{"id":84965,"date":"2024-08-14T17:56:12","date_gmt":"2024-08-15T00:56:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/?p=84965"},"modified":"2024-08-16T22:01:17","modified_gmt":"2024-08-17T05:01:17","slug":"del-rio-league-at-a-glance-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/?p=84965","title":{"rendered":"Del Rio League at a Glance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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La Serna is a step ahead of the pack in the Del Rio. (Photo by Duane Barker).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Yeah, we know. It’s La Serna’s League to lose. It’s La Serna left, La Serna right and La Serna up the middle. When you talk about the Del Rio you talk about La Serna. No, I’m not going to be that guy that makes a bold prediction that La Serna will not win the Del Rio. But the truth is you don’t have to win the league to have a successful season. At least not this league. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n

La Serna went undefeated in the Del Rio last year and went on the win the CIF Championship…in Division 4. Santa Fe, who finished second and made the playoffs was in Division 12. Once the regular season is over you don’t have to see La Serna again. Win a few non-league games, finish second or third in league and make a playoff run. It can be done. Nobody is going to beat La Serna…at least not right now. Andy George has done a remarkable job in bringing the program up to elite status. But for the rest of the Del Rio there is hope on the horizon. Just get to the playoffs and then anything can happen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of La Serna<\/strong>, yes the Lancers are good…real good. They have a ton of talent coming back. Here are a few of their key players. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Offense: Jaden Campos -Tackle Senior, Kaimana Tufaga- WR Senior, Zeb Bontemps- WR Junior, Elijah Blu Flores- RB Senior, Grady Long – Quarterback Sophomore, Jordan Bonilla- Quarterback Sophomore. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defense- Eli Perez -Linebacker Senior, Kaimana Tufaga – DB Senior, Etoagwara Onyenegecha- DB Sophomore, Emre Law – LB\/ DE – Senior. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We could list several more but for the sake of time and space we mentioned these. If you get a chance check out Tufaga. This dude is special. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This Lancer team has been working tirelessly for each other to make their own mark and write their own chapter in La Serna Football History. We have a great mix of veteran leadership and exciting young players eager to establish themselves,” George said. “We are making strides each day. It’s been fun watching this team develop, and all of our coaches are excited to see these impressive young men put it together on the field and just play football the way this game is meant to be played.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Santa Fe<\/strong> had a great year last season under head coach Ryan Bateman. The Chiefs went 9-4 overall and advanced to the Semi-Finals of the CIF Division 12 playoffs before losing to Yucca Valley. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On offense Devin Clark will be the primary running back. As a sophomore, he was a part of the 1-2 punch with Tariq Bush, an All-Leaguer, and now looks to carry the load this season. Andrew Lopez will make the switch from wide receiver to starting quarterback and is poised for a big year. He\u2019s the leader of the offense and has continued to excel in his new role. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On defense Matt Hernandez is a two-year starter at cornerback. He was All-League and is the leader of the secondary. Michael Moreno will anchor the defense at defensive end. He’s another two-year starter, and All Leaguer, and brings a ton of physicality to the front 6. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It\u2019s been exciting to watch our transformation this summer. We\u2019ve gotten better in a lot of areas and our locker room camaraderie is palpable. Where we lack in size, we\u2019ll make up with speed, athleticism, and moxie. This is a special group of young men and they\u2019re poised for a great year,” Bateman said <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second place is definitely in the sights for Santa Fe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

California <\/strong>went 2-8 last year and missed the playoffs. Longtime assistant coach Patrick Winchell has taken over as head coach and is anxious to get the Condors back on track. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Offensively Ricky Gonzales is back at quarterback. Gonzales is a senior and a team leader. He was voted captain by his teammates and has had a very good spring and summer. Gonzales is a three-year varsity letterman on the Cal Baseball team too. Senior Joshua Ibarra, another great athlete will be at running back. It’s actually his first year playing football but he is a three-year varsity letterman on the Cal Baseball team. He’s also the fastest player on the team and will be the number one back. Senior Damion Vargas will be paving the road on the offensive line He’s a two-year starter, and another team leader who was voted captain by his teammates. According to Winchell he has worked very hard since the end of last season and is in great shape. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On defense Adrian Guerrero, a senior will anchor the D-Line. He is a two-year starter who was voted captain by his teammates. He moves very good for a defensive tackle and could be very good in the box. Junior Nick Coronado had some varsity reps as a sophomore last year. He seems to have bought in to what Cal is trying to do as a program and defensively. Winchell feels that if he continues to grow as he has this spring and summer he will be pretty good. Frankie Gallardo, a junior, will lead the secondary at defensive back. He’s a two-year starter at DB and has had a good summer both offensively and defensively. Winchell stated that Gallardo has the potential to be one of the top defensive backs in the area if he continues to work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Our numbers are pretty good. We have 58 varsity players who have been working since April. It\u2019s a good group of kids that have bought into what we are trying to build. Night lifts in Spring to morning lifts this summer. This group has put in the work and I am intrigued to see how they react under the lights,” Winchell said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the Condors can improve to .500 and sneak into third place in the Del Rio they may have a shot at the post season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

El Rancho,<\/strong> like Cal, went 2-8 overall least year. The Dons actually won their first two games over Don Lugo and Bell Gardens before falling on hard times. Bell Gardens won a CIF title last season. El Rancho has several starters coming back and it’s just a matter of everything coming together and the team staying healthy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s a quick look at some key players on offense and defense. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Offense: OL- Saul Barcenas 12 OL- Eric Cortes 12 QB- Ryan Dominguez 12 WR- Andrew Guerrero 12 WR- Giovanni Montenegro-12 RB\/WR- Phoenix Navarro- 12 RB- Braylon Morrison- 10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defense: DL- Diego Diaz- 12 DL- Francisco Cordova- 12 LB- Julian Acero 12 LB- Javier Hernandez 12 SS- Adrian Orihuela 11 CB- Nathan Carlos 10 FS- Ray Madrid – 10. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pieces are there. Nearly all of the players listed on offense are returners including Dominguez. Now El Rancho just needs to show up and show out on Friday nights. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We’re looking to bounce back from a very disappointing season that was not up to ER standards. We have a lot of players who have Friday night playing time but we have to learn to finish. We’ve had a productive off season and a very competitive camp,” said head coach Adrian Medrano. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whittier <\/strong>also went 2-8 in 2023. The Cardinals did manage to get a victory over El Rancho. Jimmy Walker has taken over as head coach replacing Todd Quinsey who was dismissed after just one season. Whitter seemingly had Jesse Ceniceros in its sights as the new head coach but hired Walker instead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whittier has 4 starters returning on offense and 4 on defense but both the quarterback and running back will be first year starters. The Cards have a couple winnable games in the non-league schedule. They will need a couple of ones there and in league to have a shot at a successful season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Projected Order of Finish <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. La Serna – The Lancers get better every year. <\/li>
  2. Santa Fe – Coach Ryan Bateman has the Chiefs relevant again. <\/li>
  3. El Rancho – A healthy Dons team will bounce back. <\/li>
  4. California – HC Patrick Winchell bringing the energy. <\/li>
  5. Whittier – Cards may need another year or two to break through. <\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Yeah, we know. It’s La Serna’s League to lose. It’s La Serna left, La Serna right and La Serna up the middle. When you talk about the Del Rio you talk about La Serna. No, I’m not going to be that guy that makes a bold prediction that La Serna will not win the Del […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12816,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hsfootball","category-high-school-sports"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84965","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=84965"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84965\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85018,"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84965\/revisions\/85018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=84965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=84965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=84965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}