Having a chance to enjoy a rare bye week, Anzar High football coach Luis Espinoza took his team to watch San Benito’s game against Monte Vista Christian-Watsonville last Friday.
Espinoza, who served as a junior varsity coach and assistant at San Benito from 2001-08, knew his players would receive a valuable lesson.
“The kids had never been to Andy Hardin Field, and they loved the whole atmosphere and the amount of people that were there,” Espinoza said. “But what they liked the most was how hard the Hollister players were hitting, and how their running backs never stopped after getting hit.”
Espinoza hopes his players’ up-close experience with a higher level of football will in turn raise the program’s profile to new heights.
“The kids were surprised how fast Hollister was in terms of tempo and execution,” Espinoza said. “Now they really know they have a lot of work to do so the program can go beyond what they’ve imagined.”
With only two games left in the season — starting with a Saturday 5:30 p.m. home game against Rincon Valley Christian-Santa Rosa — Anzar (3-3) has a couple of objectives outside of winning both contests.
The first one would be to limit the turnovers. The Hawks, who have been plagued by ball-control issues the entire season, seemed to have turned the corner after fumbling just one time in the team’s last game, a 74-6 win over Crystal Springs Uplands-Hillsborough.
A second goal for Anzar revolves around focus — namely, playing all four quarters and keeping practices lively and productive. Espinoza said his team put together solid practices last week in preparation for Saturday’s non-league contest against Rincon Valley Christian (3-4), which plays in the North Central Division III 8-man league.
“Rincon Valley is a true spread-option team, and that kind of scares me because we’ve been vulnerable against the pass this season,” Espinoza said. “We did a lot of 5 on 5 group drills, went over scouting formations and hopefully that has improved our pass defense.”
Rincon Valley quarterback Daniel Maples is only completing 39.5 percent of his passes, but when he completes them, they usually go for a bunch. Maples is averaging a whopping 18.1 yards per completion.
But even the best playmaking quarterbacks have a tough time against a fierce pass rush, and the Hawks have a potent one with nose guard Izaac Ornelas, defensive end Andrew Huaracha and tackle Izaiah Ornelas. Combine the trio with aggressive linebackers Fermin Banuelos, Angel Jimenez and Rodrigo Amezcua, and Anzar should have no issues getting to Maples.
Offensively, the Hawks have been on a roll, and they’ll look to continue that by pounding the ball against the smaller Rincon Valley players. Fiery quarterback Sam Jimenez, who was named one of the team’s captains after a 46-20 win over Stuart Hall-San Francisco on Oct. 5, has spearheaded an offense that has scored 40 points or more in its last three outings.
“Sam is only 5-5, 5-6, but he plays like he’s 6-feet tall,” Espinoza said. “He didn’t handle himself the proper way against Stuart Hall, and that’s part of the reason why we named him a captain after that game. He’d have to be a leader, more level-headed and it would make him realize he would have to be calmer in certain situations. He’s responded nicely.”
