Submitted by Denair Unified School District

The meat grinder that is the Denair High football schedule finally ends this week. In the space of a month, the Coyotes will have faced the four powerhouses of the Southern League – Mariposa, Gustine, Orestimba and, this week, Ripon Christian.

Combined, those schools have an overall record of 23-4. Gustine and Orestimba are tied for first place with perfect 7-0 marks. Third-place Mariposa lost only to Orestimba. Ripon Christian’s league losses are to Gustine and Orestimba.

The Southern League is stacked this year.

“Coming in to the season, we understood where we’re at and where we want to go,” said first-year Denair coach Anthony Armas, whose team suffered a 42-6 homecoming loss Friday to Orestimba at Jack Lytton Stadium. “We’re putting in new offense and new defense. We’re trying to change the culture.

“I do see improvement. We’re improving at practice. … We’re dealing with numbers, dealing with injuries. We’re trying to establish and program.”

Denair (2-5, 1-3) hung with Orestimba for the first quarter Friday. The Coyotes moved the ball well on their opening drive before stalling, but then gave up a touchdown on the Warriors’ first offensive play.

They didn’t get down, though. Denair marched down the field to score its only touchdown, cutting the lead to 7-6.

But after that, Orestimba’s size, speed and depth made the difference. The Warriors did all their scoring before the first half ended. The final two quarters were played with a running clock. “They called off the dogs,” Armas said. Continue reading “Tough Schedule Takes Toll on DHS Football Team” »

Submitted by Denair Unified School District

The harsh reality of too few players matched against a superior opponent was too much for the Denair High football team to overcome in Friday night’s 44-0 Southern League loss to undefeated Gustine.

The Coyotes began the game with just 22 players and then lost one of their best two-way performers, Juan Barerra, to a knee injury in the first half. That came a week after three other players suffered injuries in a hard-fought loss to Mariposa.

“It’s the next man up with injuries. That’s what we tell the kids,” said first-year coach Anthony Armas.

Denair is 2-4 overall and 1-2 in the league play midway through the most difficult part of its schedule. The Coyotes already have faced Mariposa and Gustine, and in the next two weeks host Orestimba and travel to Ripon Christian. Those are the top four teams in the Southern League with a combined record of 20-3 overall and 10-2 in league play. Gustine and Orestimba both are 6-0 this season.

“The league this year, from top to bottom, is very, very tough,” Armas acknowledged. “And that’s what we told our players from Day 1. That’s the situation we’re in. There’s nothing we can cry about.”

Denair is the third team this season to be held scoreless by Gustine, a squad Armas called “big and fast.”

“They played well and we didn’t,” he said. “We’re just making little mistakes. Some of them are mental, like going the wrong way on a block. On defense, we missed a lot of tackles.”

Armas praised running back Justin Steeley for his effort, but said the offense “didn’t go as well as we hoped.”

Things get no easier this week with a homecoming game against Orestimba.

“They’re pretty dynamic on offense, similar to Gustine,” Armas said. “I think Gustine is a little bigger, but Orestimba has a very good quarterback and a dynamic running back.”

Submitted by Denair Unified School District

Through five games, a few things are clear about the Denair football team: They’re small in numbers, but won’t be intimidated. They’re more competitive than they’ve been in years. And they have a habit of getting off to slow starts.

All three characteristics were on display Friday night in Denair’s 26-20 loss to Southern League powerhouse Mariposa.

• Slow starts. Just as it did against Summerville in the season opener, Denair gave up a touchdown on its first defensive play of the game. This time, it was a short pass that Mariposa’s receiver turned into a long score by eluding a couple of would-be tacklers. The defensive problems lasted the rest of the first half, when the Grizzlies scored all their points.
• The Coyotes began the game with 26 players, had two injured during the game and another who exhibited concussion symptoms afterward and spent a night in the hospital. Still, Denair’s coaching staff and players showed flexibility with on-the-fly position switches and many guys playing offense and defense. The Coyotes have grit.
• Despite falling behind early, Denair’s defense buckled down to keep the team in the game. Justin Steeley’s 85-yard TD run late in the second quarter cut Mariposa’s lead to 26-14 at halftime. Juan Barrera cut the lead to 26-20 with his own TD run in the third period. The Coyotes had a final chance with the ball at midfield with about 5 minutes left in the game, but were forced to punt and never regained possession.

Barrera was the game’s offensive start, running for more than 220 yards and the touchdown.

First-year coach Anthony Armas said there were a number of takeaways in the loss, which dropped Denair to 1-1 in league play and 2-3 overall. Continue reading “Denair Falls Behind Early in 26-20 Loss to Mariposa” »

Submitted by Denair Unified School District

Denair’s defense played its best game of the season in Friday night’s 20-14 Southern League victory over Delhi. And, fittingly, it was the defense that came through on the most pivotal play.

With two minutes to play and Denair leading 14-7, Delhi was faced with a fourth-and-6 from the Denair 33-yard-line. The Hawks decided to go for a first down. But the strategy backfired when Coyotes lineman Dylan Mann broke free, sacked the Delhi quarterback and caused a fumble. Outside linebacker Juan Barrera scooped up the loose ball and raced 65 yards for the clinching touchdown, setting off a wild celebration on the Denair sideline and in the visiting stands.

In fact, Denair (2-2 overall, 1-0 SL) celebrated a little too long, drew a 15-yard penalty and had to kick off from its own 25-yard line.

Delhi (3-1, 0-1) nearly ran the kick back, then scored a few plays later to trim Denair’s lead to 20-14 with about a minute to play.

The Hawks went for an onside kick, but Denair recovered and ran out the clock to end the hard-fought game.

It was Denair’s first road victory in three tries this season, something Coach Anthony Armas said is an important sign of growth for his young team.

“We had talked about learning to travel because our two previous road games didn’t turn out the way we would have liked them to. I think we are learning how to travel,” said Armas, whose squad had sandwiched away losses to Summerville and Argonaut around a home victory over Brookside Christian. Continue reading “Coyotes Best Previously Unbeaten Delhi in Southern League Opener” »