Izaiahs Plasencia – the often-overshadowed fifth starter on the Denair boys basketball team – made his presence felt in a big way Wednesday night. The junior put the Coyotes ahead with a 3-pointer with 45 seconds to play, then blocked a shot on defense to lift Denair to a thrilling 60-56 victory over Southern League rival Mariposa in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V semifinals.

Top-seeded Denair (25-4) moves on to play for its first Section title in 20 years on Saturday. Waiting in the championship game will be No. 11 seed Bradshaw Christian of Sacramento, which edged Ripon Christian 38-37 in the other semifinal.

The title game tips off at noon at Golden One Arena in Sacramento.

Denair and Mariposa know each other well. They have been the two best teams in the Southern League the past four seasons and tied for the league title this year, each handing the other their only SL loss by winning on the other’s home court.

Still, Mariposa unveiled something new Thursday night – a sticky 3-2 zone defense that had Denair on its heels during an uncharacteristically sloppy first half, which saw the Coyotes trailing 31-26 after having made eight turnovers. In their first two meetings, Mariposa played primarily man-to-man defense. 

“Their zone gave us fits,” said Denair coach R.J. Henderson. “It really prevented our guards from penetrating from outside and forced our bigs to make decisions to pass the ball.”

The Coyotes made the appropriate adjustments on offense at halftime. They scored the first 12 points of the third quarter to go up by seven.

“We did a lot better in the second half passing out of the zone,” Henderson said. “We had better looks (at shots) and made better decision. We got their zone to move. And we only had three turnovers, which was huge.”

Still, Mariposa fought back to trail only 42-40 after three quarters. The teams traded the lead four times in the fourth quarter, with the Grizzlies holding a 56-53 advantage with just over 2 minutes left to play.

That’s when Denair’s defense dug in. The Coyotes held Mariposa scoreless the rest of the way, setting the stage for Plasencia’s heroics.

Denair’s other four starters – seniors Mario Plasencia (Izaiahs’ brother), Conner Leonard, Jack Henderson and Cooper Feldman – garner much of the attention because of their gaudy 63-9 record together the past three seasons. Izaiah Plasencia has been what his coach calls “the glue guy,” the player willing to do whatever is required to win a particular game. Sometimes that’s scoring, sometimes that’s making a key defensive play.

Wednesday night, it was both.

Plasencia scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half, including the clutch 3-pointer with 45 seconds to play to that gave Denair a 57-56 lead. Then, on Mariposa’s next possession, he blocked Johann Hill-Zeck’s potential go-ahead shot at the rim.

Mario Plasencia grabbed the rebound and eventually was fouled with 17 seconds to play. His two free throws gave Denair a 59-56 lead. Denair’s defense kicked in again, trapping a Mariposa player in the corner and forcing a jump ball. The Coyotes took possession and Jack Henderson (18 points, 10 assists) made a free throw to ice the game.

Izaiahs Plasencia said he sensed before the game it might be his time to shine.

“When we were shooting today, I was feeling it,” he told the Merced Sun-Star. “I took that feeling into the game and I showed them what I can do.”

Next up for Denair is Bradshaw Christian, another team the Coyotes have some history with. Denair beat them in the first round of the Section playoffs three years ago, but lost to Bradshaw in the semifinals in 2020. In December, Denair won on Bradshaw’s court when Izaiahs Plasencia scored on an offensive rebound and putback with 12 seconds to play.

Despite being the 11^th seed, Bradshaw has caught fire at just the right time – knocking off Argonaut, Fortune Early College Prep and then Ripon Christian in the playoffs.

“They’ve had to run the gauntlet so far,” Henderson said. “They’ve beaten the No. 6 seed, the No. 3 seed and the No. 2 seed – all on the road. They’ve woken up.”

Henderson said he intentionally scheduled a non-league game with Bradshaw, anticipating the two schools might meet again in the playoffs.

“We went up there knowing they’d be one of the top five D5 teams in the Section,” he said. “You want to play a tough schedule. That’s how you get to be a No. 1 seed.”

If Denair wins Saturday, it will be the school’s first Section boys basketball title since 2002, when the Coyotes earned a coveted blue banner by defeating Ripon Christian. Win or lose, Denair already is assured of a spot in the NorCal Tournament, which begins Tuesday. The pairings will be announced Sunday and Henderson expects Denair to be at home in the first round.

“Our two goals this season were to win the Southern League and get into the NorCals,” Henderson said. “But we had never really talked about a Section title. When we got the one seed, it was like, ‘Why not us?’ It’s really only been in the last week or so we’ve thought about the blue banner.”

Henderson isn’t worried about his players competing for the first time in the much larger Golden One Arena, home to the NBA’s Sacramento Kings.

“It’s a 10-foot rim and a little longer court than normal, but it’s still basketball,” he said. “I told our players to enjoy the experience and bring their best effort. Every kid and all the coaches will remember this for a long time.”

Denair Middle School will host multiple sessions for students and their parents on the importance of digital safety on Monday, Feb. 28. 

The student presentations will be at 9 a.m. (sixth-graders), 10:30 p.m. (leadership students) and 1 p.m. (seventh- and eighth-graders).

The parent meeting will begin at 6 p.m. and also will be livestreamed on the DMS Facebook page. Parents of students at any Denair campus – Denair Elementary School, Denair Middle School, Denair High School and Denair Charter Academy – are invited to attend or watch online. There is no cost.

All the meetings will be held at the Coyote Center on the DMS campus.

The presentations will be made by #ICANHELP, a nonprofit that educates on the proper use of social media and empowers students to deal with conflict, negativity, and harassment online. 

“We don’t usually think of it, but just like the way negativity can spread, people can be swayed or encouraged when the majority are doing ‘good’ online,” said #ICANHELP co-founder Kim Karr. “Students just need to be shown how to respond to the negativity. … Through #ICANHELP, students are learning that kindness is saving lives and it doesn’t have to be anything big — a simple smile or a nice Post-It note on a locker might be all it takes.”

For much of Monday night’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division V playoff game, Denair looked less like a No. 1 seed and more like a squad that hadn’t been challenged in nearly two months.

Eighth-seeded Aspire Langston Hughes Academy of Stockton made the Coyotes work harder than they have since early January. Aspire’s stingy zone defense kept Denair’s outside shooters from their preferred spots, frustrating the Coyotes, who surprisingly found themselves trailing by five points late in the third quarter and still tied at 45-45 with 4½ minutes to play.

With the game on the line, Denair’s experience kicked in. Senior Connor Leonard scored six points and the Coyotes were clutch at the free throw line, propelling them to a hard-earned 57-49 victory over the Titans in the second round.

The victory sets up a semifinal rematch at home Wednesday at 7 p.m. with No. 4 Mariposa (22-5), who shared the Southern League title with the Coyotes (24-4) this season. Mariposa edged Bret Harte 50-47 on Monday night.

“I’m absolutely glad it’s over,” Denair coach R.J. Henderson said of Monday’s game. “It was our first close game in six weeks. There were some nerves out there from our guys. It was a combination of that and that they (Aspire) played well. We’re relieved to get through.”

Denair cruised through the Southern League season, losing only 55-52 at home to Mariposa on Jan. 3 and blowing out everyone else. The Coyotes avenged their one loss with a dominant 69-46 victory at Mariposa on Feb. 14, which earned them not only a No. 1 seed but a first-round bye.

Though Denair has won 20 of its last 22 games, Aspire was intimidated. The Titans relied on a ball-hawking 2-3 zone to slow Denair’s typically efficient offense while controlling the pace and keeping the score close throughout.

“We’ve faced zones before, but not many that were that active,” Henderson said. “Their guards at the top did a good job of firing at our shooters and their bigs at the bottom rebounded well.  They were very physical against us.”

Henderson credited senior reserve Joseph Gregg with helping to steady the Coyotes during some key minutes in both halves.

“He had his best game as a varsity player – three or four steals and a couple of points,” Henderson praised. “He’s a quick, disrupting player on defense. This was a perfect matchup for him. He kept our team where we needed to be.”

In the end, it was Denair’s “core four” – seniors Cooper Feldman (15 points), Jack Henderson (14 points), Mario Plasencia (12 points and 10 rebounds despite foul trouble) and Leonard – who came through again. Those four players – who all played as sophomores on Denair’s NorCal playoff team two years ago — raised their record to 61-9 over the past four seasons.

“We finally strung a few stops together on defense and then we made our free throws,” Henderson said.

Next up is a team Denair knows well – Mariposa.

“They kind of mirror us. They have a couple of dynamic players,” Henderson said. “There’s not a weak link on that team. … Both sides respect each, play very hard and like to compete against each other.”

The winner Wednesday night will move on to the Division V championship game Saturday at noon at Golden One Arena in Sacramento.

Wednesday’s other semifinal will be played in Ripon where No. 2 Ripon Christian (20-7) will host No. 11 Bradshaw Christian (11-18) of Sacramento.

Denair has beaten all three of the other semifinalists this season, underscoring why it earned the playoff top seed. Henderson also is proud of the fact that the Southern League – which doesn’t always get a lot of respect at the Section level – has two of the last four teams remaining.

“It’s nice seeing two Southern League teams not just seeded first and fourth, but to know that one of us is going to play in the finals in Sacramento,” he said.

Denair already is assured of a spot in the NorCal Tournament, which starts next week. Two years ago, the Coyotes lost on the road in the first round. With two more victories and a Section title this week, there is a good chance they could host a NorCal game next week.

“We’re confident, but we’ve still got a lot of work ahead to get to Golden One and validate our No. 1 seed,” Henderson said. “We’re looking forward to it.”

The Denair High boys soccer team lost its first game of the season … and hasn’t been beaten since. That undefeated streak culminated Saturday afternoon in the school’s first-ever Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI championship as the Coyotes shut out Southern League rival Gustine 3-0.

The magnitude of the achievement still hadn’t set in two days later for Denair coach Miguel Hernandez.

“I woke up yesterday and it was still surreal,” Hernandez admitted Monday morning. “I was texting with some of our juniors and seniors, and it was just amazing to know what we accomplished together.”

Denair (16-1-5) isn’t done yet. The Coyotes, who were seeded first in the eight-team Section bracket, now will move on to the NorCal Tournament beginning March 1. Pairings will be announced Sunday and Hernandez expects Denair to earn at least one more home game.

Until then, the Coyotes can be satisfied knowing they earned the right to hang a blue Section championship banner in their gymnasium, something no other Denair soccer team has ever done.

The title game was the third meeting of the season between Denair and Gustine. They tied 1-1 on Jan. 29 in Gustine and Denair won 2-0 at home Feb. 4. This time, they played on a perfect day for soccer at American River College in Sacramento.

As it has done it all three of its playoff victories, Denair scored first. Sophomore forward Azael Gil found the net on a header about 15 minutes. Gil, who didn’t start at the beginning of the season, has made the most of his chances since being inserted into the lineup about a month ago.

“He’s really impressed me,” Hernandez said.

About 10 minutes later, Denair went ahead 2-0 when another sophomore, Justin Hernandez, dribbled past a defender and then beat Gustine’s goalie with a low, hard kick to the goalie’s right.

Even with a two-goal lead at halftime, Hernandez told his team it couldn’t relax.

“A 2-0 lead is the most false score in soccer, just because the momentum shifts if the other team scores,” Hernandez said. “And soccer is all about momentum.”

He warned his players that Gustine would start the second half aggressively.

“I told them at halftime, they were going to come out and try to get a goal to put them one goal away,” Hernandez said. “And they did. They were throwing punches, They had us pinned back in our territory.”

But Denair’s defense – the backbone of the team all season — weathered the storm while Coyotes goalie Sergio Torres made some nice saves. “He did an amazing job,” Hernandez praised.

Gustine did find the net once, but the goal was waved off because the Reds were ruled to be offside. That was a pivotal moment – depriving Gustine of the momentum Hernandez was worried about and seeming to inspire Denair once again.

The Coyotes put the game away about midway through the second half when Tim Hernandez scored on a header after a corner kick. That gave Denair an insurmountable 3-0 lead, which Gustine’s players appeared to know.

“They started fouling more,” Hernandez said. “They weren’t playing soccer. They were frustrated and pushed. They knew that scoring three goals in 20 minutes wasn’t going to happen.”

The shutout was the 10^th of the season for Denair, which allowed more than one goal only once this year – in a season-opening 2-0 loss to Hughson on Nov. 19. In fact, Denair’s defense has surrendered just 12 goals this season, not counting the three scored in a 5-3 shootout victory over Summerville in the Division VI semifinals (the teams were tied 1-1 after regulation and overtime).

Hernandez said the Coyotes began truly to believe in themselves after two 1-1 ties in SL play against Delhi – which won the Section Division V championship Saturday and could be a NorCal opponent – and a lopsided road win over Le Grand on Jan. 7.

“It was the Delhi games and Le Grand, which was a good team and we beat them 5-0,” he said. “I could see every single player who went in was locked into their role and duty. And when we beat Gustine in the second game — I told them, ‘If we play like this, nobody can beat us but ourselves.’ ”

As the victories stacked up, Hernandez said Denair’s team goals also evolved.

“We always talked about our main goal, which was to win our league,” he said. “About halfway through the season, that changed to winning a playoff game. Then we started talking about winning the Section.”

A blue banner may have seemed like a fantasy three years ago when Hernandez took over and Denair was coming off a winless season. That all changed Saturday afternoon.

“The guys were so happy,” said Hernandez, who plans to step down after this season ends so he can coach his 7-year-old daughter’s traveling team. “The emotions came out. Especially for the seniors, who never thought they’d get this far after not winning a game as freshmen.”

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Parents of all sixth- and seventh-graders at Denair Middle School are invited to an information meeting about the Foothill Horizons Outdoor Camp. The meeting will be held Wed., Feb. 23 at 5:30 p.m. at the Coyote Center on the DMS campus.

All Denair sixth- and seventh-graders are eligible to attend the outdoor camp near Sonora for a three-day, two-night field trip on April 4-6. 

 Foothill Horizons is operated by the Stanislaus County Office of Education and certified by the State Department of Education. Set on 143 acres of forest, meadows and creeks, students learn about ecology, how to respect nature and how to cooperate with others.

Traditionally, many sixth-graders from across the region attend the camp for a week in the spring. Because of COVID, that has not happened the past two years.

This year’s Denair eighth-graders – who were in the sixth grade in 2020 – took a one-day field trip to Foothill Horizons in October. 

This year’s 140 sixth- and seventh-graders will get a shortened version of the camp experience in April. Outdoor and environmental curriculum related to the camp will be presented in their science classes in the weeks leading up to the camp.

At Wednesday night’s meeting, parents can ask questions as well as sign their children up to attend. Permission forms and health information are required to attend. Deadline to register is March 7.

Unlike previous years, there is no cost to attend the camp. The Denair Unified School District is covering the cost by using money it received from the state.

“We feel this opportunity will be good for our students’ social and emotional health,” said DMS Principal Gabriela Sarmiento. “Especially considering the past couple of years, where a lot of opportunities have been taken away from them.”