Atwater football team looks for a better option

It didn’t take quarterback Frank Cocio long to pick up Atwater High School’s new spread veer option offense.

After a couple days, the senior had all the hand mechanics and footwork down.

“The veer is an easy offense to learn and understand,” Cocio said. “It helps that I ran a form of the veer in youth football. It’s a lot of muscle memory.”

After having mixed results using the shotgun wing-T in recent years, Falcons coach Bob Valladao has decided to go back to the Falcons’ roots.

“We’re running the option, going back to the basics,” Valladao said. “We’re keeping it real simple. Defensively, we’re also going back to a 4-3 defense. As coaches, you want to find something you’re comfortable with, and as a staff we contemplate stuff every year. Running the option is effective. We installed it in the second week of May, and the kids have done a good job of embracing it.”

The Falcons may not have that one featured back, but they have a stable of capable runners, including fullback Michael Vargas and wingbacks such as Noah Torres, Efrain Perez, Nate Gilmore and Nathan McRae.

Atwater also has a large number of linemen on both sides of the ball, led by Ivan Avalos, Avery Smith and Jared Del Real.

“Up front, we’ll be pretty big,” Valladao said. “Our linemen are heavy in numbers, and we have guys who can play multiple spots.”

The Falcons also will throw enough to keep teams honest. Josh Wilson and Javier Valencia give Cocio weapons on the outside.

“We’re going back to the old ways of offense,” Torres said. “I feel we’ve got speed. We have a smart quarterback. If we make the right reads, we’ve a great season.”

Valladao will take over the play-calling on offense after former offensive coordinator Brett Nickelson was hired as an administrator at Delhi High School.

Seneca Ybarra takes over as defensive coordinator after Jordan Bell stepped away from coaching. The defense will change a bit under Ybarra. The Falcons blitzed on just about every play last year under Bell. The Falcons will be more of a read-and-react type of defense this season.

“There will be a lot more thinking instead of us telling them what to do,” Valladao said.

The seniors hope the Falcons can return to the playoffs after going 2-8 last season.

“I think it would be very emotional for the senior class,” Cocio said. “When we were sophomores playing JV, we won CCC (Central California Conference) with Turlock and Pitman. We know what it’s like to be in a winning program. Last year left a sour taste in our mouth. We don’t want to feel that way again.”

This story was originally published August 27, 2015 at 11:18 PM with the headline "Atwater football team looks for a better option."