Denair High Boys Host 20th Holiday Classic This Week

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Submitted by Denair High School

Expectations have risen for the Denair High School boys basketball team.

The Coyotes have two all-league players returning from a squad that finished second in the Southern League last winter and qualified for the playoffs. They also have an athletic roster, including four players who still are riding high from winning a state football championship, plus a precocious freshman who already has flashed playmaking potential.

Seventh-year coach R.J. Henderson knows full well that expectations, potential and lofty goals are just empty talk in mid-December. The true measure of success will play out on the court between now and the end of February.

The Coyotes stand at 4-5 as they prepare to host their 20th annual Denair Holiday Classic Tournament this week. They will face Turlock Christian (a team that beat Denair 60-48 three weeks ago) at 8 p.m. Thursday, Big Valley Christian at 8 p.m. Friday and Escalon at 2 p.m. Saturday.

“The effort and athleticism on this team are by far the best of my seven years here,” assessed Henderson after Tuesday’s practice.

The Coyotes didn’t reach full strength until last week – after the football team’s amazing run that earned it a state title on Dec. 1.

Steffin Winston, Drew Pritchard, Elvis Silva, and Hunter Musgrave were all key members of the football team who only started practicing basketball last week. Henderson said they were on a minutes restriction as their bodies adjusted to a different sport, but that ended with Tuesday night’s 52-48 win over Livingston.

The two returning all-league seniors – Winston and Pritchard – led the way with 16 and 12 points, respectively. Mario Plasencia, only a freshman, sealed the win with an offensive rebound and left-handed put back off a missed free throw in the final minute.

“He’s ambidextrous,” marveled Henderson.

Winston and Plasencia also dominated inside – racking up 29 rebounds and nine blocked shots between them, though both are only about 6 feet tall.

“They’re both quick jumpers who play like they’re 6-4 or 6-5,” Henderson said. “They’re going to surprise some guys this year.”

Junior shooting guard Austin Upfold also has improved his game. He averaged nearly 17 points a game before the football players joined the team and presents another threat on offense.

Henderson is high on two other juniors – wing Elvis Silva (the football quarterback) and Turlock High transfer Hayden Feldman (the first big man off the bench).

“Elvis is just one of those glue guys every team needs,” the coach said. “He can guard three or four positions in the Southern League. And he’s very low maintenance. Just a super special kid.”

After this week’s tournament, Denair plays only two more non-league games – Dec. 20 at Soquel in Santa Cruz and Dec. 28 at home against Pacheco of Los Banos. The preseason schedule and tournaments all are geared to prepare the Coyotes for the start of the Southern League season Jan. 3.

Henderson says defending SL champion Mariposa still is the team to beat, but he expects the Coyotes to try and repeat their success of last season when they steadily improved and qualified for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V playoffs. They lost in the first round to Summerville.

“We haven’t beaten Mariposa in my six years here,” Henderson said. “That’s got to change.”

Tip-ins: Henderson said the first Cajun Crab Boil fundraiser in November netted the team nearly $10,000. … The Denair Youth League basketball clinic begins on Jan. 12 and continues with games the next four Saturdays. The clinic is open to any boy and girl in grades kindergarten through sixth grade who lives in the Denair Unified School District.

Denair High Again Recognized for Red Ribbon Week

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Submitted by Denair High School

For the second year in a row, Denair High School was honored for the enthusiasm, participation and content of its programs associated with Red Ribbon Week in October. The Coyotes finished third among all the high schools in Stanislaus County. In 2017, Denair was second.

Schools across the country celebrate Red Ribbon Week, which began in 1980 as a way to discourage drug use among children while promoting healthy behaviors. Former First Lady Nancy Reagan was one of the original proponents.

High school, middle school, and elementary campuses were evaluated by officials from the county Office of Education, who made site visits. They used a point system that factored in student, staff and parental involvement as well as decorations and signs associated with Red Ribbon events.

At Denair High, student members of the PHAST (Protecting Health and Slamming Tobacco) Club worked with staff advisor Melissa Treadwell to orchestrate an informative and fun series of events.

A wrecked car was placed on campus all week to demonstrate the dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or texting and driving. Also this year, students could wear “Drunk Goggles,” which simulated what it was like to be impaired. Teens had to try to walk a straight line while wearing them.

Treadwell said the judges rated Denair perfect in three areas – parent and community involvement, activities schedule and portfolio (which featured aerial images taken by a drone flying above the campus).

“The drone footage captured unique angles and we could tell that a lot of work and effort was put forth by students, teachers, staff and parents!” read the report of the SCOE judges.

“The kids did a great job coordinating everything,” said Treadwell, who joined some of the PHAST Club members on Tuesday to pick up their award at the county schools office in Modesto.

Hughson finished first among high schools and Elliott Education Center was second.

Denair Principal Kara Backman said Red Ribbon Week is an important part of preparing teens for the future and teaching them to make good choices.

“We believe in providing opportunities for students through academic rigor and extracurricular activities,” she said. “We believe that awareness and grit help guide students emotional maturity toward a successful college and career path.”

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Denair Football Team Wins State Championship!

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Submitted by Denair High School.

Decades from now, after the legend of this year’s Denair High football team has been passed down from one generation to the next, the people who know the story best – the players and their coaches – no doubt will remember this: this special season was possible because each of them believed in the other without reservation. It was a team without apparent ego, everyone willing to sacrifice a little of himself for the greater good.

Saturday night, with purple-clad parents and students and proud alums, gathered to watch on a chilly night at Jack Lytton Stadium, Denair capped a dream season with a dominating 42-14 victory over Santee of Los Angeles for the California Division VII title.

The Denair Coyotes are state champions.

Sunday morning – after maybe four hours of sleep – it still hadn’t quite sunk in for Coach Anthony Armas.

“It’s pretty awesome,” he said. “We always hoped for the best, but I don’t think realistically we ever thought this could happen.”

The title game against the best team from Southern California followed a familiar script: the Coyotes jumped out to an early lead, used their stable of multi-talented running backs to keep Santee’s defense on its heels and its offense off the field, and made enough big plays of their own on defense to ground the Falcons.

Denair (12-1) scored touchdowns six of the nine times it had the ball. It ran out the clock to end each half and turned the ball over just once on a fumble on a field slickened by rain earlier in the day.

That the Coyotes controlled the game minus one of their main offensive weapons – running back Hunter Musgrave, out with a neck injury – reflected the team ethos Armas has preached since practice began July 23.

“Do what we do and do it well. Play fast,” is what he told them before the game.

Mission accomplished.

Drew Pritchard – filling in for Musgrave – ran for 123 yards and two TDs, and Steffin Winston added 120 yards and two more scores to lead the Coyotes’ offense.

Denair led 28-6 at halftime and never was threatened in the final two quarters, despite facing the nation’s leading rusher in Santee’s Joseph Todd. He finished with 251 yards on 30 carries, and scored both the Falcons’ touchdowns on long runs, but mostly was kept in check by the swarming Denair defense.

The Coyotes played so well that Athletic Director Darrin Allen found himself thinking in the first quarter: “We’re going to win this thing.” Then he recalled something his father always told him: “Don’t celebrate too early. Don’t get too excited.”

By the fourth quarter, with Denair comfortably ahead and the outcome assured, the excitement and anticipation were amplified. More than 1,000 fans were screaming in Denair’s grandstands; others cheered from the warmth of their cars looking through the chain-link fence off Lester Road. “I saw former teachers and alums I had coached,” Allen said.

At that point, Allen’s biggest concern was making sure he got the state championship trophy – which had arrived earlier in the week – to the postgame ceremony at the middle of the field.

“Honestly, we set everything up and it just became a blur,” Allen said. “It was absolutely amazing. We’d asked our crowd to stay off the field and they did. … I thought they’d all come. We did the ceremony and kids and coaches had the trophy. They took pictures. Our kids did the senior tunnel like they always do and they took off to the stands.”

It was then that the community celebration – which eventually made its way to the Pizza Factory – truly began.

Armas, a 1997 Denair graduate who took over a program four years ago that previously struggled to win a few games a season, accepted the handshakes and hugs and congratulations. Later, he and his assistant coaches gathered at one of their homes, as they do after every game, to review what happened.

“We hang out and just try to decompress. We talked about the game and season as a whole,” Armas said.

What will he remember about this once-in-a-lifetime group of players?

“This team is the definition of special,” Armas said. “I always thought we had a special group of kids. The way they work together. They care about each other. We talk about family and that’s what they are.

“They have a great work ethic. We can go out and work hard and have fun doing it. It’s a big deal. It doesn’t get boring. They’re just a fun group. They have great personalities and great sense of humor.”

By the time he finally got to bed about 1:30 Sunday morning, the magnitude of being state champions had just begun to sink in for Armas.

“I know it means a lot for our community,” he said. “I know I had people contact me before the game that I hadn’t heard of from a long time. I heard there was a lot of attention on social media.”

Leave it to Allen – who grew up in Denair, graduated from the high school in 1985, and has witnessed firsthand all the highs and lows the town has experienced – to provide some perspective.

“During my lifetime, this is the biggest thing to happen to our community and to our school,” he said.

In Allen’s office, there are pictures of every football team dating back to the ’80s. Saturday night, after the last players and coaches and fans had left the stadium, Allen was alone with the state championship trophy in his office. He already had received more than 75 congratulatory texts and emails, but his mind was on everyone who ever had worn a purple Coyotes uniform.

He sat the trophy in front of those old team pictures, then took a new photo that he posted on social media with this caption: “This is for the Coyotes: past, present, and future.”

Allen, reflecting Sunday morning, credited this year’s players for never allowing any moment to become too big for them – even a state championship game.

“I would say it was their heart and their ability to have the attitude to go out and get the job done. They do their job and don’t panic. … They took it to a whole different level last night.”

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Denair MAC Meeting Agenda for December 4, 2018

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Submitted by Denair Municipal Advisory Council.

The Denair Municipal Advisory Council has posted the MAC Agenda for their December meeting, scheduled for December 4, 2018. The meeting starts at 7:00 pm. The meeting will be held in the DUSD Leadership Center/Board Room.

I. Opening and Pledge of Allegiance

II. Introduction and Roll Call

III. Public Comment*

IV. Swearing-in of Municipal Advisory Council Member Kimberley Stokes

V. Approval of the minutes from the November 6, 2018 meeting

VI. Agency Reports and Updates:

A. Public Safety:

i. California Highway Patrol

ii. Stanislaus County Sheriff

iii. Denair Fire Department

B. Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors

C. Denair Public Library

D. Denair High School Leadership

E. Denair Unified School District (DUSD)

VII. Informational Items

VIII. Action Items

IX. MAC Comments and Topics for the Next Agenda

A. Provide a recommendation on the Honest Choice Use Permit Application to allow for commercial cannabis business operations.

X. Adjournment: Next regular meeting – Tuesday, January 8, 2019

*PUBLIC COMMENT: Please limit comments to five (5) minutes, or as directed by the Chairperson. Matters under the jurisdiction of the Council and not on this agenda may be addressed by the general public at this time and the Council may consider adding the item to the next month’s agenda for further consideration. However, California law prohibits the Council from taking action on any matter that is not on the posted agenda unless it is determined to be an emergency by the Council.

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS: In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance to participate in this meeting, please contact the Clerk of the Board at (209) 525-4494. Notification 72 hours prior to the meeting will enable the County to make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility to this meeting.

Denair Football Team Rolls to Section Division VII Title; Will Host State Championship Game Saturday

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Submitted by Denair High School

The charmed season of the 2018 Denair High football team becomes more magical each week.

The Coyotes barely had time to process Saturday’s 43-21 victory over Golden Sierra for the school’s first-ever Sac-Joaquin Section Division VII football championship before they found out Sunday that they were selected to play for a state title this week.

Better yet? Denair gets to play before its adoring home crowd on the familiar turf at Jack Lytton Stadium. The opponent – Los Angeles City champion Santee – faces a six-hour bus ride. Kickoff will be at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Denair Coach Anthony Armas was getting ready to go to school Sunday to meet with Athletic Director Darrin Allen when he learned the Coyotes had earned a spot in the title game. Who told him? His mother, of all people.

“The CIF posted it on Max Preps. She saw it there and texted me,” Armas said.

Families all around Denair – still basking in the glow of Saturday’s Section championship — had more reason to celebrate.

Armas immediately sent a group text to his players: “Game Saturday, December 1st in Denair at 6pm against Santee from L.A. STATE TITLE GAME!”

Saturday’s game at Liberty Ranch High School in Galt against Golden Sierra had been postponed by a week because of all the smoke associated with the deadly Camp Fire in Butte County.

Despite the layoff, Denair didn’t look rusty. The Coyotes (11-1) jumped to a 13-0 lead early, then used two interception returns for touchdowns in the fourth quarter to seal its victory over the Grizzlies (8-5).

The first big play came with Denair leading 30-21 with about two minutes to play when senior Hunter Musgrave stepped in front of a Golden Sierra pass with the Grizzlies threatening to score. Musgrave weaved his way 91 yards for the touchdown that essentially sealed the game.

“I just stayed in my zone and he made a bad decision,” Musgrave told the Modesto Bee about Golden Sierra’s quarterback.

Amazingly, in a season of milestones for the Coyotes, it was the first time they scored on defense.

About 90 seconds later, Winston matched Musgrave’s feat. He intercepted another pass and raced 70 yards to provide the icing on the Section and Northern California title cake.

“The first one was great. The second one was even better,” admitted Armas. “I didn’t even realize that we hadn’t scored all year on defense. The ref told me after our kids told him.”

Winston also starred on offense, scoring three rushing touchdowns and finishing with 99 yards on 18 carries.

“My offensive line was making beautiful holes for me and I was just hitting them as hard as I could,” he told the Bee.

Musgrave also scored on offense on a trick play in the second half, when everything the Coyotes did seemed to work just as planned.

It all led to a postgame celebration that included the presentation of the Section trophy and blue championship banner, plus patches for each player to put on his letterman jacket. When the team bus finally rolled into Denair about 6 p.m., it was met by Fire Department trucks and escorted to an impromptu parade down Main Street.

Despite all the excitement, Armas expects to have a normal week of practice this week. The players will work out Monday, Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and Wednesday night under the lights, just as they do every week. They’ll get Friday off before playing their final game Saturday.

“At this point, we’re playing with house money,” Armas said. “I don’t think this week will be any different. … I don’t think it’s really hit me yet. Right now, it’s just, ‘Beat Santee.’ ”

Extra points: This is Denair’s first Section championship since the boys basketball team in 2002. … Armas has only seen a little tape of Santee. What he saw impressed him. “They’re big. They have a lot of speed. They have a really good running back. They look like a double tight end offense. They run the pistol and a little counter-option. I expect them to be physical.” … Santee (13-1) defeated Los Angeles Fremont 52-20 Saturday for its Section title. … The Falcons are led by running back Joseph Todd, who has rushed for 2,788 yards and 40 TDs this season. He averages 214 yards a game.