If the Anzar High football team can win its final two games of the season, Luis Espinoza will be one happy coach.
The Hawks entered the year with the goal of contending for the Mission Trail 8-man league championship, or in the very least, finish above .500 in league play. Anzar can accomplish the latter if it wins its final two games against Crystal Springs Uplands-Hillsborough on Friday and Trinity Christian-Monterey on Nov. 6.
“We’re jelling now and getting it together,” Espinoza said. “We’ve shot ourselves in the foot with penalties and turnovers in some games this season, but hopefully we’re past that and can finish the year strong.”
At 2-5 overall and 2-3 in league, the Hawks’ record is a bit misleading in that they’ve played some of the top-ranked 8-man teams in the state in a brutal non-league schedule.
However, all of their league losses have been relatively close, something that wasn’t the case in 2013. In a 53-30 win over Alma Heights Christian-Pacifica last week, Anzar didn’t commit a single turnover—it happened just once previously this season—and it didn’t get penalized at key moments.
Time and again in their three league losses, Espinoza has had to watch a big run or pass get nullified due to a penalty, which serves as a double whammy because it kills momentum and drives end up stalling.
After tough losses to three of the best teams in the 8-man league—Pinewood, Woodside Priory and Stuart Hall—the Hawks would love nothing more than to knock off Crystal Springs Uplands, which is also 2-3 in league play, and Trinity Christian, which stands atop the league standings with a perfect 5-0 mark.
Espinoza was pleased with the blowout victory over North Valley Baptist, which is tied with Alma Heights Christian for last place in the league standings with an 0-5 mark.
Anzar’s run game was dominant against North Valley Baptist, as Marcos Galvan, Izaac Ornelas, Angel Jimenez, Andrew Huaracha and Ammar Mohsin all ran the ball effectively. Quarterback Dave Conrath also had a big game, continuing to show why Espinoza expects big things out of his signal-caller in the years to come.
After all, Conrath, a 5-foot-8, 130-pound sophomore, is playing the position for the first time in his career.
“Dave is coming along well,” Espinoza said. “You can see he’s starting to understand the game more and he can make more plays, and we’re going to need that from him as a program moving forward.”
