Back to drawing board for Pacheco

Chris Munoz surveyed the offensive front from his safety position.

The Pacheco junior decided what he was seeing and shouted a couple of adjustments to his counterparts in the secondary during a seven-on-seven drill at the Buhach Colony camp just before the dead period. The play resulted in an incomplete pass and a series of high-fives from the defense.

It’s the kind of leadership coach David Snapp is counting on from his handful of returners as the Panthers try to replace the most storied senior class in the program’s young history. The Panthers return just 18 players, with four starters on each side of the ball, after graduating 31 seniors.

“We’ve dealt with the same core group of guys for the last three years, so it does feel very new,” Snapp said. “It almost feels like our second year back when we were fielding seniors for the first time. It’s been kind of reinvigorating for me and my staff.

“We believe we’ve got talent, but until we line up opposite someone else, it’s tough to say right now where we’re at. The goal right now is to just be consistent and build off of what we accomplish from week to week. There’s a little bit of the fear of the unknown, but at the same time it’s exciting getting to watch guys you know have the potential to blossom before your eyes.”

Snapp has his work cut out for him as the Panthers have to replace last year’s leading passer, three of their four top rushers, their top four receivers and five of their top six tacklers.

The offense appears to be on slightly better footing entering the season.

Carl Schofield was in the program as a freshman before transferring away last year. His family moved back to Los Banos and he’ll take over the reigns at quarterback. Snapp said he’ll provide Pacheco with a more traditional pocket passer, but Schofield said he’s not afraid to beat defenses with his feet, either.

Carlos Garcia and Munoz made their marks more on the defensive side of the ball in 2014, both earning all-conference nods in the secondary, but should provide Schofield big athletic targets this season. Cameron Castro (6-foot-3, 235 pounds) should also be a mismatch at tight end. If there’s any position the Panthers never seem to have a shortage of it’s running backs. Deontae Smith and Tk Teneng look to be the next great tandem in the backfield and Thor Rodoni provides Snapp an excellent foundation to build his new offensive line around.

“I think the offense is a little further ahead of the game at this point in time,” Snapp said. “We like our offensive line. They aren’t the biggest group, but they’re athletic and seem to have really jelled quickly.

“Schofield is really solid. He’s a little better athlete than I’d anticipated. He’s going to provide a little more controlled chaos than we’ve had the last few years.”

The Pacheco defense appears to be pretty raw, but has some good-looking athletes to build around.

Jesus Martinez and Nik Sabala could be playmakers on a young defensive line, and Castro is cut from the middle linebacker mold. The secondary should be the team’s strength early as Munoz and Garcia look to build upon impressive 2014s.

“I think we can be pretty good defensively if we just keep our cool and don’t overthink things,” Munoz said. “We’re young and we’re going to make mistakes, but we have to learn from them. I think the first four games will be a test. If we can overcome it and become a better team during those four games, we should be good.”

This story was originally published August 27, 2015 at 10:36 PM with the headline "Back to drawing board for Pacheco."