Deegan Butler scored three touchdowns – one of them on a 77-yard screen play –as Denair defeated Gustine 24-13 Friday night in a Southern League game at Jack Lytton Stadium.

The Coyotes (3-3, 1-1) won despite missing four starters who were out after suffering injuries in their previous game. That forced some less experienced players into key roles – testing Denair’s depth and determination.

“We’ve always felt we’ve had tough kids. I don’t think we were surprised about that part,” said Denair Coach Anthony Armas. “But we were pleasantly surprised at people stepping up to fill spots this week.”

Denair’s mettle was tested early against Gustine. The Reds (3-2, 1-1) took the opening kickoff and marched down the field for a touchdown. After a Denair punt, Gustine threatened to score again but lost a fumble on the Denair 5-yard line on the final play of the first quarter.

Starting from there, the Coyotes had reached their own 23-yard line when quarterback Derek Potter faded back to pass, setting up a screen play to Butler. The junior running back followed his blockers, then burst into the open and outran Gustine’s defenders to the end zone to tie the game 7-7. 

Later in the second quarter, Even Coronel had a key sack of Gustine’s quarterback that forced a fumble that Denair recovered. The Coyotes patiently moved the ball inside Gustine’s 10-yard line, where Elias Alvarez connected on a 25-yard field goal as time expired in the first half. That gave Denair a 10-7 lead it would never relinquish.

Armas called the momentum shifts in Denair’s favor after Butler’s touchdown and Coronel’s sack “huge.”

The Coyotes stretched their lead to 17-7 on the opening drive of the third quarter, which was capped by Butler’s second touchdown, a 2-yard run. The junior added a 21-yard TD run in the fourth period that sealed the game. He finished with 119 yards on ground in addition to his TD reception.

Denair’s defense, meanwhile, clamped down on the Gustine offense. The Coyotes forced three turnovers – the two fumbles in the first half as well as an interception in the second half by Austin Silva.

“Our secondary really stepped up in this game,” Armas praised. “Austin Silva, Angel Rosas, and Angel Rodriguez, particularly, played very important roles in our defense.”

Gustine scored late in the fourth quarter to make it 24-13, but Denair recovered an onside kick attempt and then ran out the clock on a satisfying win.

“We faced an offense that requires our defenders to be very disciplined, which is always a concern when you have people stepping into roles they aren’t used to playing,” Armas said. “Gustine also ran a defense they had not previously run. For those guys stepping up to fill spots, that could have been a mess, but they handled it exceptionally well.”

This week, Denair travels to Le Grand to play the Bulldogs (0-3, 0-2), whose record is misleading, according to Armas.

“They had a large number of kids suspended for three games to begin the season because of an altercation in their scrimmage,” he said. “Le Grand is Le Grand. They’re always talented, tough and coached well.  I don’t think our kids are going in thinking anything other than that.”

Armas won’t know until Friday how many players he’ll have available to play.

“Health is always going to be an issue with us and our numbers,” he said. “We still have some kids that are trying to get healthy … but we’ll deal with it, like we always do.”

JV score; Denair 58, Gustine 8

Only halfway through the football season, Denair is dealing with a familiar foe – and it’s not one of their
rivals in the Southern League.

It’s the injury bug and it has hit the Coyotes hard.

Already dinged up after splitting its four preseason games, Denair had more players go down in Friday’s
28-6 loss to Stone Ridge Christian.

The severity of those injuries and how long any player may be out is something Coach Anthony Armas
will have to contend with this week.

“I won’t know for sure until we see who can practice today,” Armas said Monday morning.

Depth is not a new issue for the Coyotes. They have struggled in recent years with small rosters, which
forced many of their players to go both ways on offense and defense, and left them short-handed when
injuries did strike. Often, there were more coaches on the sideline than reserve players.

This year figured to be different, with 26 players on the team. But now – with the normal bumps and
bruises in addition to strains and sprains that happen in such a physical sport – the Coyotes find
themselves in a familiar position, scrambling to plug the holes.

“We played decent, but gave up some big plays,” said Armas, who praised Jesse Ruelas for his efforts at
running back and linebacker.

The Coyotes fell behind 21-0 at halftime in Merced against Stone Ridge Christian (3-1, 1-0), which joined
the Southern League this season and already looks to be a challenger for the conference title.

The only score for Denair (2-3, 0-1) came on a pass from Derek Potter to Austin Silva in the third quarter.

It doesn’t get any easier this week when the Coyotes host Gustine (3-1, 1-0), which got past Mariposa
35-24 on Friday.

“We’re banged up,” admitted Armas. “We had some guys hurt that weren’t playing already and then we
had some get hurt during game. I’m not sure who we’ll have on Friday. We’ll see.”

State test scores are a complicated subject for any school district and Denair Unified is no different. That
was clear during a presentation at the monthly meeting of the Board of Trustees on Thursday night.
Denair’s students – like their peers across the country – experienced varying degrees of what’s known as
“learning loss” in 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic, when face-to-face instruction with teachers was
temporarily replaced by remote lessons via computers. In many ways, students have spent part of the
past four years trying to catch up, with some having more success than others.
Their performance on the standardized testing required by the state provides one measurement.
For instance, English and math scores from last spring finally are close to what they were districtwide
before COVID-19 shut everything down, Superintendent Terry Metzger told trustees. That’s one of the
positives in Denair’s overall performance, which reflects pockets of achievement as well as ongoing
challenges.
Metzger uses the test scores in two key ways – to track the performance of a particular group of
students (called a “cohort”) from year to year as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of programming at
different grade levels.
For example, 24% of third-graders in 2022-23 met standards in English. As fourth-graders last spring,
23% of them met standards. 
The biggest gain was among the 2022-23 sixth-graders, who went from 27% meeting standards to 36%
meeting standards as seventh-graders.
The largest decline also was in English, with 35% of the seventh-graders from two years ago meeting
standards but falling to just 19% of them meeting standards as eighth-graders.
“For the most part, once students meet standards on the state test, they continue to meet standards,”
Metzger explained. “If they don’t, their scores are typically close to meeting standards.”

As is the case in many California districts, math continues to be an issue among all students. Just 18% of
Denair’s students in grades 3-5 met standards in math last spring. The number dipped to 10% in grades
6-8 and 7% of 11 th -graders.
“Our students lose ground over time,” Metzger acknowledged. “We need to continue examining why
and providing the support students need to stay engaged when math gets harder.”
To address the ongoing challenges with math, Denair has partnered with the Stanislaus County Office of
Education this year to provide extensive training for teachers in math, including “deepening
understanding of the standards as we approach adoption of new math instructional materials next
year,” Metzger said.
By comparison, students continue to perform better in English. In grades 3-5, 24% met standards last
spring. The number rose to 29% in grades 6-8 and 37% of 11 th -graders.
Metzger also shared some good news regarding results on Advanced Placement (AP) exams last year for
college-bound students at Denair High. In AP Spanish, there was a 100% pass rate and in AP U.S. history,
the pass rate more than doubled (25% to 57%).
In other action Thursday, trustees:
 Heard a report from Denair Charter School Principal Jamie Pecot regarding a pilot program for
parents who homeschool their children. Instructor Betsy Clark has looked at other homeschool
programs in the region; in particular, kindergarten and first grade. Under the pilot program, a
DCA teacher meets for one hour a week with the parent. During the meeting, the teacher will
support the parent with educational resources and strategies. The teacher will continue to
provide an outline with a curriculum to the parent and will have time to spot check progress
with the student.
 Hired KW Recovery Lab Inc. of Turlock to provide athletic trainers for Denair sports teams for
the 2024-25 school year. The cost will be $175 per hour with a three-hour minimum per week
during the athletic season as determined by the athletic director and principal.
 Approved two trips involving Denair High students. The first is for a Friday Night Live Leadership
Conference in Anaheim on Oct. 19-20. FNL is a youth program that aims to promote healthy
lifestyles among high school-aged youth and encourage them to be active leaders in their
communities. Part of the conference includes a night in Disneyland. … The second trip will be for
12 students to attend the Tri-Rivers FFA Leadership Bootcamp at Camp Sylvester on Sept. 20-22.
 Swore in student board member Zach Christianson for his second term. He is a senior at Denair
High School.