Angel Sanchez and the explosive offense grabs a lot of attention for the Denair boys soccer team, and rightly so. Sanchez’s 49 goals are among the top individual performances in the entire country and a big reason Denair has scored 116 times this season.

All that offense often overshadows and equally important part of the Coyotes’ success – their defense, which dominated again Tuesday in Denair’s impressive and rain-soaked 5-0 road victory over Bakersfield Christian in the first round of the NorCal Division V playoffs.

The victory vaults No. 7 seed Denair (17-10-4) into the semifinals Thursday against No. 3 Gridley (13-6-2), which defeated Venture Academy of Stockton 2-0 on Tuesday.

The game against Bakersfield Christian (12-14-3) was the 13^th time in 31 matches this season and third in a row that Denair has held an opponent scoreless. In many cases, the Coyotes’ suffocating defense prevents other teams from even getting close enough to try a shot. That happened again against the Eagles, with goalie Sergio Torres only called on to make two saves because the defenders in front of him – Manuel Renteria, Johnny Tehandon and Nico Zavala – formed a wall Bakersfield Christian couldn’t penetrate.

“Our defenders all played very well,” praised Denair coach Antonio Padilla.

The Coyotes’ offense, meanwhile, kept the pressure on Bakersfield Christian throughout the match, which was played in a steady rain.

Denair scored first about 10 minutes into the game when Goliath Padilla squeezed a left-footed kick into the corner of the net.

“I think it was a shock for the other team,” said Antonio Padilla of his son’s goal.

Less than a minute later, Sanchez – playing despite suffering from a cold and a sore ankle – beat three defenders to score on a cross from the right side.

“It was a beautiful goal,” Padilla said.

Denair kept the pressure on, successfully maintaining possession of the ball while frustrating the Eagles’ offense.

“I told our boys that if we control the middle of the field, we control the game,” said Padilla. “That’s what we did.”

The Coyotes struck again at the end of the first half when Tim Hernandez scored off a corner kick. Ahead 3-0 at halftime, Padilla gathered his team under a canopy to avoid the rain and talk about their second-half strategy.

“I told them to keep playing hard,” he said. “I said, ‘We won first half. Congratulations for that, but we still have 40 minutes more. Have fun and play hard.’ ”

Denair never was threatened in the second half. The Coyotes scored on another corner kick when Diego Padilla found the net early in the second half, then added a final goal by Jose Valle Villa late in the game.

Bakersfield Christian – which was physical the entire night – let its frustration show in the second half, earning three yellow cards for rough play.

So now Denair – the two-time Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI champions – moves on to face Gridley, the winner of the Northern Section. It means another long bus ride Thursday for the Coyotes, who didn’t get to bed until after midnight Tuesday after the three-hour trip home from Bakersfield.

“It was a long drive, but worth it,” said Padilla, who planned to meet with his team Wednesday to review any video he could find of Gridley. 

His said his players may do some light stretching, but otherwise he wanted them to stay off their feet as much as possible.

“Rest and sleep. That’s the most important thing for us,” he said.

While Denair and Gridley will square off in one Division V semifinal match Thursday at 3 p.m., the other semifinal features No. 1 Leadership (13-3) of Hayward against No. 5 Marshall (12-3-3) of San Francisco. Leadership shut out Williams 5-0 while Marshall edged Winters 2-1 on Tuesday.

The Northern California finals are scheduled Saturday at 5 p.m.

Denair has won back-to-back Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI boys soccer championships, but that didn’t earn the Coyotes much respect when the NorCal playoff pairings were released over the weekend.

Despite its 16-10-4 record, Denair was seeded only seventh in the eight-team Division V NorCal bracket. That means the Coyotes will be on the road Tuesday against a team, Bakersfield Christian (12-13-3) that not only has a losing record overall, but was rewarded with a No. 2 seed and a first-round home game.

“We’re trying to figure it out how they rank teams. How do they make those decisions?” wondered first-year Denair coach Antonio Padilla. “It is what it is, though. We have to be positive and play the game.”

Bakersfield Christian won the Central Section Division VI championship Friday with a 3-2 win over Yosemite of Oakhurst. The Eagles have been good at home this season, winning seven of their nine matches, but have won only five of 19 matches on an opponent’s field or at a neutral site. 

Padilla planned to watch video of Bakersfield Christian with his players on Monday afternoon. The Eagles have scored 31 goals while allowing 51 on the season. That pales in comparison to Denair, which has racked up 116 goals. The Coyotes’ star player, Angel Sanchez, ranks fifth in the nation with 48 goals all by himself. He also has 15 assists, giving him 111 total points (also fifth-best in the country).

“They must have been playing a lot of good teams this year is all I can think,” Padilla said of Bakersfield Christian. “They’re the second seed for a reason, I guess. We just have to be positive.”

The Coyotes haven’t played since their 2-0 victory over Esparto in the Section finals on Feb. 18. The rain prevented Denair from practicing outdoors for a few days last week and the indoor gyms at the high school and middle school were unavailable. The players are well rested, but Padilla worries about the combination of a long layoff and a three-hour bus ride on Tuesday.

“Hopefully, my players get plenty of rest tonight,” he said. “Sometimes, it takes a little bit of time to get into the game when you haven’t played, but I think my players are ready.”

Tuesday’s match starts at 5 p.m. in Bakersfield. The winner will play Thursday against the winner of No. 3 Gridley (12-6-2) vs. No. 6 Venture Academy (23-1-1) of Stockton. The top seed in Division V is Leadership (12-3) of Hayward.

Students at Denair Elementary Charter Academy will participate in a series of Dr. Seuss events beginning Monday as part of the school’s celebration of Read Across America week.

Read Across America is a nationwide event coordinated by the National Education Association. It includes suggested books appropriate for students at various grade levels as well as ideas for other activities to promote reading.

At DECA, school officials and staff chose to use the popular Dr. Seuss series as the theme to organize reading as well as dress-up activities throughout the week – all in an effort to generate more excitement about what can be learned and enjoyed when students know how to read.

Each day next week will have a theme based on a specific Dr. Seuss book:

• Monday: “I Am Not Going to Get Up Today.” Students can wear their pajamas to school and bring their favorite stuffed animal.
• Tuesday: “Green Eggs and Ham.” Everyone will wear green clothing.
• Wednesday: “Wacky Wednesday.” Students can wear their clothes inside out, don a crazy hat, sport crazy socks and have a crazy hair day.
• Thursday: “Put Me in the Zoo.” Students will wear clothing with spots and dots.
• Friday: “Cat in the Hat.” Students and one of their friends will dress like twins.

Students in DECA’s five second-grade classrooms will rotate during the week and read a different Dr. Seuss book with each teacher – “The Lorax” with Mrs. Jones, “The Cat in the Hat Comes Back” with Mrs. Brown, “Horton Hears a Who” with Ms. Siggins, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” with Miss Fuentes and “Oh, the Things You Can Think!” with Mrs. Hurtado.

Even transitional kindergarten students will be involved. On Wednesday, Mrs. Chavez’s TK class will get together with their “big buddies” in Mrs. Groves’ first-grade class to read a Dr. Seuss book and then play a word game.

Finally on Friday, the entire DECA student body will meet in the gym, where older and younger students will be paired in small groups to read Dr. Seuss books together.

There will be another blue banner going up in the Denair High gym denoting a Sac-Joaquin Section championship after the boys soccer team swept to their second straight Division VI title with three convincing victories last week.

The Coyotes – with Angel Sanchez and Diego Padilla sparking the offense and Emanuel Renteria leading a tenacious defense – proved why they were the No. 1 seed in the Division VI tournament. 

Playing at home on Feb. 14, Denair defeated No. 8 Millennium of Tracy 6-1 as Sanchez scored four times. The Coyotes led 2-1 at halftime, then scored four goals in the second half to easily pull away.

Two nights later, Denair shut out No. 4 seed Rio Vista 5-0, also at home. Sanchez scored three more times, Padilla added another and they combined to force an own goal from Rio Vista’s defense. 

Saturday’s championship match against No. 2 Esparto was held at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento. Sanchez got the Coyotes off to a hot start with a goal barely a minute into the game and Padilla added another on a penalty kick later in the first half. That was all the offense Denair would need as Renteria controlled the middle of the field, keeping the pressure off goalie Sergio Torres, who only had to make four saves.

Now, the Coyotes (16-10-4) await word of their seeding and first-round opponent in the Northern California tournament, which begins Feb. 28. Denair reached the same point last year and lost.

“The sooner the better,” said first-year coach Antonio Padilla, when asked when he expects the NorCal pairings to be released. “We’re hoping for a home match.”

Denair finished third in the Southern League this season but appears to be peaking at the right time. The Coyotes are 12-2-1 in their past 15 matches.

Sanchez, a senior, has been the star on offense all year long. He has scored 49 goals, ranking him in the top five among all players in California and in the top 10 nationally.

It’s Renteria and the Coyotes’ defense, however, that really gets Padilla excited.

“Emanuel is something else. He’s good. He plays in the center of the field, can switch both sides and is a tremendous defender,” Padilla said. “We try to stop the opponent’s attack at midfield. If we can control the middle, we can control the game.”

With a week off, Padilla said he will have “high-intensity” practices through Friday in an effort to keep his players sharp.

“They’ve been working hard and I’m proud of them,” he said. “I told them that they represent Denair and we want to represent the town in a positive way.”

The Denair boys soccer team will have a chance to defend its Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI championship. 

The Coyotes – featuring one of the nation’s top scorers in Angel Sanchez and having won nine of their last 12 matches – were seeded first when the playoff pairings were released Friday. Denair (13-10-4) will host Millennium (13-5-4) of Tracy on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

“The way the boys are working right now, we’re looking forward to playing again,” said first-year coach Antonio Padilla, who gave his team the weekend off and plans just a light practice Monday. “It’s been a long season and we could have three games next week. It’s very important for the players to have time to rest and recover.”

After a disappointing start to the season – including four losses from forfeits because they used an ineligible player – the Coyotes appear to be peaking at the right time, despite dealing with some nagging injuries and illnesses. Denair finished third in the Southern League behind Orestimba (16-7-1) and Delhi (19-2-5), both of which are in the Division V playoffs with Delhi seeded No. 1. 

Denair is 9-2-1 in its past 12 matches, including 0-0 and 3- 3 ties with Delhi and a 1-0 loss to Gustine, which also made the Division VI bracket.

“The boys have still given 100 percent, but some games we weren’t totally healthy, like the loss to Gustine,” Padilla said.

Leading the way all season has been Sanchez, a senior forward who has been virtually unstoppable. He has 41 goals and 13 assists for 95 points, ranking him fifth nationally in goals and seventh in points. Only  

Giovanni Perez (41 goals, 15 assists) of East Union in Manteca has more points than Sanchez in the Sac-Joaquin Section.

Is there a secret to Sanchez’s success?

“Mainly, he works so hard,” Padilla said. “My message to the boys was to give 200% or the person behind you will get the chance. Angel got that message quick. He creates a lot of opportunities for himself. And we have players who can pass it to him.”

A victory Tuesday would earn the Coyotes another home game on Thursday against the winner of the match between No. 4 Rio Vista (11-3-3) and No. 5 Colfax (10-5-2).

The other half of the Division VI bracket features No. 2 Esparto (14-5-1) hosting No. 7 Gustine (11-8-3) and No. 3 Summerville (7-5-2) facing No. 6 Ben Holt Academy (13-6-2) in the first round.

The Section championship match will be played Saturday.