Submitted by Denair High School
Denair High School celebrated its 2017 football homecoming with a community parade on Friday afternoon. The procession started Down Coyote Way to Denair Elementary Charter Academy, turning down Fresno Street, before returning to the High School. The Denair High School Band led the parade followed by FFA, the the homecoming court, class floats, and the football teams and cheerleaders. A photo gallery is available for your viewing pleasure.
Submitted by Denair High School
Sometimes, especially with a group of young players like this year’s Denair football team, improvement can’t always be measured by wins and losses. Sometimes, statistical dominance can be misleading. Sometimes, progress requires closer analysis.
Such was the case with Friday night’s 42-28 loss by Denair to Gustine – a game in which the Coyotes courageously fought despite being physically overpowered much of the time.
“We played better than we have all year,” complimented coach Anthony Armas. “We still have a lot of things to fix, but we were much more physical.”
Armas’ analysis is based on Denair’s grit and competitiveness. “The last couple of years, Gustine kind of bullied us and knocked us around. Not Friday.”
Gustine still won most every battle in the trenches. The Redskins punished the Denair defense on the ground behind running backs Oliver Perez (20 carries, 173 yards, 3 TDs rushing, 1 receiving), Bryan Villalobos (18 carries, 177 yards, 1 TD) and Brandon Garbez (10 carries, 101 yards).
“They have a really big line and a couple of good backs,” Armas acknowledged, adding that despite the numbers, he thought his defense showed courage. “They ran a lot of power plays against us, but I was proud of the way way we took on blocks. Our issue on defense is we have a lot of young kids who still are trying to understand our scheme.”
In all, Gustine ran for 496 yards and averaged 9 yards a carry. The Reds (1-0 Southern League, 3-1 overall) also passed for 111 yards to pile up more than 600 yards in total offense.
But this is where stats can be deceptive.
Denair (0-1, 1-3) relied on big plays to offset Gustine’s interior dominance. The Coyotes’ shortest touchdown was a 30-yard run by Dylan De Silva in the second quarter that helped forge a 14-14 halftime tie.
Earlier, quarterback Drew Pritchard threw a short pass to Hunter Musgrave, who turned it into a 66-yard TD by racing through the Gustine defense. Musgrave also returned a kickoff 90 yards in the third quarter for another score. Continue reading “Despite Loss, Denair Football Coach Sees Improvement” »
Submitted by Denair Unified School District
Testing procedures and analysis is about to go to a whole different level in the Denair Unified School District.
The goal, school trustees were told Thursday night, is to better understand student performance in order to create customized plans to address specific academic weaknesses. Parents soon will be receiving reports that chart their children’s progress in four performance areas and include recommendations to help them improve.
“This assessment allows us to target specific skills that can be improved throughout the school year,” explained David Naranjo, the district’s senior director of student support services. “We can target the specific intervention by setting goals with students.”
The testing program is part of the NWEA system, an international organization recognized for its student assessment systems. NWEA’s results provide the national averages to which Denair students from kindergarten through 11th grade were compared.
The tests themselves cover four core subjects – math, reading, language usage and science. Each child is expected to complete them, including students in special education programs as well as those for whom English is a second language (starting this year, exams also will be given in Spanish). The tests are taken at the district’s various computer labs; each subject takes about 50 minutes to complete.
The tests will be given three times a year, Naranjo explained, so performance can be measured and interventions introduced as necessary. The first tests were given in May. Those results were shared Thursday night.
High school principal Kara Backman said the initial analysis shows that Denair students “are generally strong in language use” across the district, but are “average” to “low average” in other subject areas. Continue reading “New Testing Procedure for all Denair Students Will Drive Personalized Instruction in 4 Key Areas” »
Submitted by Denair High School
The seasons have started for the athletes on the Denair high volleyball and cross country teams.
The girls playing volleyball jumped right into the Southern League schedule with two matches this week. Monday at Waterford, they lost a well-played match 25-22, 25-12 and 25-17. Wednesday at home, they fell in straight sets to Orestimba 25-9, 25-6 and 25-12.
Against Waterford, first-year Christy North felt that the “strength of our game was serving.” Cheyenne Souza and Courtney Prock each had three aces while and Alexandria Sanders and Bryanna Suarez had two each.
Against Orestimba, North was impressed by the Souza, one of the team’s outside hitters.
“In one amazing series, she hit the ball, they blocked it and we picked it up three times in the same play!” North said. “t was very exciting, especially near the beginning of the match, but then their block intimidated the rest of the girls.”
North said she is looking for improvement in passing and receiving. The Coyotes will have a chance to score their first victory with upcoming matches against Mariposa (Sept. 14) and Ripon Christian (Sept. 18).
Denair’s runners competed in the first Southern League meet Sept. 7 at Tuolumne River Regional Park in Modesto. It was a 5K course, mostly on grass with only a couple of small hills. Denair finished fourth behind Waterford, Orestimba and Delhi.
The top finisher for the Coyotes was senior Alex Flores in 21 minutes, 21 seconds. He was followed by Pablo Flores (21:40), Uriel Gonzalez (22:59), Brigg Wenstrand (23:38) and Johnny Ibarra (24:18).
“I am proud of all my team, they all ran hard,” said coach Matthew Groom. I am especially proud of my underclassmen for stepping up to varsity and giving us a chance to score as a team.”
Earlier, Denair competed against 31 other schools in the Lodi Flame Invitational at Lake Lodi. Gonzalez was the Coyotes’ top finisher in the varsity race in 24:37, while Pablo Flores had the top time (13:27) among all Division V runners in the JV race, followed by Ibarra (14:43) and Wenstrand.
Next up for Denair is the Frogtown Invitational Sept. 19 at the Calaveras County Fairgrounds.
Submitted by Denair High School
Football is a physical game. It’s all about size and strength combined with speed and leverage. The toughest guys don’t always win, but their willingness to deliver and absorb hard hits certainly can set a tone for a team. Younger players, in particular, can be intimidated.
Just ask Denair coach Anthony Armas, a bruising former lineman who must walk a fine line during practice. He recognizes his inexperienced team must learn to be more physical. But with less than 20 players available and most playing both offense and defense, he also realizes that too much hitting during the week risks injuries that could leave the Coyotes at a disadvantage come game time.
Armas thought Denair was dominated in its 48-2 season-opening loss to Summerville. With a bye in Week 2, he and his coaching staff emphasized playing more physically in Saturday’s game against Millennium.
Message received.
Denair won 27-24 thanks to big games from Blake Davis, Drew Pritchard and Steffin Winston – and by playing with more intensity, especially in blocking and tackling.
“Physically, we got tougher. I think Summerville took it to us,” Armas said. “This week, I thought we took it to them (Millennium).”
The Coyotes’ short roster prevents them from lots of hitting during the week. Instead, the coaches use heavy bags and tackling dummies to teach players about leverage and technique. But there is no substitute for live game experience when the adrenalin is flowing under the lights.
“We definitely got better, but there still are a lot of things we need to work on,” assessed Armas.
Denair’s three-headed attack of Hunter Musgrave, Dylan De Silva and Winston “all ran hard,” according to Armas. Winston scored on two short runs in the second quarter as the Coyotes built a 13-6 halftime lead. Continue reading “Denair Learns to be the Aggressor in 27-24 Victory Over Millennium” »