Whitaker, El Capitan gaining confidence

El Capitan High quarterback Chase Whitaker and his teammates were able to celebrate a win last week for the first time since the school started playing varsity football last year.

The Gauchos (1-1) defeated Mountain House of Tracy 64-0.

Finally the zero is gone from the win column.

“It definitely got the monkey off our back,” Whitaker said. “It felt good to have a ‘W’ to stand behind. I think it helped people realize, ‘Whoa, they can win.’ It definitely felt amazing after the win.”

Now the goal is to keep adding to win column. The Gauchos have a tough challenge Friday when they host Gregori (2-0) at Stadium ’76.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

“This is one of the games we kept on the schedule because it would give us a good idea of where we’re at and where we need to improve,” said El Capitan coach Mike Machado. “Next week we play Fresno High, which is an athletic team. Gregori is a more physical team. These games are going to help us when we get to league and see different kinds of teams.”

Gregori defeated El Capitan 54-20 last year. The Gauchos limped into the game after getting blown by Buhach Colony 50-0 and Merced 63-8.

“Going into the Merced game we were already beat,” Whitaker said. “Everyone was scared as hell. We had all heard how good Merced was and half our players went to Merced so they knew about them already. I think we were just going through the motions against them to get the game over with.

“We were not helped by our schedule. We opened up against Buhach Colony, Merced, Gregori and Downey. They’re all great teams. Looking at that schedule now, I can’t believe we played those teams.”

The unforgiving schedule combined with a first-year program equated to a rough 0-10 season for the Gauchos, but going through a season like that made this group of players tougher and brought them closer together.

El Capitan has a more manageable schedule this year, which started out with a 40-34 overtime loss to Stone Ridge Christian and last week’s win over Mountain House, which is in the same position El Capitan was in last year, playing its first season at the varsity level without seniors.

The El Capitan players have shown they can compete and now have tasted success for the first time.

“As a group they have much more confidence than they did last year,” Machado said. “They know what to expect in a football game. Physically and mentally they can compete on Friday nights. That’s a huge hurdle for a new program. That’s massive.”

Whitaker has come a long way since his first season. The 6-foot-5, 205-pound quarterback has completed 29-of-53 passes for 409 yards and five touchdowns and no interceptions this season. He threw for 324 yards and two scores in the loss to Stone Ridge Christian. With heavy winds in Tracy last week, the Gauchos opted to keep the ball on the ground more with Joshua Stewart, who ran for 205 yards and three touchdowns.

The intimidation factor that was there for Whitaker and some of his teammates is gone.

“Last year I was a sophomore going against 18-year-old players and I was just 15,” Whitaker said. “It was scary some times. I was tall so I could match up against them in that respect, but some of them had me by about 100 pounds.

“I remember we went to Livingston and this dude walks by me with a full grown beard.”

Like many of his teammates, Whitaker worked hard during the offseason and got bigger, faster and stronger.

“The more I’ve worked for it the slower the game has got for me,” he said. “Moving up to varsity last year really helped prepare me for the speed of the game this year. It also helps that I knew the plays coming into spring training. I know my reads and I know the offense.”

It helps Whitaker that he’s surrounded by plenty of weapons. Not only can the Gauchos turn to a strong ground game with Stewart, but they have receivers like Elijah Reid (155 yards and two touchdowns) and Marcos Dinkins (133 and three touchdowns). Davonya Shepherd and Travis Minor give Whitaker two more options at receiver.

Machado has seen Whitaker improve physically and he’s seen his understanding of the game grow.

“There are two things that stick out,” Machado said. “The first thing is he understands the concepts and schemes we’re running. The second is the additional year of experience he got at the varsity level. The things that are happening on the field are happening much slower for him and he’s understanding how defenses move.

“His supporting cast is much more talented and they understand what we’re trying to do.”

If the Gauchos can start building on their success it will make everything they went through last year worth it. Whitaker wants to help lead the way.

“Going through last year was tough,” Whitaker said. “But it made us stronger for those of us that came out of it.”

This story was originally published September 10, 2015 at 9:09 PM with the headline "Whitaker, El Capitan gaining confidence."