Los Banos, Pacheco football ready to contend in a wide-open Western Athletic Conference
In the last full season the top five teams in the Western Athletic Conference were separated by just two games as the conference championship went down to the final week.
The conference looks like it could be wide open again this fall and both Los Banos and Pacheco believe they can contend for the title.
“Honestly, yeah,” said Pacheco coach Jeremy Siemiller. “My first year there were four or five teams that had a chance to finish at the top at the end of the year. I think this year could be pretty much the same.”
The Panthers enter this season low on numbers and a new offensive system, but full of confidence.
Los Banos will be young — with as many as five sophomores starting — but they expect to be dominant on defense and improved on offense.
Let’s take a closer look at our two Merced County teams in the WAC.
Los Banos
The Tigers finished 2-3 this past spring, but it’s hard to blame the defense. The Los Banos defense surrendered just over 15 points per game and should be strong again this fall.
Defensive end JT Archutowski was a nightmare for opposing quarterbacks as he spent the majority of time in the backfield.
“We look for him to wreck havoc for us this year,” said Los Banos coach Dustin Caropreso. “He is a big kid. He’s tough to match up against. We can’t block him in practice.”
Archutowski’s size and speed make him a tough matchup on both sides of the ball. The Tigers will take advantage of his at receiver as well.
“I think our offense is good and our defense is capable of carrying us,” Archutowski said.
The Tigers also return linebacker Maston Milovich, who was all over the field at middle linebacker this spring.
Offensively, the Tigers return third-year running back Adrian Ramirez, who plans to have a big year behind a talented offensive line.
“Our O-line is big and those guys move guys up front,” Ramirez said. “I love running the ball. That’s what I do.”
The key for Los Banos may be how quickly the five sophomores can get acclimated to the varsity level.
Linebackers Adan Salas and Cole Ramos, center Grant Jones, quarterbacks Wyatt McBride and David Herrera will all be counted on as sophomores.
“They’ve impressed me since day one,” Ramirez said. “They’ve improved so much. They are going to help us.”
McBride and Herrera may hold the key to the offense at quarterback.
“We have some evaluating to do at quarterback,” Caropreso said. “Both of them have been doing some good things and bad things. We might open up with a platoon and play both of them.”
If the sophomores can get up to speed and the offense takes a step in the right direction, the Tigers could contend for a WAC championship.
“It’s tough because we didn’t see everyone play last spring,” Caropreso said. “I firmly believe we’re capable. If we stay healthy we’ll be OK.”
Pacheco
The Panthers ditched their veer offense this past spring and transitioned to a double-wing attack patterned after the offense used at Clayton Valley used by Tim Murphy.
The offensive switch fits the athletes the Panthers have and can help them overcome their lack of numbers by controlling the ball.
“We used the five-game spring season as an experiment and we’re going to stick with it,” Siemiller said. “Our numbers were real low so I did some research on some ball-control offenses. We have a lot of guys going both ways. It’s a good offense when you don’t have great size.”
The offense features a lot of traps and sweeps and takes advantage of mobile linemen.
With a roster of about 26 players, the coaching staff is putting an emphasis on getting the players in great shape in order to handle the heavy minutes with as many as six or seven guys being asked to play on both sides of the ball.
“Staying healthy is the No. 1 thing,” Siemiller said.
The Panthers will rely heavily on the five seniors on offense including linemen Lino Juarez, Alex Aranda and Jose Martinez and tight end Mandir Ghakal.
Senior Daniel Rivas moves from quarterback to wingback.
Sophomore Abel Bravo will play a big role at running back and linebacker and junior Brandon De Reza will also fill a similar role on both sides of the ball.
“We don’t have enough players to rotate in so players can catch their breath,” Rivas said.
Regardless, Rivas and his teammates are ready to make a run at the playoffs and hope to contend for a conference championship.
“I’m pretty excited to get started,” Rivas said. “The games this spring were good, but it’s not a full season. We want to take it it all the way this year.”
Schedules
Los Banos
Aug. 20 vs Dos Palos
Aug. 27 vs Hilmar
Sept 3 at Orestimba
Sept. 17 at Beyer
Sept. 24 vs Grace Davis
Oct. 1 vs Mountain House
Oct. 8 at Johansen
Oct. 15 at Ceres
Oct. 22 vs Lathrop
Oct. 29 vs Pacheco
Pacheco
Aug. 27 vs Central Valley
Sept. 3 at Sierra
Sept 10 vs Tracy
Sept. 17 vs Johansen
Sept. 24 at Lathrop
Oct. 1 at Grace Davis
Oct. 8 vs Ceres
Oct. 15 vs Mountain House
Oct. 22 at Beyer
Oct. 29 at Los Banos
