DOS PALOS -- The 2008 season was a historic one for the Dos Palos football team. Unfortunately for coach Mike Sparks and his storied program, it was a dubious kind of history.
A young and inexperienced Dos Palos squad took its lumps, suffering a 2-8 season. It saw a state record of 29 consecutive playoff appearances snapped and suffered the first winless league campaign in school history.
For a town as passionate about its football as Dos Palos, the 2008 campaign was unbearable.
For Sparks' returners, a repeat performance would be unacceptable.
And the thought leaves them "Mad Men."
"It wasn't right being the first team in 29 years to not make the playoffs," junior linebacker and running back Kevin Schofield said. "It's nice having a town that supports the team.
"We want to make them proud and start a new streak this season."
Dos Palos will have to accomplish that feat without any returning senior starters and a roster dominated by juniors.
Included in that group are five juniors who made major contributions to the team a year ago.
Schofield was named the North Sequoia League's Sophomore of the Year after leading Dos Palos in both rushing and tackles.
Ryan Yriarte returns for his second season under center and will have two familiar faces on the offensive line in front of him in Shawn Demmers and Travis Martin.
David Quiroz also will get some touches at running back and anchor Dos Palos' secondary.
"They're good, smart kids that kept fighting last year and have come back this season working hard," Sparks said. "They're still young -- all of them juniors -- but their teammates respect the efforts they've put in, and all five of them were voted captains.
"We've also got a lot of guys coming up from a solid frosh/soph team, so we're going to have a lot of juniors getting a lot of action."
Utility man Kevin Cozzi, linebackers Kevin Flohr and Jake Shelly and offensive linemen Logan Enos and William Zeledon are just a handful of the players expected to make an impact this season.
Sparks said one asset the newcomers should provide that the team lacked a year ago was speed.
"In the last two years we've had no punt returns for touchdowns, no kick returns for touchdowns, no fumble returns for touchdowns and only one interception return for a touchdown," Sparks said. "That comes from speed. We just haven't had it. Hopefully, this year is the start of an upswing."
The other pitfall DP hopes to avoid are the injuries.
"It seemed like we had a different lineup every game," Yriarte said. "Especially the offensive line. They were always hurt.
"I think last year we got used to the speed of the varsity level. This year I feel like we're a lot more prepared. If we stay healthy, we'll have success."
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