Submitted by Denair High School

SACRAMENTO – Denair High School Coach R.J. Henderson calls senior shooting guard J.T. Smith a “marksman.” And one statistic illustrates that description better than any other. Of the 58 field goals Smith has made this season, 51 of them have been three-pointers.

“When’s he on, he’s changing the game,” Henderson said.

Smith definitely was a game-changer Wednesday night, hitting three of the biggest shots in Denair’s come-from-behind  68-61 overtime victory over Bradshaw Christian in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V playoffs.

The win was Denair’s first in the playoffs since 2007 and moved the 11^th-seeded Coyotes (17-10) into Monday’s second round against No. 3 seed Sacramento Adventist (24-5), which routed 14^th seed Leroy Greene 73-28.

Denair’s season is still alive thanks to some clutch shots from Smith. He drained a three-pointer with about 50 seconds left in regulation that cut Bradshaw’s lead to 52-50. After a missed shot by the Pride, Drew Pritchard – who led the Coyotes with 26 points – made a basket to tie the game.

Denair’s defense came through again, forcing another Bradshaw miss, but the Coyotes missed two free throws with 1.8 seconds that could have clinched the game.

No matter. Smith opened overtime with back-to-back three-pointers, opening a lead that Denair never relinquished despite starts Steffin Winston (13 points, 12 rebounds) and Mario Plasencia both fouling out early in the four-minute extra period.  Continue reading “Denair High Win Basketball Playoff Opener in Overtime; Face Sacramento Adventist on Monday” »

Submitted By Denair High School

Don’t blame the Denair High School boys basketball team for feeling disrespected. Despite finishing a strong second in the Southern League and winning 10 of their final 13 games, the Coyotes will open the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V playoffs on Wednesday night on the road as the 11^th seed against a team with a losing record.

No one ever said life, or playoff brackets, was fair.

Ahead of last Friday’s home game against Waterford, the predicted playoff scenario showed Denair as the possible No. 8 seed, which would have meant a first-round home game. That was one of the points Denair Coach R.J. Henderson stressed to his players, who rose to the challenge behind 34 points from senior guard Drew Pritchard to beat Waterford 78-74.

“What I’m confused about is how we dropped from eight to 11 after winning at home,” Henderson said. “I think it was predetermined to take the Southern League’s second team to No. 11.”

So, instead of a possible home game in front of a raucous crowd, the Coyotes (16-10 overall, 9-3 SL) must travel to Sacramento to take on Bradshaw Christian (10-18, 4-6 in Sierra Valley Conference). The Pride suffered a 10-game losing streak from mid-December to mid-January, but notable among its victories is a 72-66 win last Friday over Liberty Ranch (26-2), the top seed in the Division IV bracket.

“I may be confused by our seeding, but I’m not confused by how good Bradshaw is,” said Henderson, who has watched three games on tape. “They’re good. Their best four guys are sophomores. They have a couple of shooters. They’re more athletic than what we see in the Southern League.”  Continue reading “Denair High Boys Open Basketball Playoffs Wednesday” »

Submitted by Denair Middle School

A Spanish-speaking family who had lost everything in the Napa fires of 2017 moved to Denair early last year. In the course of registering her daughter at Denair Middle School, the mother shared with bilingual secretary Elvia Brizuela that they had very little. Their clothes, their bedding, their life’s possessions – all had been lost.

The mother – whose husband is a farm worker — was worried about her children and the effect having to wear the same clothes over and over was having on them.

Brizuela quietly went to work, asking members of the campus community to donate items. Many were happy to help. Others donated anonymously or provided money. The family was provided for and their crisis eased.

Not long after that, Brizuela encountered a single mother in a similar situation. She had one child in middle school and another in high school. She asked Brizuela if she knew anywhere that sold discounted furniture. Her children also needed clothes.

Again, Brizuela discreetly put the word out. And again, her co-workers responded. One anonymous donor even took the family shopping at Walmart.

“She was amazed,” Brizuela said of the mother. “Today, she’s back on her feet and she paid it forward” by helping out others in need.

From such generous and humble beginnings was born the Coyote Closet, an effort by the Denair Unified staff and the Legacy Health Endowment in conjunction with Sierra Vista Family Services, which oversees mental health programs for the district.  Continue reading “New Coyote Closet Helps Students, Families In Need” »

Submitted by Denair High School:

If they didn’t know it already, Denair High students are being reminded this week of the evils of e-cigarettes, vaping, JUUL pins, and other tobacco-related products.

It’s a coordinated effort involving the school’s PHAST (Protecting Health and Slamming Tobacco) Club and the Stanislaus County Office of Education.

The series of information-related activities and events was highlighted Wednesday with a powerful presentation in the Denair gym by the father-daughter team of Ray and Brooke Lozano, who crisscross the country warning students about the dangers of tobacco and alcohol use.

“Ray asked for a show of hands who’s tried smoking in any form, and maybe 75 to 100 of our 275 students raised their hands,” said Melissa Treadwell, the PHAST Club adviser. “The kids think vaping is an alternative to smoking and that there’s no nicotine. They’re wrong.”

Denair High has a strict anti-tobacco policy. Any student caught with cigarettes, e-cigs, vaping devices or a JUUL pin (which looks like a flash drive) face suspensions of one to three days. Treadwell estimated there already have been eight instances involving boys and girls this school year – up from only two last year.

“It’s not just Denair High,” Treadwell said. “Everyone is struggling with it now.”

With that in mind, SCOE helped bring the Lozanos to Stanislaus County, where they put on presentations all week at various schools.

“Ray’s a really fun guy. The kids really pay attention to him,” Treadwell said.

Among the sobering bits of information shared Wednesday with Denair’s students and staff: Continue reading “Anti-Vaping, E-Cig, and JUUL Presentation Engages Students” »

Submitted by Denair High School

Working professionals from all walks of life – firefighter/paramedic, horse breeder, Realtor, nonprofit executive, dental hygienist, law enforcement, nursing, accounting a more than a dozen occupations – came Friday to share an important message with nearly 300 high school students: You can be whatever you want to be.

The skills may vary, but students from Denair High School and Denair Charter Academy heard some consistent themes in a variety of career-based presentations Friday morning – work hard, get the best education you can, treat people with respect and follow your passion.

Do that, they were told, and a satisfying and successful professional career can be had.

It was all part of an informative and wide-ranging College and Career Fair at the high school.

The point, explained Principal Kara Backman, wasn’t to direct teens down any particular path, but to open their eyes to many different possibilities.

“We really want kids to figure out what their inner passion is and learn about the kinds of skills they need to develop to attain it,” she said.

Students were able to sign up for three 20-minute sessions to listen, watch videos in some cases and ask questions. After lunch, more than two dozen representatives from local colleges and businesses set up booths in the gym, allowing students to browse and gather more information.

One of the sessions featured firefighter and paramedic Kevin Gresham, whose wife, Cherie, is Denair High’s guidance counselor.  Continue reading “Career Fair Exposes Students to Many Opportunities” »