Official practice does not begin for North Coast Section until August 10, but players and coaches are still hard at work preparing for the upcoming season.
We caught up with coaches from the East Bay Athletic League to find out how things are shaping up midway through summer workouts. This is the second of two installments, focusing on the San Ramon and Danville schools.
Grizzlies’ line set to pave way
With three returning starters on the offensive line, which will average at least 250 pounds across the board, it will be no surprise to see California running back Justin Locklear as the focal point of the Grizzlies’ offense. Locklear cracked the 1,000-yard barrier last season, to go with 11 touchdowns on the ground.
The offense must replace last year’s starting quarterback, Jacob Wooldridge, and will turn to senior Jack Gerlach.
In backup duty last season, Gerlach completed 69 percent of his passes. The question of who Gerlach will throw to is a bigger concern, after graduation hit hard in that area.
Gone are receiving threats Matt Snyder, Zac Guardino, Ryan Groleau, and Peter Farina. Locklear was one of the top receivers out of the backfield last season, but two names have surfaced as potential weapons in the passing game.
After getting some time on the varsity last year as a sophomore, Cameron Norfleet has shown enough through the spring and summer for coach Eric Billeci to bill him as their playmaker in the slot receiver position.
Another player to keep an eye on is sophomore Roman Sahagun, who will likely start at the X, or weakside receiver, position.
Defensively, the Grizzlies must replace all-league players such as Simi Hingano at linebacker and three starting defensive linemen from a year ago in Snyder, Cole Dohmann, and Brian Dowling.
Nick Friedel will anchor a revamped defensive line, while the linebacker corps has two talented returners in Chris Toetuu and Taylor Nonato. Toetuu earned all-league honors as a sophomore last year, while Nonato had 47 tackles and an interception.
Farina is gone from last year’s defensive back group, but JJ Johnson and Ryan Shell return after starting in 2014. The duo combined for two interceptions and eight pass break-ups last season.
Haener continues Mustangs’ legacy at quarterback
There was arguably no brighter rising star at the end of last season than Monte Vista quarterback Jake Haener.
As a sophomore, Haener nearly led the Mustangs to a playoff victory over favored Freedom, coolly completing 32 passes for 376 yards and four touchdowns in a 33-28 loss. Having thrown for nearly 2,500 yards in his first varsity season, Haener was named to the Cal-Hi Sports All-State Sophomore team.
The Mustangs must replace the majority of Haener’s weapons from last season, but do return senior wideout Trae Banda, who was the team’s leading receiver in 2014 with 67 catches for 870 yards.
Monte Vista does face the challenge of replacing red-zone target Eric Dobberpuhl (team-leading six touchdowns last year), along with playmaker Alex Brown and 1,000-yard rusher Zach Cribb.
Two players in the mix to replace Cribb would include junior Shane Perry and senior Albert Smith. Both saw limited action offensively last year, while Perry will also be a returning starter from last year’s young defense.
It is the defense - which struggled early last season but improved with a slew of sophomores in the starting lineup - that could cause Monte Vista’s stock to rise this year. Nate Landman returns for his junior year after becoming a force at linebacker as a sophomore. Landman had four sacks and six tackles for a loss last season.
He is joined again by fellow junior Erik Krommenhoek, who notched a pair of sacks last season, and returning all-league defensive lineman Maurice Theriault.
Perry and senior Blaze Davis return with experience and talent in the secondary. Davis had four pass break-ups and two fumble recoveries last year, and each had an interception.
Kane spearheads Wolves’ defense
After last year’s quarterfinal playoff loss to De La Salle, coach Aaron Becker knew his San Ramon Valley team would have to rebuild a senior-laden roster. One reason for optimism, however, is the return of all-league linebacker Nick Kane.
Becker has referenced Kane as the Wolves’ top recruit on the roster, and they will need big things from the senior, who will combine with a pair of returners in the secondary – Dominick Tovani and Zack Medley – on an otherwise young team on both sides of the ball.
Offensively, the Wolves graduated nearly every playmaker from 2014, including quarterback Zack Baker, running back Josiah Alvira, and top receiver JJ Koski, who is now at Cal Poly.
The competition at quarterback is especially unsettled at the moment, as the Wolves do not return anybody who has taken a varsity snap. According to Becker, no candidates have yet emerged as front-runners for the starting position.
Despite the loss of 1,000-yard rusher Alvira, San Ramon Valley does return Colin Clancy in the backfield. Clancy led the team with six touchdowns last season and averaged 6.6 yards per carry.
Along with a new quarterback, however, the Wolves must also replace all leading targets through the air. Clancy is the team’s leading returning receiver after catching four passes for 95 yards last season.
