The first-team offense at this point and time, now seven
practices into spring camp, broke the huddle Tuesday at Sobrato
High School and sprinted into place at the line of scrimmage,
eagerly awaiting the snap from center and the next walk-through
The first-team offense at this point and time, now seven practices into spring camp, broke the huddle Tuesday at Sobrato High School and sprinted into place at the line of scrimmage, eagerly awaiting the snap from center and the next walk-through.
Steven Villarreal watched from the sideline, a peculiar spot considering the Bulldogs’ wing-T offense uses one wide receiver. That was Villarreal for the entire 2010 season.
“We’ve got so many guys, and we rotate every other play,” the 5-foot-10 junior said. “It’s like that at every position.”
Among the reasons to be excited for SHS football, consider the team’s turnout of about 60 players, including 25 varsity veterans, for the last two weeks of repetitive, noncontact workouts done in every kind of weather – and that the Bulldogs have enjoyed them.
“It’s been like this a lot,” running back Drew Glines said Tuesday after another raucous huddle break. “It’s always really loud, really energetic. Everyone’s hyped up, having a good time working with each other.”
Spring football isn’t supposed to be fun. It is traditionally the precursor to summer camp and Hell Week, the warmup to warmups, the waiting room for another waiting room, as Jerry Seinfeld would put it.
But the energy has been high and genuine at SHS as the calendar turns to June. The Bulldogs have returned 20 players who started at least one game last year, and each has picked up where he left off at the end of Sobrato’s tongue-in-cheek third winning season. The Bulldogs wanted more than 6-4.
“It’s been good. It’s been real good,” coach Nick Borello said. “We’re seeing the type of improvement – as much improvement as you an expect from this kind of group in spring. This is all fantasy football, as I call it every year. It’s all pretend, but the guys are making the most of it.
“It’s not like we’re having to start over from scratch again. We’re out here calling plays we haven’t called since November, and at least 10 guys are getting it. And the 11th didn’t play for us last year.”
Most of the others did. That includes the entire offensive backfield – one of the best in the section – of star fullback Obi Mbonu, speedy tailback Glines, the happy medium of both at wingback in Derrick Taylor, plus second-year starting quarterback Jerry Jacob. Sobrato has back four starting offensive linemen (William Puna, Connor Porzio, Jake Sanchez, Skyler King), an extra helping of its top wideout from 2010 – Villarreal’s twin brother, Anthony, has joined the team — and a starting tight end in 6-foot, 190-pound junior Alex Hagiperos.
Not to be left off are senior wideouts Erick Zepeda and Kyle Benson, whom Borello said has had a great offseason, or the athletic 6-foot-1, 185-pound twin wideouts Nick and Isaiah Hardy.
“For the first time in a long time, we’ve actually got some depth,” associate head coach Albert King said. “It feels good. We bring a lot of experience and, essentially, our entire team back.”
The defense is just as promising. For their new 3-4 alignment, the Bulldogs will likely go with King at nose guard, surrounded by any combination of veterans or newcomers. The strength will eventually be in the linebackers, Albert King said, which might seem bold considering the group has only two returning starters – Hagiperos, Zach Zhang – among its four positions.
The group is coached by 2007 SHS alumnus Juvenal Rodriguez, a former first-team all-league at linebacker.
“We’re very excited about that combination,” Albert King said. “After working with Hoovy, they’re going to be one of our better units by the end of summer if they stay dedicated and buy into their goals. I think that’s something we’re going to get from this group as a whole, and we have the depth to support it.”
The Bulldogs look stout in the secondary even with the potential loss of starting free safety Conor Havstad, who suffered a severe concussion during baseball season. They will have the speed and athleticism to hold up against any receiving corps behind the Villarreals, Hardys, Benson, Zepeda and junior strong safety Frank Palmer.
That puts more pressure on the linebackers – all eight of them – to step up.
“There’s always room for improvement anyway,” Hagiperos said. “But Zach and I definitely want to make this one of the best groups on the team. We want to shut down the run, which we kind of had a problem with last year.”
Although they are already adept with most of their plays and formations, the Bulldogs have at least one thing to get accustomed to during their eighth offseason camp: playing as the favorite.
