Los Banos QB Herrera WAC’s top offensive player

Dustin Caropreso began floating the idea a year ago during basketball season.

The Los Banos football coach was evaluating the personnel he would have returning for the 2014 season and was convinced a change was needed from the school’s traditional I-formation set to a spread offense.

The versatility of junior Adam Herrera made the idea all the more intriguing.

“I’d never played quarterback in my life, but the coaches knew I was fast and saw me as more of a read-option guy,” Herrera said. “I’d been a running back, so that part was easy. I was really worried I wasn’t going to be able to read defenses when I was passing. I worked hard all spring and summer and got a little bit better every day.”

The experiment worked out better than anyone could have hoped. Herrera passed for more than 1,000 yards and rushed for another 1,000, leading the Tigers to an unexpected Western Athletic Conference title. It’s no coincidence that Los Banos’ ascension coincided with Herrera’s quick development. The rest of the league saw the correlation too, and named the junior its Offensive Player of the Year.

It was part of a major haul for the Tigers as they took three of the WAC’s top awards. Senior linebacker Alec Barcellos earned Defensive Player of the Year and Caropreso was named the Coach of the Year. Patterson’s Damarrio Hammonds earned MVP and Central Valley’s Moses Ghiorso was the Special Teams Player of the Year.

“I didn’t even know until a friend told me,” Herrera said. “It’s a big honor. I just wanted to do what my team needed me to do to help us win. I’m glad it worked out, and am excited to see what I can do next year.”

Herrera and Barcellos were two of six Tigers named to the WAC first team. Joining them were wide receiver David Walker, offensive lineman Evan Duran, defensive lineman Bailey Rodriguez, and defensive back Gilbert Fuentes.

Second-place Pacheco was also well-represented, earning five first-team nods. Maurice Harden (TE), Josh Tui (OL, DL), Lebe Velasquez (LB), Frank Ginda (LB) and Chris Munoz (DB) took honors for the Panthers.

This story was originally published December 3, 2014 at 8:21 PM with the headline "Los Banos QB Herrera WAC’s top offensive player."