Piner gets assist from basketball team in going 70

When only 11 players showed up for his first spring practice, firstyear PinerSanta Rosa football coach Terence Bell wondered, “what have I gotten myself into?”

The Prospectors had only 12 victories the three previous seasons combined and only one winning season since 2003.

“I was really in disbelief (at the turnout),” Bell said. “I’m not going to lie, I felt immediate pressure.”

Instead of panicking, Bell, a 2006 Piner graduate and former University of Hawaii receiver, decided to apply his own pressure. A fullcourt press, as it were.

With the help of one of the school’s top athletes, Adrian Torres, Bell pressed the basketball team and recruited most of the top players to hit the gridiron.

The result has been a turnaround of epic proportions. Piner is 70, averaging 56.7 points and 432 yards per game, has outscored opponents 39714 and quarterback Yonaton Isack leads the nation in touchdowns (39).

And Bell has done it with just 19 varsity players.

“We’re basically basketball on grass,” said Bell, whose team hosts El MolinoForestville (33) Friday on Senior Night. “All the credit goes to the kids. They bought in and put in all the time and energy.”

Granted, the Prospectors haven’t played the most rigorous schedule — opponents’ combined record is 1331 — but they haven’t for years. They play in the secondtier North Bay League’s Redwood Division, which outside of Piner is a combined 521.

Bell had personal reasons to not only keep football alive, but make it thrive at his alma mater. “I wanted to give back because a lot of people gave to me,” he said.

One of them was former Santa Rosa Junior College coach Keith Simons, who mentored Bell at almost every coaching stop: AnalySebastopol, MontgomerySanta Rosa and SRJC. Besides the offensive training Bell said he learned at Hawaii, Simons taught him every facet of the runandshoot and spread attacks.

“I feel like I put in the time and learned enough to be a head coach,” Bell said. “Coming back home to coach at Piner was a dream.”

He’s applied all his teachings in what he calls Piner’s specialized airraid attack. Isack, a 6foot1, 160pound senior, was a running quarterback on last year’s team, but Bell saw something different.

“He’s built like a track kid, but he’s so tough and so consistent,” Bell said of Isack. “Our backup probably has a better arm, but (Isack) puts the ball right on the money quickly.”

He’s completed 73 percent of his throws (126 of 172) for 2,309 yards. Junior Isaac Torres (36 catches, 765 yards, 16 touchdowns), older brother Adrian (303974), Jake Herman (2657) and Michael Collins (193849) are Isack’s goto receivers.

Isack has thrown for at least six touchdowns in all but one game, and had a seasonhigh seven in a 710 defeat of Sonoma Valley, which drew the ire of SV coach Hervy Williams.

Bell said he’s heard the criticism loud and clear.

“It’s just part of our culture,” he said. “We never take our foot off the pedal. I don’t want them paying attention to the score. It’s really one play at a time and I want them to execute to the best of their ability. If I ask them to ease up, it’s contradicting all we’ve been teaching.”

Besides all the basketball offensive numbers, the Prospectors have registered six shutouts. Most of the players go both ways, including top lineman Raphael Madden (63, 250), the only Piner player with much size.

“It’s definitely ironman football,” Bell said. “The boys are in great shape.”

All of it has led to a tremendous following from the community, Bell said.

“I’ll go to the grocery story and people want to shake hands,” he said. “It’s awesome. I’m hoping and guessing the kids are getting a lot of that also. I want them to enjoy their success.”