Tag Archives: sports

After a Week Off, Denair Football Team Back in Action

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Submitted by Denair High School

For the second year in a row, Denair played a football game … and then immediately had a bye week.

Especially this season – coming off a dominant 32-0 shutout of Woodland Christian – it might have been nice to build on that momentum.

Coach Anthony Armas said he saw evidence of a slight emotional letdown last week in practice, saying it “was hard to get the kids dialed in” without a game to look forward to last Friday.

Such is not the case this week. The Coyotes will host Millennium of Tracy on Friday at Jack Lytton Field. Kickoff is at 7:15 p.m.

Armas said the extra time off has allowed him and his coaching staff to focus on the basics on offense and defense, but it hasn’t necessarily been a good thing for all his players, at least physically.

“We’re dealing with a lot of bumps and bruises,” said Armas, who doesn’t have the luxury of depth with a 25-man roster. Most of his best players line up on both sides of the ball.

Millennium (0-2) just may be the perfect opponent in such a situation. The Falcons have lost by identical 49-6 scores to Ripon Christian and Rio Vista the past two weeks.

“They’ve had a tough time,” said Armas, who nonetheless remembers a year ago when Denair had all it could handle before beating Millennium 27-24 in Tracy.

Armas is optimistic that his offense will click like it did against Woodland Christian when Steffin Winston scored three touchdowns and piled up 121 yards on the ground and Drew Pritchard raced 91 yards for another touchdown.

“I got to work with a lot of our backfield kids in the offseason, so they might be a little ahead of the defense, if only because we have a lot of walk-on coaches there,” Armas said. “Then again, it’s mostly the same kids playing both ways, so it may not matter that much at all.”

Denair High School Fall Sports Preview

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Submitted by Denair High School

Building upon last year’s unexpected successes will be the theme for the Denair High School football and cross country teams this fall, while the volleyball club will seek to create positive momentum of its own under the leadership of a new coach.

Here’s a quick overview of the Coyotes’ varsity teams, which swing into action Friday the first football game at Summerville and cross country meet in Lodi. The volleyball girls begin Monday with a non-league match at Turlock Christian.

 

Football

The Coyotes were the biggest small-school surprise in the Sac-Joaquin Section last fall, overcoming long odds and a small roster to earn a spot in the Division VI playoffs. Despite suiting up as few as 14 or 15 players, Denair finished third in the Southern League and posted its first winning record (6-5) in years.

The 2016 Coyotes will long be remembered as the young men and their coaches who restored pride and confidence in the program.

“These are the guys who jump started our program,” coach Anthony Armas said after the season. “I think what we were able to do despite our numbers … to get people excited again about the program, that’s going to be their legacy.”

Armas began practice this season with 22 players on his varsity squad, which has only five returning starters from a year ago. Adding depth is a talented group of juniors and sophomores who are used to winning – they were unbeaten last year at the JV level.

Among the seniors are three two-way players who will add experience and muscle to the line – Blake Davis (tight end/outside linebacker), Dylan Mann (tight end/defensive end) and Bryson Prock (center/defensive line). Continue reading “Denair High School Fall Sports Preview” »

DHS Winter Sports Preview

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DHS Coyotes Football

Submitted by Denair Unified School District

The gym is a busy place these days at Denair High School. The boys and girls basketball teams plus the wrestling team all have begun their winter schedules with an eye toward preparing themselves to compete for Southern League titles in January and February.

Boys Basketball

Despite a 10-player roster, third-year coach R.J. Henderson is confident the Coyotes have improved enough to contend for one of the league’s three spots in the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs.

“I’d like to think the last week or two of the season we’ll be playing for something,” said Henderson, whose young team won just seven games a year ago.

This season, the Coyotes will benefit from a sizeable presence in the middle in the form of 6-foot-3, 280-pound senior center Ryan Galhano, who didn’t play last year. Henderson expects Galhano will be one of the most physical players in the Southern League.

Three other seniors – forwards Dominyc Silva and Chase Vann and guard Vince Fuentes – were named tri-captains.

Henderson said Silva has the mentality and savvy of a “35-year-old city league player.” He called Vann “a good glue guy” and rebounder who does many things to help a team. And he said Fuentes is “probably our best pure shooter with the most range.”

Junior guard Isaac Starks, who played on the varsity as a sophomore, rounds out the starting five. Henderson said he’s the team’s best option to create a shot off his dribble.

The small roster means if one player misses practice, an assistant coach has to step in to have a 5-on-5 scrimmage. Denair’s enrollment already makes it the smallest school in the Southern League. Despite that, Henderson thinks his squad will continue to build a new culture of success. Continue reading “DHS Winter Sports Preview” »