Calvert aims to bring Dos Palos back to prominence

Rob Calvert’s first move as Dos Palos High School’s coach was to re-implement things he thought the team had gotten away from the last few years.

He wanted to instill discipline, toughness and unity. Who better to demonstrate those qualities to his team than the Marines?

The first-year head coach and longtime assistant elicited help from some of America’s finest to run a day of team-building training during the summer. The Broncos’ players called it a mental and physical test of endurance, but at the end of the day, Calvert’s message hit home.

“It definitely brought us together,” senior middle linebacker Lukas Hunger said. “Everybody had to motivate each other to keep going. We had to. It was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done, and we couldn’t have finished it without each other.”

Calvert becomes Dos Palos’ third head coach in five years, a position that suddenly has become shaky after 22 years of rock-solid stability under legendary Mike Sparks. Still, Calvert has the unique experience of witnessing the last three tenures firsthand. He has been a part of all the good, the bad and the ugly, and plans to take a little from all of them as he tries to lead the proud program back to prominence.

“I got to see coach Sparks, (Frank) Lemos and (Shawn) Garrick do the job,” Calvert said. “All three had incredible football knowledge, and all three had different approaches. I learned a lot from them, and I probably took a little something from them that I’ll use.

“We’re going to stick with the spread that we’ve had the last couple years, but we’re going to incorporate some of the old power running into it. I’m trying to go back and do a lot of the old-school stuff, like our pride points, that we might have gotten away from. We want a more old-school Bronco football mentality. We’re not going to get outworked, and we’ll be disciplined and mentally ready to play.”

He also hopes the Broncos will be healthy.

A brutal nonconference schedule last season took a physical toll on Dos Palos entering conference play. The injuries proved costly as single-digit losses to Firebaugh and Coalinga cost the Broncos a chance at the West Sierra League crown.

Twenty players return from last year’s 4-8 squad, with 10 of them seeing regular playing time. Calvert expects the defense to lead the way behind a stout linebacking corps. Hunger returns for his third varsity season and is joined in the middle by reigning WSL Defensive Player of the Year Alex Flores. The Broncos also have an experienced secondary with Andrew Walker and Nathan Flores returning.

The offense will be led again by quarterback Ozzie Suarez, who racked up more than 1,000 yards of total offense in his first season under center. Calvert said Nathan and Rolando Flores will provide big and talented options at wide receiver, while Dillon Weaver will lead a number of new faces seeing touches in the backfield. Junior Wyatt O’Banion (6-foot-2, 260 pounds) and sophomore Jorge Escalante (6-2, 293) are nice bookends on a big but inexperienced offensive line.

“Those guys have a ton of potential. If they master their technique, there’s no stopping us,” Hunger said. “We’re excited for the season. Practices are a lot more up-tempo with more intensity, and guys are pumped because of it.

“The last few years have been a letdown. It used to be that every shop in town shut down on game nights. Now they stay open, and people say negative things. It’s kind of sad. We’re the team that’s supposed to bring it back.”

This story was originally published August 27, 2015 at 8:59 PM with the headline "Calvert aims to bring Dos Palos back to prominence."