Despite a season-opening 14-7 loss Sept. 3 in Amity, Ore., Scotts Valley High varsity football coaches and players had plenty of good things to say at practice this week about both their performance that day and their chances to win an unprecedented fifth straight Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League title.
As he’s done each of the past several years — when the Falcons traveled to Alaska, Hawaii and Texas to open their season — head coach Louie Walters picked a state champion-quality opponent outside of California to start the fall campaign.
His thinking? The team bonding created by an out-of-state trip creates a tighter squad, to say nothing of the often-painful lessons from the gridiron that only top-quality opponents can deliver.
The defending state-champion Amity Warriors, coming off their seventh Oregon crown, proved worthy of their reputation, holding the Falcons to just 17 yards and no first downs in the first half. But offensive re-tooling at halftime, a stingy defense and a 73-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Alex Howard to receiver Stephen Doub kept Scotts Valley in the game to the end.
When the Falcons’ final drive fell short on the Warriors’ 16-yard line with 30 seconds remaining, Amity coaches clearly were relieved, noting that Scotts Valley had held their team to its closest game in four years.
As good as Amity is, the Scotts Valley schedule arguably gets tougher from here. An away game against Half Moon Bay looms Friday, Sept. 10, followed by home games the next two Saturdays against Kings Academy of Sunnyvale and Sacred Heart Preparatory of Atherton, all league-champion teams.
“Playing better teams makes us a better team,” Walters says. “If we drop a couple versus quality opponents, we’re going to learn from it and be that much better for league play.”
Back to tradition with strong defense
While they won a share of the SCCAL title last year, the Falcons of 2009 could be said to have underperformed. A high-flying offense led by league Player of the Year Blake Jurich often struggled against perceived underdog opponents that regularly moved the ball on Scotts Valley’s defense.
In 2010, Scotts Valley expects to go back to its roots with hallmark play from an aggressive, blitzing defense that isn’t afraid to gamble to put pressure on the quarterback. Defensive coordinator Jeff Metter — who, like Walters, has been at his position since the school’s founding in 1999 — says his squad features plenty of good athletes who are smart football players and who eagerly throw themselves into his complex, swarming defensive schemes.
“Our strength is that this year, everyone is buying in,” Metter said of his defensive philosophy. “They’re putting in the effort and executing and playing as a team.
“A difference between this year and last is these guys understand they don’t need to make the tackle to make the play.”
While Metter mixes his alignments more than most, Scotts Valley will run a 5-2 front much of the time, a scheme built around nose guard Josh Velez, who had a standout game in Oregon last week.
“They double-teamed him, but the double-team went backwards,” Metter said. “He played like a veteran football player out there.”
Velez will be flanked by strong defensive tackles in Drake Smith, Ryan Stempien and Joel Claassen. A big asset to the defensive front is quality depth, which could be seen last week when Claassen and Tyler Marshall performed very well after Stempien was diagnosed with meningitis shortly before kickoff. Steve Davies will also see playing time on the D-line and offensive line.
Big things are expected from the Scotts Valley linebacking corps this year, starting with strong-side outside linebacker Stephan Galewski. Coaches say he’s been “dominant” since moving to the position this year and combines great speed with a 235-pound frame. He’s also a quick study of one of the most difficult positions on the field.
Walters isn’t worried about high expectations for Galewski, saying he will be Scotts Valley’s biggest “impact” player on either side of the ball — he also starts at tight end — and the coach expects him to be one of the top figures in the league in 2010.
The team’s strength up the middle means teams might look at Scotts Valley’s weakside outside linebacker as a place to establish the run, but coaches seem confident that juniors Ryan Wortman and Alex “Breadcrumbs” Benko, will rise to the challenge. Both are smart, physical players who understand their role as part of Metter’s team-oriented defense, Walters said.
Inside linebacker Tre Braquet is the on-field leader of the squad, calling the plays and any audibles he thinks necessary depending on the offense’s setup.
“I like the responsibility,” the voluble Braquet said during a quick break at practice this week. “I watch out for everyone.”
Aside Braquet is Nic White, who stands out for his aggressiveness.
“He’s the guy who’s going to knock the snot out of you,” Metter says with a smile. Jake Elder and Jake “Donuts” Duncan will substitute regularly at both the inside and outside linebacker positions.
The Falcons are young in the secondary but impressed coaches with their performance against Amity. Junior cornerback Jake Sanchez and safeties Collin Corbella and Robbie McClure all received game balls, as no pass defenders were beaten deep despite the several long throws the Warriors mixed in with their run-dominated offense.
The other corner is last year’s starter Doub, who is also the team’s top receiver.
Noah Beito, Victor Passanisi and Omarle Herrera will all rotate to keep fresh legs on the field.
“We have a lot of new faces, but we’re not weak there,” is how Metter summarized his secondary. “Everyone’s hungry to get to the football.”
Next week: Offense and special teams
