McDaniel bounces back big for Golden Valley

Cadrian McDaniel experienced the highs and lows of high school football in the span of a week.

The Golden Valley junior was beside himself at the end of the Cougars’ 26-20 loss to Beyer on Sept. 4. McDaniel knelt on the sideline with tears streaming down his face after he dropped a pass that bounced into the hands of a Patriots defensive back for an interception late in the fourth quarter.

Instead of the Cougars possibly driving for a game-winning touchdown they suffered their 15th consecutive loss.

“It was really, really tough,” McDaniel said. “Especially in front of the home crowd in my first varsity home game. That was the worst moment because I felt like I let down my team. I felt like I replayed that play in my mind every second that weekend. We had worked so hard and deserved that win.”

McDaniel left the tears on the field and went back to work. All he did was go out the next week and catch eight passes for 201 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown to help lead the Cougars (1-2) to a 30-20 win over Livermore that snapped the streak.

Not a bad birthday present for Golden Valley coach Dennis Stubbs, who turned 56 on Sept. 11.

“It was fantastic,” McDaniel said. “To win on your coach’s birthday, on 9/11, it was huge to break that losing streak.”

McDaniel is quickly emerging into the big-play threat the coaching staff and his teammates envisioned after watching the 6-foot-1, 160-pound receiver turn heads just about every day during offseason workouts and passing-league games.

McDaniel and his teammates will be back in action Saturday against North Monterey County (0-2) at Veterans Stadium at 6 p.m.

Stubbs was happy to see McDaniel bounce back from the drop against Beyer.

“It devastated him,” Stubbs said. “He was hurt bad, but he shook it off. What I told him is the only thing you can do is to keep working harder. You have to push through.”

That’s been Stubbs’ advice to his team as they fought to end the streak. The returning players suffered through an 0-10 season a year ago and were tired of hearing about it.

“We just had to continue to work,” Stubbs said. “I kept saying it’s not going to be easy. When that monkey is on your back, it’s hard to get it off.”

Walking through the weight room Monday, Stubbs could sense a little more energy and intensity in the room. It’s amazing what one win can do.

“We came into the season serious underdogs,” McDaniel said. “Everyone sees us as Golden Valley, ‘Oh, they went 0-10 last year.’ There was a lot of pressure to finally get that win. I feel that win will carry us throughout the rest of the season. We’ve never had that feeling. It was the first varsity win for us. We want that feeling again.”

With running back Isaiah Montanez out probably until at least midseason because of a finger injury, McDaniel becomes a bigger part of the offense. Through three games he’s caught 14 passes for 339 yards and three touchdowns.

“The confidence I have in him is crazy,” said quarterback Armando Muzquiz, who threw for 352 yards and two touchdowns against Livermore. “I know if I can get him the ball he’s going to make the match. His ability to make adjustments is amazing. He’s so fast and he can jump so high, he can catch everything.”

Stubbs likes the added dimension McDaniel brings to his offense.

“It gives us multiple threats,” Stubbs said. “My teams have always run the ball and we like to use play-action. With him, we can mix it up with inside run, play-action, spread. We have the guys who can do that. A lot of his yards last week were on three-step drops where he got a lot of yards after the catch.”

Stubbs also likes McDaniel’s unselfishness. He’s not your typical NFL-type wide receiver diva.

When asked about his goals for this season, McDaniel didn’t start spitting out yardage or touchdown goals. His goals were about the team.

“I just want to do the best I can,” he said. “I’m growing up still. I’m not saying I’m immature or anything like that. I’m very emotional. If I drop a deep ball or something like that, it gets to me because not only does it hurt me, it hurts my quarterback Armando and it hurts my team.

“I want to do everything I can for us to have a positive season.”

This story was originally published September 17, 2015 at 4:59 PM with the headline "McDaniel bounces back big for Golden Valley."