For high school soccer players and fans, a penalty kick shootout is one of the sport’s most exciting and dramatic moments. It occurs when two playoff teams are still tied after 80 minutes of regulation play and a pair of 10-minute overtimes. Unlike the regular season, a tie is not an option.

A shootout is the ultimate do-or-die moment. One player at a time lines up to go against a goalie and try to score. Teams alternate for five kicks from about 8 yards away. The teams with the most goals wins.

That’s exactly the situation the Denair boys found themselves in on a cool, breezy Tuesday night at Jack Lytton Stadium against Summerville. Still tied 1-1 after 100 minutes, it was down to a shootout to decide who would advance in the playoffs and who would go home.

A coin flip decides who goes first. Denair won the toss. Coyotes coach Miguel Hernandez sent out his top scorer, Angel Sanchez, to start. Sanchez, who earlier had turned his ankle and left the game temporarily, came through with a goal.

Summerville matched that score. Emanuel Renteria was next for Denair. He rose to the moment and made his kick. Again, Summerville scored and, again, Denair took the lead, with Timothy Hernandez scoring a third goal.

Once more, Summerville tied it up, only to see Diego Padilla put Denair back in front with his goal.

Then, on Summerville’s fourth kick, Denair goalie Sergio Torres guessed right, diving in the same direction as the Summerville player’s shot. That decision caused the shot to go wide.

Denair was ahead 4-3, with one kick left. If Justin Hernandez – who scored Denair’s only goal in regulation way back in the first 10 minutes of the game – could come through, Denair would have five goals and win. There would be no way for Summerville to catch up.

With a partisan crowd cheering him on, Hernandez calmly kicked the ball into the back of the net. Let the celebration begin.

“We were lucky to survive,” said a relieved and exhausted Miguel Hernandez, Denair’s coach. “We lost Angel, who rolled his ankle. I put him back in with a minute to go. Emanuel also rolled an ankle. Our strategy was to go to penalties because our guys were just drained. These guys have never played that long. I just told them to hang on.”

The victory vaulted top-seeded Denair (15-1-5) into the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI championship game on Saturday against a familiar opponent, Southern League rival and No. 5 seed Gustine (11-6-4), which knocked off Esparto 1-0 in the other semifinal. The title game will be played at 2 p.m. at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento.

The Coyotes and Reds faced off twice in the league season. They tied 1-1 on Jan. 29 in Gustine and Denair won 2-0 at home Feb. 4. 

“I didn’t want to face them,” Hernandez admitted. “They kind of know our strategy and our system. I kind of wanted a team that didn’t know us as well.”

Regardless of the opponent, Denair is trying to do something no other boys soccer team has accomplished – win a Section championship.

“The guys were very happy after Tuesday’s game was over,” Hernandez acknowledged. “They know what it meant for the school. This group is proud to be first team to go this far.”

Hernandez appreciates the effort it took to reach the title game. He credited his defense for hanging tough on a night when whichever team had the wind at its back had an advantage. He also applauded Torres’ effort in goal.

“Sergio really stepped up huge. He made three or four critical saves,” Hernandez said. “It wasn’t our night, to be honest. We were making mistakes. Maybe the wind was a factor. We’re happy we got out of there with a win. It was tough. Summerville did not get up.”

R.J. Henderson has coached Denair’s boys basketball team for a decade. The Coyotes have won or shared the past three Southern League championships, something that hasn’t happened in 30 years. They’ve qualified for the Sac-Joaquin Section Tournament and made it as far as the NorCal Tournament two years ago. Their four senior starters – the group Henderson calls “the core four” – have racked 60 victories against just four losses the past four years.

With all that success and accomplishment for context, Henderson believes Monday night’s dominating 69-46 road victory over Mariposa was extra special.

“I think it was the best game that I’ve been a part of in 10 years, given all that was at stake,” Henderson praised. “It was the best atmosphere we’ve played in all year. The intensity that was inside that building and the way we played — I’m confident we’re ready for what’s next.”

The win not only clinched an SL co-title between the Coyotes and Grizzlies, it clearly impressed the people who were seeding the Section Division V bracket. Denair (23-4) vaulted to the No. 1 seed – meaning it not only earned a first-round bye, but it also will play at home in round two and, if it wins next Monday, again in round three on Feb. 23.

The Division V championship game will be played Feb. 26 at Golden One Arena in Sacramento, home of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings.

Senior Mario Plasencia – a four-year starter – led the way against Mariposa, scoring a game-high 23 points and grabbing 22 rebounds. The other members of “the core four” — Cooper Feldman, Jack Henderson and Connor Leonard – also all scored in double figures. They have been playing together since junior high school.

Denair only led by seven points at halftime, but turned up the pressure on defense and found another gear on offense in the second half. The result was another runaway league victory for the Coyotes, who crushed many SL opponents by margins of 50 points or more this year.

Monday’s win also avenged a 55-52 home loss to Mariposa on Jan. 4. Denair has won 19 of its past 21 games.

“We’re the first Denair team to win three titles in a row. Ever. That’s going to be our legacy,” said Henderson.

Earning the No. 1 seed in the 14-team Division V bracket is another impressive accomplishment for the Coyotes. There were no playoffs last year because of COVID, but in the three seasons before that, Denair was seeded 11^th twice and third once. In 2020, Denair advanced as far as the first round of the NorCal Tournament, where the Coyotes were beaten 47-44 by Pacific Bay Christian of Pacifica.

Ripon Christian (19-7) earned the No. 2 seed in Division V and the other first-round bye. Denair defeated RC 62-49 in the Riverbank Tournament in December. The third seed is Fortune Early College Prep (12-10) of Sacramento. Mariposa (20-5) is seeded fourth, setting up a potential Mariposa at Denair semifinal on Feb. 23.

Henderson is not concerned that Denair hasn’t played a close game since its loss to Mariposa in January. He thinks it’s more important that the Coyotes are playing their best basketball as the playoffs begin

“The league was very top heavy this year,” he said. “It’s going to cycle from time to time. Some of those scores got out of hand, but we weren’t trying to run it up on anyone.”

Next Monday, Denair will host the winner of Friday’s game between No. 8 seed Aspire Langston Hughes Academy (16-0) of Stockton and No. 9 Golden Sierra (17-8) of Garden Valley. Henderson said his coaching staff and most of the team will be in Stockton on Friday night to scout the two teams in person.

Despite the top seed, Henderson senses that some potential opponents still don’t give Denair the respect he thinks it’s earned. That’s fine with him.

“I still think there’s some overlooking of our team. Which is fine,” he said. “We want to operate with a chip on our shoulders. I’ve been doing that for 10 years as a coach. I try to keep our kids edgy and they’ve responded to it.”

Two more home victories not only would give the Coyotes a chance to play in an NBA arena, it also likely would cement another spot in the NorCal Tournament – achieving one of the team’s primary goals.

“Getting to March means the State Tournament,” Henderson said. “In the last three weeks, especially in the last 48 hours, it’s been, ‘Let’s really try to maximize this run in Sections.’ But we don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves. I would love for us to play a game in Golden One. The kids would, too. They don’t want this thing to end. Yet our primary focus right now is getting ready for the winner of that Friday night game.”

Anyone planning to attend Denair’s home playoff games should be aware that the ticket policy has changed this year. They will not be sold at the door and must be ordered online (here is the link). Tickets for Monday’s 7 p.m. game will not go on sale until Saturday. 

Denair’s Timothy Hernandez scored early in the second half and the Coyotes’ suffocating defense did the rest in a 1-0 victory over Ben Holt College Prep Academy of Stockton on Thursday night in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI boys soccer playoffs.

Top-seeded Denair (14-1-5) will host Summerville on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Jack Lytton Stadium. The fourth-seeded Bears (6-4-3) defeated Millennium 3-2 on Thursday.

The other semifinal has No. 6 Gustine (10-6-4) traveling to No. 2 Esparto (12-3-5). Gustine knocked off Humphreys Able Charter 4-1 in the first round while Esparto shut out Woodland Christian 7-0.

The Division VI championship will be played Feb. 19 at 2 p.m. at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento.

Denair’s defense – which allowed only 11 goals the entire season – posted its ninth shutout this year against Ben Holt (10-5-3). The Southern League champion Coyotes were so dominant that the Bobcats managed just three shots in the game and Denair goalie Sergio Torres only had to make one save.

“Our defense was just rock solid. It was phenomenal,” said Denair coach Miguel Hernandez.

Though the Coyotes dominated the ball and controlled the pace of the game, Hernandez said he could tell his players were tight in the first half.

“I kind of sensed nerves,” he said. “I think it was having that pressure of being the No. 1 seed. It was a lot of weight on their shoulders.”

At halftime, Hernandez told his players it was all right to have butterflies and reminded them that it was their defense, in particular, that had been the key to their success. He told them to continue to be aggressive and not to get frustrated.

That advice paid off about 5 minutes into the second half when Timothy Hernandez (no relation to the coach) found the net off a rebound after Ben Holt’s goalie had stopped a Denair shot. That score energized the Coyotes and refocused their defense.

Miguel Hernandez credited Angel Sanchez, Emmanuel Renteria, John Hernandez (no relation) and Eddie Corral for spearheading Denair’s defense, even as Ben Holt moved more players to the offensive end trying to tie the score.

“Nothing got through them,” Miguel Hernandez praised.

Next up for the Coyotes is Summerville, which finished second in the Mother Lode League. Hernandez said he will watch whatever video he can find before Tuesday’s game in an effort to prepare his players. The two schools only have one opponent in common – Millennium – which they both defeated. 

A state law passed three years ago that takes effect with the 2022-23 school year will require the Denair Unified School District to change when class starts and ends each day. The ramifications are likely to affect every student and every family in the district, Superintendent Terry Metzger told trustees at their monthly board meeting Thursday night.

Currently, school begins at 8 a.m. for all of Denair’s 1,200 kindergarten through 12^th-grade students. The law passed by the California Legislature and signed by the governor in 2019 says districts cannot start before 8 a.m. for middle school students or 8:30 a.m. for high school students. It was based on research regarding sleep deprivation in adolescents and the benefits of a later start time.

Metzger said all school districts are California are “grappling with this change.” For small districts like Denair, the ripple effect of starting and ending high school 30 minutes later each day will touch everyone.

Transportation is a key consideration, Metzger said. Most parents and/or caregivers of Denair students work outside the home and many of their children rely on them for transportation to and from school. That could be complicated with a school schedule change.

The district also has two bus routes that serve about 300 K-12 students. Metzger said the district cannot afford to have early buses for elementary students and later ones for middle and high school students.

In addition, Metzger said that the high school and middle school currently operate on the same schedule, which allows them to share staff.

The current schedule also allows older siblings to accompany younger children to school, something that could be problematic if Denair Elementary Charter Academy retains an 8 a.m. start time while the high school and middle school begin a half-hour later.

Metzger has had multiple discussions with staff and parents about the upcoming change, including a Zoom meeting Jan. 19 and face-to-face meetings in the following weeks. She also surveyed parents and 58 responded, many sharing ideas and expressing concerns about the schedule change.

Metzger said the advantage of moving the start times for all three campuses back to 8:30 a.m. are:

• Families could stay on the same schedule
• It allows collaboration and shared staff at DHS and DMS
• The district could continue to provide transportation for all students who need it

Metzger said the district also is exploring free before- and after-school child care options for parents.

No decision was made Thursday night. The scheduling issue is likely to be a discussion item at the board’s March meeting, with trustees expected to approve a final plan in April.

“This is going to impact families,” Metzger said. “There will be less time for homework. Sports are going to go later. It’s going to make dinner time and bedtime more challenging. While that may not be our responsibility, that’s a human factor that we are going to have to think about.”

Earlier in the meeting, trustees voted 5-0 to approve the 2022-23 school calendar. School will begin on Wed., Aug. 10. There will be no class Nov. 21-25 during Thanksgiving Week. Winter break is Dec. 19 through Jan. 2, with classes resuming Tues., Jan. 3. Spring break is April 7-14. And high school graduation will be Fri., May 26.

In other action Thursday night, trustees:

• Congratulated Metzger for being chosen as the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) Region 7 Superintendent of the Year. The region is comprised of Stanislaus, San Joaquin, Tuolumne, Calaveras and Amador counties. Metzger now will represent Region 7 in the statewide competition.
• Voted unanimously approve an updated COVID prevention and safety plan. Removed from the plan were references to distance learning and hybrid learning, which no longer are applicable (the handful of students still learning from home today are on independent study). Also modified were rules regarding contact tracing and testing, which no longer will be required for asymptomatic students. There was no relaxation of mandatory mask use for now, though Metzger expects updated guidance from state officials as early as next week.
• Voted 5-0 in favor of a comprehensive safety plan for the district.
• Heard a midyear update on the Local Control and Accountability Plans for the high school and middle school as well as the district’s two charter schools (DECA and Denair Charter Academy).

In soccer, like other sports, offense often gets much of the glory, but it’s defense that wins championships. Denair boys soccer coach Miguel Hernandez says that’s absolutely the case with the Coyotes this season. 

Only once this year has Denair allowed more than one goal in a game. That was way back on Nov. 19 in the first game of the season when Denair lost 2-0 to Hughson. Since then, the Coyotes have put the clamps on opponents, posting eight shutouts en route to the Southern League championship and earning the No. 1 seed in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI playoffs that begin Thursday night.

Denair (13-1-5) will host eighth-seeded Ben Holt College Prep Academy (10-4-3) under the lights at 6 p.m. at Jack Lytton Stadium. The winner moves on to the semifinals Tuesday night against the winner of No. 4 Summerville and No. 5 Millennium. 

If Denair advances in the playoffs, Hernandez believes it will be in large part because of the team’s stingy defense, which allowed only 11 goals the entire season and at one point held opponents scoreless for five matches in a row.

“We did have best defense in the league, that’s what gave us the No. 1 seed,” said Hernandez, in his third and final season as the Coyotes’ coach. “That’s what I strive for. Defense wins championships.”

Hernandez said center back Angel Sanchez, a junior, and sophomore midfielder Emmanuel Renteria are the team’s top defenders.

“Sanchez is just all over the field,” the coach said. “And Renteria is incredible. He’s amazing. He’s just so versatile. He can do it all.”

Seniors John Hernandez (no relation to the coach) and Eddie Corral also are part of a defense that allowed only seven goals in 14 league matches. Denair went 9-0-5 in those contests, including a 2-0 shutout of Gustine last Friday at home that clinched the SL title.

Denair’s success this season is not a surprise. The Coyotes won a share of the league championship last spring, when COVID delayed and then shortened the season. But there were no playoffs, so there was no chance for them to test themselves on a larger stage.

“We had a good, strong young core last year,” Hernandez said. “I used not being able to go to the playoffs as motivation this year. We talked about that.”

Denair only has three seniors on the team. The top four scorers are sophomore Justin Hernandez (18 goals), junior Timothy Hernandez (13), Sanchez (11) and Renteria (10). The Hernandezes are not related to the coach.

“We’re still very young,” Miguel Hernandez said. “A lot of these guys will be coming back next year. The other coaches in our league talk about that.”

Hernandez doesn’t know much about Ben Holt, Denair’s first-round opponent. They had five opponents in common – Denair went 5-0 against those schools; Ben Holt was 4-1. The coach does expect an enthusiastic crowd to fill the stands.

“There’s a lot of excitement around the school about our team,” he said. “I told the guys we have to be humble and keep our feet on the ground and do what we do.”

Denair is as healthy as it’s been this season. The Coyotes did have some players miss some games in the middle of the season because of COVID, but Hernandez expects everyone to play Thursday night. All the players will take COVID tests on Wednesday.

If they win, the Coyotes will host the semifinal game on Tuesday night. The Section championship is Feb. 19 at 2 p.m. at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento.

The other side of the eight-team bracket features No. 2 Esparto, No. 3 Humphreys Able Charter, No. 6 Gustine and No. 7 Woodland Christian.

Regardless of how this season ends, it will be Hernandez’s final one as Denair’s coach. 

“I broke it to the guys Tuesday at practice,” he said. “It’s been a fun group to coach. I’ve had some of them going back to middle school, where I also coached them. We’ve created some great memories. I’d like to go out with a bang.”