Submitted by Denair Unified School District

Mistakes and missed assignments doomed Denair in its 35-12 preseason loss Friday night to Argonaut, which played an inspired game in the midst of the Valley fire that has ravaged more than 71,000 acres in and around Calaveras County.

Many of the players, coaches and fans of the Argonaut team no doubt have been affected by the wildfire, which has destroyed more than 500 homes. But Friday night, it was the Coyotes who got burned by too many self-inflicted errors.

Denair (1-2) will be focused on cleaning up those mistakes this week at practice, said head coach Anthony Armas.

“Alignment and assignment,” said Armas when asked what the emphasis will be this week. “Knowing where we align, what our assignment is on each play and executing that assignment.”

On deck for the Coyotes in their first Southern League game is unbeaten Delhi, which has outscored its three non-conference opponents 142-35. Kickoff is Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Delhi.

“I know that Delhi is undefeated and they’re physical. Every game from here on out will be tough,” Armas said.

Against Argonaut (2-1), Denair scored on a 29-yard run by Juan Berrera in the second quarter and a 1-yard run by Chase Pritt in third period. That wasn’t nearly enough to overcome a motivated Mustangs team that had played and lost just five days earlier. Argonaut’s game against Bear River was moved from Jackson to Grass Valley because of the fire.

“We didn’t execute very well,” Armas said. “We made a lot of mistakes and we can’t afford to do that against a team like Argonaut.”

Armas said the fire had “zero affect” on the game, though it wasn’t far from anyone’s mind.

“It was a nice evening,” he said. “It was their homecoming, so there was a lot going on, but they certainly paid tribute to the firefighters. I believe their coaches were wearing shirts with the Fire Department name on them.”

Submitted by Denair Unified School District

Denair High’s next football game will be played as scheduled Friday night in Jackson against Argonaut High School, Athletic Director Darrin Allen announced Wednesday morning.

The game’s location was uncertain because of the week-old Butte fire, which has burned more 72,000 acres and destroyed 166 homes and 116 other buildings in Calaveras and Amador counties. Thousands of people who were evacuated from their homes over the weekend were allowed to return Monday.

Many events, including high school games, have been moved because of heavy smoke and other concerns.

Argonaut’s last football game, initially scheduled last Friday at home against Bear River, wasn’t played until Monday in Grass Valley.

Denair was prepared to host this week’s game, if necessary, Allen said. The decision was made in consultation with officials from both schools.

The Butte fire was estimated Wednesday morning to be about 40% contained. Fire officials are hopeful that a small weather system pushing into Northern California this afternoon could include rain that will aid in firefighting efforts.

Submitted by Denair Unified School District

The first victory came easily for the Denair High football team.

In front of a supportive home crowd, the Coyotes raced to a 27-point lead in the first quarter and never let up in a lopsided 41-12 win over Brookside Christian of Stockton.

It not only evened Denair’s record at 1-1 this season, it also was the first-ever victory for new head coach Anthony Armas. He must have done something to celebrate, right?

“Not really. I went home and uploaded game film,” Armas said. “It’s just one game.”

Denair’s linemen – many of whom play offense and defense – dominated on both sides of the line of scrimmage, Armas said. Offensively, they opened big holes for the Coyotes’ backs. Defensively, they effectively bottled up Brookside Christian (0-3), allowing touchdowns only in the second and fourth quarters.

Denair started quickly. On its first play, running back Juan Berrera took a handoff, followed some good blocks on a trap play and raced about 60 yards for a touchdown. Berrera later scored from 5 yards out.

“He hit the hole pretty fast and once he got past the front line, he was free,” Armas said of Berrera’s first TD.

Other highlights in the first-quarter blitz included a punt return for a touchdown by Chase Pritt and an interception by outside linebacker Justin Steely that he returned to the Brookside 10-yard line. A couple of plays later, Steely took a pitch and scored another Denair touchdown.

“It’s a process,” Armas said of his young team and their progress. “They’re getting better every week. We’re just working to fix some little things on both sides of the ball.” Continue reading “Denair High Rolls to First Football Victory, 41-12” »