Longtime friends Caropreso and Stubbs face off for the first time

Dennis Stubbs said one of his first acts after accepting the job as Los Banos football head coach in 2007 was to bring in Dustin Caropreso as his offensive coordinator.

Apparently it wasn’t an easy sell.

Stubbs said Caropreso had tried for the position a couple of times previously and been passed over. Caropreso wasn’t sure he was ready to hitch his wagon to Stubbs, but eventually accepted the job. The pair did some special things together, resurrecting a Tigers program that had gone 5-25 the three previous seasons before they teamed up.

Los Banos went 36-21 during Stubbs’ five-year tenure, making the playoffs the last four years. The Tigers hardly skipped a beat when Stubbs returned to Golden Valley in 2012, reaching the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV semifinals in three of the four years with Caropreso at the helm.

The good friends and Los Banos architects will face off for the first time Friday when the 2-0 Tigers come to Veterans Stadium to take on the 2-0 Cougars.

“To me, it’s not a big deal,” Stubbs said. “He called me Sunday to let me know the freshman game time has changed and we ended up having a long conversation. If he invited me to dinner on Thursday night, I’d be there. We’re friends now. We’ll be friends after the game.

“Other than family, I don’t know if anyone roots for him as much as I do. I just won’t be pulling for them (Friday). The big deal is that both teams are 2-0 and looking to come out 3-0.”

Caropreso said there was no desire for the teams to play each other right after Stubbs departed. Now with no players left in the program with ties to the Stubbs’ era, it’s not as big of a deal. So when the Tigers had some openings in their schedule at the end of last year, Stubbs was one of the first calls Caropreso made.

“None of the kids were here back then, so the only major significance will be for the coaches and the fans,” Caropreso said. “It’s definitely going to be a little different going up against coach Stubbs. I learned a lot from him, both with coaching and running a program.

“He’s got Golden Valley back up and playing well. It should be a great game.”

While both coaches agreed there would be no changes in their weekly communications, the matchup has broken some traditions.

A rare Thursday night game last week presented Stubbs a free Friday evening. He traveled down to Los Banos to watch the Tigers, as he’s done many times over the years. This time, however, was his first as an opposing scout. Stubbs sat amongst the Liberty Ranch faithful. It brought some chuckles from his Los Banos friends.

“My wife sat in the Los Banos stands with our friends and the other wives,” Stubbs said. “I’m sure coach Caropreso probably wouldn’t have had a problem with my sitting there too, but it just wouldn’t have felt right as I was preparing to play them.”

Both teams have plenty of reasons to prepare.

Golden Valley has shown off its big-play abilities. The Cougars have had some struggles defensively, but managed to outlast opponents in two shootouts. Quarterback Armando Muzquiz and running backs Isaiah Montanez and Rudy Aramburu have been a big reason why, delivering clutch scores.

Los Banos has a stingy defense and a grind-it-out mentality on offense. Christian Corral is one of the area’s underrated quarterbacks and sophomore running back Antonio Lopez appears to be a future star, but it’s the Tigers’ massive offensive line that propels the group.

“They have a special group of athletes this year, kind of like what we had last year,” Caropreso said. “Their lines are a little undersized, so hopefully that’s something we can exploit. They can score a touchdown on any given play, so we’re going to have to be disciplined defensively and just keep things in front of us. We need to be better sustaining drives and moving the chains, so hopefully we get that going this week.

“The one thing you know with Stubbs is that they’re going to be a well-coached team. It should be a great game.”

Stubbs agreed, saying there might be time for nostalgia later.

“I had the time of my life coaching in Los Banos,” Stubbs said. “It’s a football town with a great atmosphere on Friday nights.

“There were a lot of factors involved in my coming back to Golden Valley, but one of the main reasons that allowed me to do it was knowing Dustin would get the job. I’m happy for his success, and as soon as Friday night is over, I’ll go right back to pulling for him and the team.”

This story was originally published September 7, 2016 at 10:41 PM with the headline "Longtime friends Caropreso and Stubbs face off for the first time."