Buhach Colony’s explosive ground game could be key to Thunder success this season
Jaxson Percoats was electric as a sophomore for the Buhach Colony football team. He averaged over 14 yards every time he ran the ball, racking up 503 rushing yards and five touchdowns.
Percoats returns as one of the most electric players in the Central California Conference this season.
“He’s an unselfish player,” said Buhach Colony head coach Jerry Dietz. “It’s never about him. The team always come first. He’s never worried about how many carries he’s going to get. That’s what I like about him.
“He’s dynamic,” Dietz added. “He’s very special. I only ask him to get four yards. After that he can do what he wants.”
Percoats will be leading the way as the Thunder hope to challenge the top teams in the CCC this fall.
Buhach Colony will need a big season from Percoats with just three starters returning on offense. The Thunder are young and don’t have a lot of depth with just 38 players.
However, BC is not short on weapons.
Senior Payton Johnson will see plenty of carries in the Thunder fly offense. The senior scored one of the Thunder’s two touchdowns in their season-opening 18-15 loss to Gregori on Friday night.
Senior Tyler Havel and sophomore Jordan Cobert will also be expected to contribute.
“Payton Johnson is one of my best friends and he’s awesome to watch,” Percoats said. “Tyler Havel has changed his body and his physique. Both of those guys are way better than they were last year. Jordan Colbert will also make an impact for us.”
The keys for the Thunder to have a successful season is obviously to stay healthy, but the BC young players are going to have to step in and adjust to varsity play right away.
Buhach Colony will be young on the offensive line, which will be anchored by senior Aden Lara and junior Cornell Gilkey. The defense will also feature a lot of first-year players like Colbert, Judah Flores, Kailin Frade and Joseph Perez.
“The speed of the game was an eye opener for them,” Dietz said. “That’s why the scrimmage helped last week. The biggest challenge is going to be the speed of the game. We don’t have a lot of depth either.”
Dietz says one thing he loves about this group is that they’re very coachable and they want to learn.
The Thunder players expect to compete for a title.
“Oh yeah, I’m very confident we can win it outright,” Percoats said. “I’ll do my best to make that come true. We’re very excited. Last year was a short season. We’re hungry for games. We’re hungry for contact. We all love playing football.”
Schedule
Aug. 20 Gregori 18, Buhach Colony 15
Aug. 27 at Tracy
Sept. 3 at Enochs
Sept. 10 vs Lincoln
Sept. 17 at Golden Valley
Sept. 24 vs Central Valley
Oct. 8 at El Capitan
Oct. 15 at Merced
Oct. 22 vs Patterson
Oct. 29 vs Atwater
This story was originally published August 20, 2021 at 1:31 PM.
