Sun-Star All-Area football: Los Banos’ Caropreso named top coach

After a 1-2 start, Dustin Caropreso admits doubt crept into his mind as to whether switching offenses in the offseason was the right decision. Los Banos High School enjoyed considerable success with an I-back attack over the years.

But by midseason, the Tigers starting feeling comfortable in their new spread offense, and the wins piled up. The Tigers ran off eight in a row, including overtime wins over Patterson and Livingston, en route to a 6-0 record in the Western Athletic Conference.

After taking a team picked to finish third in the preseason to a WAC championship, Caropreso is the Sun-Star Coach of the Year.

“The biggest reason for the switch on offense was we didn’t feel we had the guys up front that could pound away,” Caropreso said. “We weren’t sure we had the back that could get 15-20 carries a game. We felt our strength was our skill guys outside and our quarterback.”

The Tigers were still a run-first offense with quarterback Adam Herrera and running back Daniel Fernandez leading the way. The new offense also allowed Caropreso to move David Walker around and find different ways to get him the ball.

Not only was the new offense an adjustment for the players, but also for Caropreso, who called the plays.

“When we needed to find answers when something wasn’t working, I always knew where to go in the I-back system,” Caropreso said. “It took awhile to find those answers in the spread. By the Patterson game, as a coach and a play-caller, I felt this is how it’s supposed to be.”

It was that 47-41 overtime win on Oct. 17 that caught attention. Patterson and Pacheco were picked as the favorites going into the season.

The win over Patterson springboarded a stretch of tough, grind-it-out games down the stretch for the Tigers, who followed with another overtime win, 19-13 at Livingston. Los Banos then pounded its way to a 14-6 win over Central Valley in a muddy downpour.

“Once we got past that Patterson game, our kids really started believing we had a chance to win every game we played,” Caropreso said. “To win that game in overtime and turn around and win another overtime game against Livingston. Then the following week, we play that mud bowl against Central Valley. That was three tough games where our kids never quit.”

The cherry on top was defeating Pacheco 36-18 in the Crosstown Clash to close the regular season.

“I don’t think anybody thought we’d go 8-2 (in the regular season) and 6-0 in the WAC,” Caropreso said. “It was a great accomplishment for the kids and our coaches, who put in a lot of time. It was a pretty special year.”

This story was originally published January 5, 2015 at 7:44 PM with the headline "Sun-Star All-Area football: Los Banos’ Caropreso named top coach."