, which starts at the high school at 12:15 p.m., progresses along Main Street until making a U-turn in front of the Denair Fire Department on Gratton Road, and then returns to campus.

Spectators are encouraged to view the parade from the Denair Food Center parking lot, 4330 Main St., as there will be a public address booth set up there.

The football action — always the highlight of homecoming — kicks off at 5 p.m. with the junior varsity contest. The main event — the varsity showdown for first place in the Southern League — is slated to get underway at 7:15.

The Coyotes defeated Mariposa 21-7 in their homecoming game last season.

Like DHS, each house at Denair Middle School adopted a different chain restaurant: House Amethyst was Chick-fil-A, House Diamond was Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, House Onyx was Starbucks, and House Titanium was Burger King. 

In keeping with the food theme, Denair Middle School chose “Feast of Champions” as its theme for homecoming week.

Spirit was raised on both campuses with special dress-up days throughout the week. On Friday, high school students will dress head to toe in their class color — seniors in red, juniors in yellow, sophomores in purple, freshman in orange — while junior high students will go all out to represent their house. 

In the run-up to homecoming, students have already enjoyed dress-up days, such as PJ Day (wear pajamas to school), Combo-Meal Day (duo/twin), Just Keep Snacking Day (Disney), and more. 

The homecoming dance will be held Saturday from 8 to 11 p.m. and features a 1950s diner theme.

With a convincing 42-14 victory over Gustine, Denair High School’s football team is now 5-1 for the season and 2-0 in Southern League play, and will host Le Grand (4-1, 2-0) in key SL matchup this Friday in its annual homecoming game at Jack Lytton Stadium.

Kickoff is slated for 7:15 p.m.

This week’s matchup with Le Grand – a 21-14 winner over Waterford on Friday – marks the start of a tough two-week stretch for the Coyotes, who will follow up their homecoming game with a lengthy trip to Mariposa.

A win for Denair over Le Grand and win by Mariposa against 1-5 Delhi would mean their Oct. 10 encounter would be for first place in the conference.

“I think we’re continuing to improve each week,” said head coach Anthony Armas. “We continue to limit our mistakes and take care of the football.”

Limiting miscues and hanging onto the ball are key ingredients to success in any league, at any level. So is being able to run the ball, something Denair does as well as anybody in the Sac-Joaquin Section. 

Against Gustine, Bryson Salazar carried the ball five times for 131 yards and three touchdowns – he also returned a kickoff for his fourth TD of the night – while teammate Degan Butler had eight rushing attempts for 89 yards and score. Connor Hart, the third member of the Coyotes’ vaunted rushing attack, chipped in with 16 yards on two tries. All told, they combined for 236 yards on 15 carries – an average of nearly 16 yards per tote.

Quarterback Derek Potter completed just one pass Friday, but he made it count, connecting with Harlan Brown on a 42-yard score with seconds left in the first half. 

Salazar’s 68-yard burst in the third quarter made it 35-0, triggering the running clock.

Following a 36-21 victory over Stone Ridge Christian (Merced) on Friday night at Jack Lytton Stadium, Denair High School’s football team is off to a 4-1 start for just the second time in the past two decades.

The last time the Coyotes won four of their first five came seven years ago when they captured the CIF Division 7-AA state championship. And while it’s too early to compare this year’s squad to its 2018 counterpart, it’s clear that the 2025 campaign is shaping up to be something special for the Purple and White.

“We definitely think this can be a special team,” said Anthony Armas, now in his 11th season as Denair’s head coach. “We’re just not sure yet how special we can be.”

Once again, the Coyotes’ running attack led the way, picking up 8.4 yards per carry.

Junior running back Connor Hart produced 164 yards on eight carries (20.5 per attempt) — with nearly half of that coming on a 73-yard scamper that gave Denair a 15-7 first-quarter lead — and Degan Butler amassed 117 yards and three touchdowns on 20 totes (5.9 per attempt). Bryson Salazar, meanwhile, chipped in with 63 yards on 13 tries (4.9). For the season, the Coyotes are averaging 9 yards every time they rush the football.

“Having options as to what we can do and who we can give the ball to, not to mention the confidence that the play will be successful, makes play-calling so much easier,” said Armas.

Through the air, Derek Potter connected on three of six attempts for 41 yards and a 24-yard scoring strike to Harlan Brown, who was good on all four of his PAT attempts and had an interception on defense.

Up next for the Coyotes is a Southern League matchup at Gustine (2-3), which is coming off a 22-16 loss to Mariposa.

Denair High School’s football team concluded the non-league portion of its schedule with a 3-1 record following Friday night’s 41-0 victory over Pajaro Valley of Watsonville.

The Coyotes will open Southern League play this coming Friday when they host undefeated Stone Ridge Christian (Merced), the reigning Southern League champion.

Head coach Anthony Armas likes the way his team is playing heading into the games that matter most.

“There are always things that you can clean up, but I think we’re in a good place,” he said.

Denair will need to be at its best against the Knights, who defeated the Coyotes 28-6 in the 2024 regular season matchup and 35-15 eight weeks later in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 7 playoffs.

“They’ve got some really good athletes and they’re well coached,” Armas said of the Knights, who fell to eventual state champ Summerville in the D-7 playoffs. “They’re an aggressive, physical football team. They’re the defending league champs, it’s the first league game, and we’re at home. We’re up to the challenge.”

Against Pajaro Valley, the Coyotes held a comfortable 13-0 lead at the intermission — thanks to a Degan Butler 6-yard touchdown run and a 49-yard scoring strike from Derek Potter to Harlan Brown — then put the game out of reach when they outscored the Grizzlies 21-0 in the third quarter on a Potter-to-Butler 10-yard score, a 17-yard TD run by Connor Hart, and a 9-yard TD run from Potter.

DHS added one more touchdown in the fourth quarter — a 75-yard TD run on John Wilmoth’s lone carry of the contest — to produce the final margin.

Potter finished by completing five of seven attempts for 143 yards, while Bryson Salazar led the way on the ground with 96 yards on seven carries. Butler totaled 75 yards on 14 attempts, and Hart contributed 72 yards on seven tries.

Harlan Brown caught three passes for 100 yards.

Barring potential injuries in the lead-up to Friday’s league opener, Armas said the Coyotes are in good health.

“Right now, we’re good,” he said. “There’s always one or two guys who are under the weather, but there no injuries to speak of.”

Kickoff for Friday’s game is 7:15 p.m.

Southern League volleyball — The Coyotes saw their six-match winning streak come to an end last week with a 3-0 loss to Stone Ridge Christian. Denair also dropped its first set since Aug. 28 in the loss to the Knights.

The Coyotes will look to get back on track with a pair of Southern League home matches this week: Monday, Sept. 15, against Le Grand and Wednesday, Sept. 17, against Gustine. Both varsity contests are set to begin at 6 p.m.