New coach, small numbers, but still high expectations for Mariposa.

It’s been a chaotic summer for the Mariposa High football team.

Ryan Oliphant announced he had to step down as the Grizzlies head coach because of health reasons. Robert Stitt has been named the interim coach.

The Ferguson Fire has made concentrating on football tough for the players. Smoke and air quality have forced the Grizzlies to cancel at least two practices.

“We canceled our second practice on (Aug. 6) due to the smoke,” said Stitt, whose coached at Mariposa for 25 years. “We’ve had guys missing practices because of evacuations. We’ve just tried to keep it going. Practices have been going well. Nothing has changed in that respect.”

Stitt says he had the best job when he was just the assistant. He’s taking over as the interim coach to help out the school and the kids.

Stitt doesn’t like the paperwork and a lot of the administrative things that come with being the head coach.

“The reason I didn’t want to be a head coach is dealing with all the other stuff,” Stitt said. “I like just coaching football. I don’t like losing sleep over the little stuff.”

The players seem to be able to block everything away when they get on the field, but that hasn’t been easy.

“It’s been pretty hard,” said third-year linebacker Ryan Leonard. “There’s been a lot going on. We’ve got kids being evacuated, a new coach. When ‘Coach O’ told us he wasn’t going to be able to coach anymore, that was pretty hard to take. I played for him for two years. I think coach Stitt has stepped up. We’ll have a good team.”

On top of everything, quarterback Colton Weidner, who passed for 2,245 yards and 16 touchdowns, transferred to another school this offseason.

The Grizzlies have shifted to a more run-heavy offense to take advantage of four returning starters on the offensive line anchored by Leonard and Jaq Quinn.

“We can trust each other,” Quinn said. “Each of us can look at a defense and talk to each other. We can call out blitzes.”

Junior Logan Donati returns at running back after rushing for 667 yards and five touchdowns as a sophomore last year. JC Davies will also see carries at fullback.

The defense will be led by Leonard at middle linebacker. The third-year senior recorded 124 tackles in 11 games last season.

Stitt says Leonard is one of the best players he’s coached in his 26 years at Mariposa

“He plays with so much heart,” Stitt said. “He has great instincts. He’s not super big. Everything he does, he does with heart and desire.”

Quinn, Davies and Charlie Williams will help lead the defense.

The Grizzlies will have to rely heavily on two-way players with a smaller roster that should be in the mid 20s.

“We just have to work harder,” Davies said. “We have to condition harder, push harder Everything we did last year, we have to do better this year.”

This story was originally published August 15, 2018 at 7:50 PM.