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Bitter season-ending losses or losing seasons were on the minds of many of the coaches and players heading into the 2017 season, while others chose to look forward to a new beginning.
“We think about that loss every single day,” Serra incoming senior receiver and defensive back Patrick Nunn said of his team’s 42-40 loss in the CIF state 2-A title game last year to Sierra Canyon-Chatsworth.
The Cougars, with a thin roster but an experienced quarterback, won 10 of their last 11 games to finish 12-3 and have gone 77-9 over their past six seasons, with two state crowns.
“We started a little slow because we played a really tough schedule and people sort of panicked,” Campolindo coach Kevin Macy said.
The Cougars, who have boasted just one FBS scholarship player from the program during that six-year stretch (tight end Tyler Petite to USC), don’t figure to match that kind of success this season.
Torchio, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound incoming senior, is a superb athlete — he also played receiver and kicked for the Cougars last year — but quarterback is largely a new position for him.
“People around campus just sort of expect us to go (to the state championship) every year,” Torchio said.
Third-year M-A head coach Adair Ravipati has turned around the program quickly, but he lost most of his top skill players to graduation, including All-Metro running back Jordan Mims and quarterback Aajon Johnson.
M-A also returns backup quarterback Miles Conrad (6-3, 190), who started as a sophomore but backed up Johnson last season.
Pittsburg (9-2) had better be highly prepared from the get-go as it opens the season at national juggernaut Centennial-Corona on Aug. 25 before traveling to Serra on Sept. 9 and hosting Sac-Joaquin Section power Vacaville on Sept. 22.
The Pirates are ultra-talented at the skill spots — particularly with four-star receiver A’Jae Boyd — but they need to replace almost their entire offensive line, though 6-5, 285-pound tackle Nick Martin is firmly in place.
MaxPreps senior writer Mitch Stephens covers high school sports for The Chronicle.
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“We think about that loss every single day,” Serra incoming senior receiver and defensive back Patrick Nunn said of his team’s 42-40 loss in the CIF state 2-A title game last year to Sierra Canyon-Chatsworth.
The Cougars, with a thin roster but an experienced quarterback, won 10 of their last 11 games to finish 12-3 and have gone 77-9 over their past six seasons, with two state crowns.
“We started a little slow because we played a really tough schedule and people sort of panicked,” Campolindo coach Kevin Macy said.
The Cougars, who have boasted just one FBS scholarship player from the program during that six-year stretch (tight end Tyler Petite to USC), don’t figure to match that kind of success this season.
Torchio, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound incoming senior, is a superb athlete — he also played receiver and kicked for the Cougars last year — but quarterback is largely a new position for him.
“People around campus just sort of expect us to go (to the state championship) every year,” Torchio said.
Third-year M-A head coach Adair Ravipati has turned around the program quickly, but he lost most of his top skill players to graduation, including All-Metro running back Jordan Mims and quarterback Aajon Johnson.
M-A also returns backup quarterback Miles Conrad (6-3, 190), who started as a sophomore but backed up Johnson last season.
Pittsburg (9-2) had better be highly prepared from the get-go as it opens the season at national juggernaut Centennial-Corona on Aug. 25 before traveling to Serra on Sept. 9 and hosting Sac-Joaquin Section power Vacaville on Sept. 22.
The Pirates are ultra-talented at the skill spots — particularly with four-star receiver A’Jae Boyd — but they need to replace almost their entire offensive line, though 6-5, 285-pound tackle Nick Martin is firmly in place.
MaxPreps senior writer Mitch Stephens covers high school sports for The Chronicle.
More...