Ukiah High football team gears up for 2021 season

Summer is winding down, which means school is starting up. With school starting this week, that means fall sports are also ramping up their seasons. The 2021 Ukiah High Wildcats football team have started practicing for the start of their season. Coach Dewey mentioned out of the 50 players that came out in the shortened non competitive 2020 season, 20 varsity players are returning.

Spoke to Coach Dewey about what he expects in the 2021 season, “I don’t look at how we will do record wise. My goal is that we improve everyday. Wherever we are starting at, we are getting better everyday. We take it week by week. We want the players to focus on getting better every day and not look forward to wins or losses.”

When Coach spoke of some of the key players for the upcoming season he mentioned his offense which includes wideout Jaydon Burns. Of Burns he said “Very good athlete, three year varsity starter.”

Also mentioned were junior running back Ky Parrish who started on defense last year and moved to running back. He spoke highly about offensive linemen Layton Watkins at Left Tackle and Center Baylor Barrett.

When asked if there was rival or a tough opponent this season Coach said “North Bay League is very competitive. Everybody is competitive. One team I expect to be good is Windsor. Coach Paul Cronin moved over there from Cardinal Newman. I’m excited to see how he does with that team. He’s a good coach. This will be a well balanced league.”

Ukiah will participate in a scrimmage game on Friday, Aug. 20. Not a regular scrimmage game, it will include St. Bernard of Eureka, Fort Bragg and Willits High. They will play 20 minutes of offense, 20 minutes of defense and switch and just rotate with the other teams.

Season opener will be at home on Friday, Aug. 27. Ukiah will host Montgomery High School at 7 p.m. They will then have a week off then travel to Eureka.

2021 Ukiah High Varsity Football Schedule

8/27/21 vs. Montgomery High-home at 7 p.m.

9/10/21 vs. Eureka HighAway at 7:30 p.m.

9/17/21 vs. Redwood High- Home at 7 p.m.

9/24/21 vs. St. Vincent De Paul High- Home at 7 p.m.

10/08/21 vs. Cardinal Newman -Home at 7 p.m.

10/15/21 vs. Rancho CotateAway at 7 p.m.

10/22/21 vs. Analy HighAway at 7 p.m.

10/29/21 vs. Windsor High- Home at 7 p.m.

11/05/21 vs. Maria CarrilloAway at 7 p.m.