VACAVILLE, VANDEN, WOOD READY TO GO
First games of spring season set for Friday, March 19
When the California Department of Public Health declared on February 19 that high school football could resume in counties with 14 or fewer COVID cases per 100,000 people, one could almost hear a collective whoop getting ready to emanate from the mouths of local high school football players.
When the Solano County COVID-19 rate, which had been at 18.4 cases per 100,000 that day, dipped to 12.4 by the following Tuesday, the football players in the Monticello Empire League let that whoop out full throttle in celebration and put on their cleats to get ready for official practice and for their first games on Friday, March 19.
This week they got another boost when Solano County, previously in the purple color-coded COVID tier, entered the red color-coded tier. That means that, pending decisions by the local school districts (which have generally followed county guidelines), football players will no longer have to undergo weekly COVID testing.
The coaches and players at Vacaville, Will C. Wood and Vanden High Schools may be competitors. But they are unanimously thrilled to be playing football again.
“We are all excited to see our seniors have a football season,” said Wood head coach Kirk Anderson. “We remained
optimistic the football season would happen. Now it’s time to go have fun and compete.”
“I think a lot of our seniors had really given up hope that there was going to be a season,” said Vanden head coach Sean Murphy. “They were still coming to workouts but you could just tell it was kind of half-hearted. So once it was announced that we were going to be able to play, you could just see the pure joy on their faces.”
“Approximately 95 percent of student-athletes will not have the opportunity to participate in this sport ever again,” said Vacaville head coach Mike Papadopolous, “Granting them the means to participate safely within state and county guidelines provides very valuable life lessons on how to proactively react to difficult situations. Also, for all of our athletes who aspire to continue to play football after high school, having video is extremely important in the recruiting process. The energy has been great daily.”
That new burst of energy that the players on all the teams are experiencing should translate into a very competitive season, one that will only consist of five games with no playoffs. All the teams kept in great condition this past year, working out continuously except when surges in COVID precluded that training from time to time.
Vanden plays at Wood’s Wildcat Stadium on March 19. Fairfield is unable to field a varsity team for its opener against Vacaville that day, so the Bulldogs will instead play at Davis High School, although the Vacaville junior varsity team will play Fairfield’s JV at Fairfield.
Here is a look at the three local teams.
Vacaville
“It’s been a long ride absolutely but more than anything I’m just really proud of the resolve of the kids and just hanging in there in a really difficult situation,” said Papadopolous.
He is thrilled that his team can finally practice together as a group rather than in cohorts.
“We never really saw each other very much,” he said.
Papadopolous already likes what he sees.
“I’m very excited about the group of kids we have,” he said. “The juniors and seniors complement each other very well.”
Among the key returning seniors from last year’s MEL championship (5-0) team are tight end/linebacker Michael Otterstedt, who has committed to play at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the fall; linebacker Kyler Abramowicz; wide receiver Evan Adams; running back/defensive back Geremiah Brown; linebacker Logan Cunningham; and linemen Garrett Schoep and Ankney Jagger.
Juniors who will play a big role include running back Darian Leon-Guerrero, who started last year, and first-year players Jacob Edmonds (lineman), Luke Levengood (tight end/defensive line); Tim Plowman (wide receiver/defensive back); Lucca Sartorio (running back/linebacker); Ryan Vaughan (quarterback); and Anthony Wiley (wide receiver/defensive back).
Vaughan has the inside track on the starting quarterback job.
The Bulldogs will display a new look on offense this season.
“We are transitioning to a spread system from many years in the wing T,” said Papadopolous. “We hope to be balanced and up-tempo. On defense we will provide multiple looks within our scheme with pressure.”
Asked if this team can be as strong or stronger than last year’s, he said, “We always aspire to work toward putting the best team on the field we can. With the work and investment the athletes have put in throughout all of this adversity, we always believe so.”
Vanden
Vanden (4-1, MEL) suffered its only league loss at the hands of Vacaville last year and should be very competitive again this year.
Murphy is appreciative of all those who helped him and his team navigate through COVID this past year.
“Our Athletic Director Matthew Bidou was very proactive, making sure we had everything we needed so we could follow county guidelines,” said Murphy. “The most difficult thing was every time a new benchmark came as far as possible start dates and then it was pushed back, you could feel the disappointment of the studentathletes. The coaching staff did a really good job of helping motivate the student-athletes to continue to work toward a possible season. And our strength and conditioning coach, Darren Caradine, has done a tremendous job creating really good workouts in a very difficult situation.”
Key returnees are seniors Linairus Agee (running back/safety), Kaden Mcleod (linebacker), and center Zachary Nangauta. Juniors who will have a big impact include Daniel Hughes (receiver; safety), Amarion York (cornerback); Jayden Robinson (cornerback); and Malakhi Demoss (running back).
Sophomore Tre Dimes, who played one MEL game and also got some playoff action last year, is the quarterback.
“We’re a spread offense and we’re trying to get the ball to our athletes to make plays,” said Murphy. “We like to be an aggressive defense, so we’re running a 4-3. Sometimes it looks like a 3-4. But we’re looking to create turnovers. A lot of movement.”
He likes what he has seen so far.
“I feel like right now we have a lot of camaraderie,” he said. “They’ve come together really well. They are working really hard. We’re a young team, though, at a lot of positions. Our youth is going to get tested early. But we’re excited about the season.”
Will C. Wood
Last season, Anderson had only one returning starter. But Wood was still a respectable 3-2 in league play, its only losses coming to Vanden and Vacaville. And now most of the Wildcats have some varsity playing time under their belts.
“This year’s football team has a lot of talent and football experience,” said Anderson. “There are players on this team who have played together since youth football. We have a good blend of juniors and seniors who will make an impact this year.”
Senior returnees include running back Keyon Grayer, slot running back/ cornerback Devin CoptaVaughan, middle linebacker/guard Josiah Flores, linebacker Jacob Tolentino, and slot running back/cornerback Steven Lukens,
Junior Ken Tilford returns as the starting quarterback. Anderson said that juniors Krishna Clay and Jay Jay Olaes have been competitive on both sides of the ball.
“We operate out of the spread option attack,” said Anderson. “The goal on offense is to be explosive, have great ball security and limit pre-snap penalties. Our approach on defense always starts with eye discipline. Once we know our key read, understand our assignment responsibility, we feel like we can play fast and cut it loose.”