Denair Loses Heartbreaker to Le Grand

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DHS Coyotes Football

Submitted by Denair Unified School District

Keep it simple. That was the theme last week at Denair High’s football practices. It almost paid off in another agonizingly close loss Friday night against powerful Le Grand.

In a game played in a steady rain, the short-handed Coyotes competed bravely until a late score by Le Grand sealed its 21-12 Southern League win.

Denair (2-7 overall, 0-6 SL) and Le Grand (7-2, 6-0) are at opposite ends of the league standings. But the Coyotes gave the Bulldogs a scare on a wet Halloween night, threatening to take the lead until a costly fumble recovered by Le Grand in its own end zone late in the game.

“We played a helluva football game,” said Denair coach Ted Howze, whose 18-player varsity roster was thinned when one player got the flu and couldn’t play and another was injured during the game.

Even before those two setbacks, Howze and his staff decided last week that the Coyotes needed to refocus on some basics – especially on defense – to regain their competitive edge.

“I really stripped the defense down to its core elements. … We simplified everyone’s responsibilities,” Howze explained.

The results were evident during a tight first half in which Le Grand built a 7-0 lead. Denair missed a chance to tie the game in the second quarter when it lost the first of its two key fumbles inside the Le Grand 10 yard line.

“Our team played flat out stellar football in the first half. The best we played all season,” Howze said.

Howze singled out defensive ends Dominyc Silva and Trenton Howze, along with nose-tackle-turned-cornerback Richie Richards, as key to holding Le Grand’s offensive in check. Richards has been a terror all season on the line, but moved outside Friday with no practice after starting cornerback Weston Fair came down with the flu and couldn’t play. Continue reading “Denair Loses Heartbreaker to Le Grand” »

Outgunned Coyotes Defeated by Ripon Christian

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DHS Coyotes Football

Submitted by Denair Unified School District

The excitement of an afternoon homecoming celebration gave way to the harsh reality of a tough football season Friday night for the Denair High team.

Outmanned and physically overmatched, the Coyotes quietly were beaten 31-0 by Ripon Christian before an enthusiastic crowd at Jack W. Lytton Stadium.

A week after nearly upsetting Orestimba on the road, Denair saw the accumulation of injuries and roster attrition undermine its chances against Ripon Christian. The Coyotes suited up just 19 players, five of whom were nursing various aches and pains that kept them from contributing to the fullest.

Despite another gritty effort, the outcome wasn’t in doubt after the first quarter. Denair trailed 31-0 at halftime after RC quarterback Billy Marr threw four touchdown passes. With a running clock the entire second half, neither team found the end zone again.

The loss dropped the Coyotes to 0-5 in the Southern League and 2-6 overall with two games left in the season – this week at league-leading Le Grand (6-2, 5-0), followed by a home game against Waterford (1-7, 0-5).

“Le Grand is a quality team with quality athletes,” assessed first-year Denair coach Ted Howze. “We’ve got our hands full.”

Though the on-field results haven’t always reflected it, Howze said the program has improved this season after going winless a year ago.

“We continue to work on getting better. We continue to prepare our underclassmen for next year. And we tell our seniors to have fun these last two games,” said Howze.

The junior varsity team, in particular, offers realistic hope for future. The Coyotes defeated Ripon Christian 12-7 Friday night, raising their record to 3-1-1 in the Southern League and 5-2-1 overall. Since Waterford does not have a JV team, Howze plans to promote all the sophomores to the varsity for the final game of the season.

“It’s coming,” he said of another victory at the varsity level. “The work ethic is there; you can see it.”

Follow the Denair football team on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/Denairhighschoolfootball/

Stanislaus County Superintendent Tours Denair Schools

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Tom Changnon with student Heather McDougall

Submitted by Denair Unified School District

Stanislaus County’s top education official walked away impressed after his quick visit Monday to three campuses in the Denair Unified School District.

Tom Changnon, Stanislaus county superintendent of schools, used words like “amazing,” “excellent” and “terrific” to describe his hourlong tour. He popped in to classrooms at Denair High School and Denair Middle School as well as Denair Charter Academy, observing lessons and talking with students as well as teachers.

“Boy, am I impressed. There are a lot of good things happening out here,” said Changnon, who tries to visit each of the county’s 25 school districts every few years. He estimated it had been at least three years since his last trip to Denair, which is in the midst of a remarkable financial and academic recovery under new Superintendent Aaron Rosander.

“It’s night and day difference here now,”Changnon marveled. “The level of enthusiasm among the students and staff is obvious.”

Changnon was accompanied on his walking tour by Rosander as well as Aaron Delworth, the principal of the high school and middle school. Changnon generated plenty of reaction with his San Francisco Giants pullover and orange-and-black tie. A former minor league baseball pitcher, it was clear which team he’s pulling for in the World Series.

“Go Giants,” was a familiar response when Changnon entered science, history and social studies classes at the middle school or was spotted by high school students during their lunch period.

He interacted with sixth-graders learning about energy convection in the ocean and others studying Greek mythology. At Denair Charter Academy, he talked with Principal Michelle Bush as well as a student and staff involved in the very popular independent study program. He saw the high school band area and cafeteria, and was especially impressed by the four student-built floats that appeared in Friday’s homecoming parade.

“This is really something. Amazing,” Changnon said while art teacher John Stavrianoudakis explained how the projects came together.

Changnon listened intently as Rosander and Delworth described plans to form partnerships with nearby California State University, Stanislaus, to bring in professors to lecture about science and language arts or offer advanced placement and college-level classes to Denair students.

“That’s excellent,” said Changnon. “You get a really good feeling walking around this campus. These are good kids. They’re open, they’re friendly, they shake your hand. Denair is such a nice place. The people who live here have a lot to be proud of with this school district.”

Denair High Celebrates 2014 Homecoming

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Denair Homecoming

Submitted by Denair Unified School District

Beautiful queens accompanied by brothers who became kings. An entertaining marching band and energetic cheerleaders. Stylishly decorated floats, tricked out trucks and shiny convertibles.

And purple. Lots and lots of purple. Plus, plenty of smiling faces.

The annual Denair High School homecoming parade had it all Friday afternoon, marking a fun-filled and memorable beginning to a day that concluded with the varsity and junior varsity football games against Ripon Christian.

Hundreds of people lined the parade route, which began outside the high school on Lester Road, turned east on Main Street and followed a roundabout path before returning to campus.

Even a brief delay at Main Street and Sante Fe caused by back-to-back Amtrak and freight trains didn’t dampen the enthusiasm. The band kept up the beat, the students on the floats waved and waved, and the crowd cheered.

The festivities began in the gym with the crowning of varsity and junior varsity royalty.

Seniors Stephanie Gazcon and Pepe Fuentes were chosen as queen and king, generating a roar of approval from the hundreds of students in the bleachers.

Freshmen Litzy De La Cruz and Luis Fuentes (Pepe’s brother) were honored for the junior varsity, again sparking an enthusiastic reaction.

Other varsity nominees for queen were Savannah Dixon, Samantha McVeigh, Macie Hughes, Alyssa Lopez and Destiny Silva. Austin Hughes, Noah Melrose, Edwin Flores, Carter Lawson and David Sweeten were in the running for king.

Among the junior varsity, the queen’s court included Abby Helnore, Kelsey Park, Eva Varni, Hannah Knox and Bryanna Suarez. The other nominees for king were Brenden Curnow, Ethan Lei, Seth Snider, Dylan Mann and Chase Pritt.

Each of the high school grade levels created a float. The theme was “Super Heroes” and the students clearly took that to heart, each using a Coyote with special powers to defeat or dominate a Knight, which is Ripon Christian’s mascot.

The senior float featured a muscular and purple-clad Captain Coyote with his mighty shield bursting through a red, white and blue background. The “Defender of the Goal Line” was too much for a meek knight.

The junior float sported a Batman theme, with a caped crusader in a black Coyote-mobile running over a helpless knight under the backdrop of a metropolitan sky.

The sophomore float had a hulking giant green Coyote with purple pants crashing through a knight’s fortress, burying him under a pile of broken bricks.

The freshmen float drew inspiration from Superman. A powerful Coyote-man in the familiar blue tights and red cape towered fearlessly over a sword-bearing soldier in armor, declaring, “You’re no Krypto-knight.”