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Tuesday, Sep. 01, 2009

Shawn Jansen: Holding their own

The Golden Valley football team, 1-9 last season, was facing last year's state champs. But on Saturday Betschart's boys were holding their own.

On paper, it looked like a mismatch.

The type you see when the Harlem Globetrotters take the court against the Washington Generals.

On one sideline stood Sacramento Grant. One of the premiere programs in the Sac-Joaquin Section.

Grant shocked a lot of people with its 25-20 win over Long Beach Poly in last year's CIF Open Division State Championship Bowl Game in December.

The win capped a stellar 14-0 season.

On Saturday it was Golden Valley's turn to take on Grant.

It was part of a six-team scrimmage. Golden Valley also played Sacramento and Burbank as head coach Jon Betschart and his players did their best to put last year's 1-9 season in their rearview mirror.

According to Betschart, his boys held their own.

"We were much more competitive than we've been the last two years," Betschart said.

"Grant is still ahead of us obviously, but it was a good experience.

"They are Grant and they're going to score points, but we were able to score, too."

It's a hectic time for Betschart.

He and his wife Stacy had their first child, Rex, two weeks ago.

It's made for some longer days for the GV coach.

"My wife has been great about allowing me to do what I need to do here," Betschart said. "She's doing a lot right now.

"I do one feeding a night. It's definitely different. I can't just come home and crash out. I have more responsibilities."

Still, if you see some bags under Betschart's eyes, you'll know why.

Golden Valley's defense struggled against the state champs on Saturday.

Grant scored on four of its five possessions against Golden Valley.

After getting shut out on its first two possessions, GV scored consecutive touchdowns on a pass from quarterback Tyler Arnsberg and a run from Arnsberg.

"We competed against all three teams we played," Betschart said. "We moved the ball and we competed on defense.

"By no means have we arrived, but it was positive steps."

It may not sound like much, but it was a necessary step for a program trying to rebound.

Nobody wants to go through what GV had to suffer through last year and it's important for the players to experience success early.

The last thing Betschart needed was for his team to get run off the field.

And that didn't happen.

Instead, the team has something to build on. That's only going to help pick up the intensity this week at practice as they prepare for the season opener on Friday against North Monterey County.

"We're having fun," Betschart said. "We're itching to get back on the field.

"It was still a scrimmage and it didn't count.

"Friday night counts and we're looking forward to it."

Maybe now just a little bit more.

Shawn Jansen is a Sun-Star sports reporter. He can be reached at 38-52462 or via e-mail at sjansen@mercedsun-star.com.