Coming off a successful jamboree last week, Hawks’ head coach Luis Espinoza expects to see a much better start to the Anzar football season in its second year Saturday.
The Hawks open their season at 1 p.m. Saturday against Potter Valley, a team that finished last season with a 6-3 record. In Anzar’s first year, the team struggled to a 1-6 record.
Speed and quickness is expected to play a key role Saturday, as Potter Valley returns starting quarterback Dustin Wooley, who threw for 775 yards and 11 touchdowns and ran for an additional 1743 yards on 172 carries last year.
“What I’ve seen on tape is that they are going to be really fast,” Espinoza said. “Their quarterback, who is a returner, is very good. I’m expecting him to take the ball a lot.”
With a remodeled defense behind Matt Yarborough and Joseph Banuelos, Anzar, though, expects to get off to a good start this year.
“We want start the season on a strong note,” Espinoza said. “We are going to find out what steps we are going to take this year soon. Either we are going to take a big step forward or we will have to set some small goals for us this year. This weekend, we are going to find out where everyone is.”
Like last year, the Hawks will continue to be a run-first team and throw sparingly under return starter Jeremy Cedeno. In the backfield, Gabriel Hatcher, Tyler Hendricks and Andy Garcia will split time running the ball.
“We want to be a running team,” Espinoza said. “Running the ball will allow us to do some things. It will set up our play-action pass. But we will be a running team.”
After months of practice and workouts, the team is ready for the season to begin.
“There is a lot of excitement in practice,” Espinoza said. “My returners want to see this season start. The newcomers are a little nervous but the team is ready.”
