SHAMROCKS
“The good thing is our team is only going to get better throughout the year,” Stallworth said. “We have a lot of room to grow. It’s not like we’re maxed out.”
GONE FROM LAST YEAR
The Shamrocks’ defense was hit hard by graduation. Last year’s Yuma Sun/ Yuma Rotary Club Defensive Player of the Year, linebacker Jason Pisano, is now at Northern Arizona, and all-region safety Yohan Stokes signed with Lake Forest College. Fellow allregion selections Richard Molina (defensive tackle) and Harrison Long (linebacker) were also seniors, as were the majority of YC’s defensive starters.
Offensively, the Shamrocks lost all-region offensive lineman Rush Vance, who’s now playing at Coe College. But Stokes was the only senior on last year’s team who had more than 300 yards from scrimmage.
PLAYERS TO WATCH • J.R. Henderson, senior WR/DB
The Shamrocks will bring back a majority of their big-play weapons from last year, starting with the 2017 Yuma Sun/ Yuma Rotary Club Offensive Player of the Year, Henderson.
He led the team with 64 catches for 1,336 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2017.
Henderson’s productivity was steady against good teams and bad alike, while he never had fewer than four catches in a game. In addition to the big year split out wide he had another 738 yards on kickoff and punt returns.
• Gage Reese, junior QB
Henderson will have a familiar face tossing him the ball with Gage Reese coming back under center.
Reese finished the 2017 season with 29 touchdowns and 11 interceptions to go along with his 2,684 yards.
He started last season slow with no touchdowns and four interceptions in the first two games, but after settling in he was able to pick apart defenses. He finished 2017 with eight games of 200 or more passing yards and three with more than 300 yards.
• Ean Chavez, junior RB/DB
With all of the attention put into the aerial attack, junior running back Ean Chavez is yet another weapon that will tear apart some defenses.
Chavez broke the 1,000 yard mark as a sophomore and it’s likely he will have the opportunity to do it again. He finished with 1,114 yards and 18 touchdowns on 155 carries. He broke the 100 yard mark four times, which is impressive
YUMA CATHOLIC SENIOR
considering how he only had over 20 carries twice on the season.
He also used his hands out of the backfield with 25 catches for 207 yards and five more touchdowns.
OFFENSIVE LOWDOWN
Despite the returners at the skill positions, not everything is as certain as it seems for the Shamrocks’ offensive side.
The team is working in a new offensive line, and there are some growing pains with the young group. In addition to building a new offensive line, the team has had a few preseason injuries that could nag for a while.
“We have high expectations for those skill guys,” Stallworth said. “We know that they can get it done. The problem is that we’re trying to put together an offensive line that’s inexperienced. The two of them that do have some experience are both hurt. We’ve been bit by the injury bug, and we’re struggling through injuries that are not going to go away.”
Seniors Johan Rodriguez and R.J. Leamons are the two returners on the offensive line, while sophomore Brannon Weatherby, senior Randy Gonzalez and senior Ryan Kircher will likely fill out the starting bunch.
To complement the aforementioned skill players, senior Issac Torres is improving at receiver and senior Randal Voutt is getting reps at tight end.
“As far as the O-line, some guys are stepping up,” Gage said. “At receiver Issac Torres, he’s getting in there and getting reps. Ean is just getting better at running back.”
DEFENSIVE LOWDOWN
The defensive side of the ball isn’t quite as set in stone with quite a bit of transition.
YC lost four of its five leading tacklers, but the roles will be filled up largely by players who got some playing time in those spots a season ago.
Voutt is being moved from defensive end to outside linebacker, senior Audie Ethington will play linebacker and junior Rakai Malone will serve as the other outside linebacker. Stallworth said that there is a bit of a playing time carousel for the MIKE linebacker position after some injuries. Ethington is the leading returning tackler with 70 tackles last season.
The defensive line is going to be made up of a rotation of guys who will try to keep it fresh.
Senior George Garcia, junior Donovan Armstrong, senior Frankie Flores and senior Matt Bernal will make up most of the rotation.
The strong part coming back is in the secondary with Henderson and senior Zach Hunter returning. Freshman Zaire Riley will start for the Shamrocks at cornerback, which was one of the only offseason surprises for Stallworth.
“We’ve just been grinding it out over the summer,” Stallworth said. “Any changes that have been made have been gradual. There nothing that we didn’t see, other than we have a freshman who will starting for us at corner.”
SCHEDULE ANALYSIS
Realistically, the Shamrocks should cruise to the 3A Metro West title. None of the other four teams in the region qualified for state a year ago, and two (Bourgade Catholic, Paradise Honors) were competing in 2A.
As for YC’s other six regular-season games, four stand out as possible showdowns. American Leadership-Queen Creek and Northwest Christian reached the 3A state semifinals and quarterfinals, respectively, last year, while new-AIA member American Leadership-Gilbert won the Canyon Athletic Association and Brawley has historically been the toughest of any Imperial Valley school. How the Shamrocks fare against those four opponents figures to determine their seed come state.