While going 1-5 last year in the Gabilan Division (the most challenging league in PCAL), the football team learned many lessons last year. “If we’re not winning, we’re learning and we learned a lot last year,” said Coach Cesar Chaidez. This year, however, there is a strong core of returning seniors and the opportunity to put all that learning to good use.
Coach Chaidez’s expectation for his team is to practice at an exceptional level everyday. “One rep at a time. One day at a time. One game at a time. Just concentrate on our level of execution at practice. That is what we look forward to!”
This year, the team moved from the Gabilan Division to the Mission South Division. This change in divisions led to an all new showcase of teams. Some teams might get nervous to see new competition, but this isn’t the case for the Trojans. “It doesn’t matter,” Coach Chaidez said. “If we can practice with a high level of intensity and a high level of execution. That is how we will take care of league opponents.”
With 25 returning seniors and a large number of underclassmen gaining experience this year, the Trojans have a great reason for being optimistic. Team captain Issac Rodriguez, a senior and an A-back on offense who is returning after an injury last year said, “Very glad I’m able to return, especially after a season that I couldn’t play.” Returning cornerback and senior Xavier Quintero said, “It’s been more intense, the practices. Senior year is a lot more different than junior year. It’s our last opportunity.”
The coach praised the team for their perseverance and togetherness. “A lot of guys with grit, hard-nose mentality, and growth mindset,” he said. Those qualities will be crucial when facing league teams like Carmel (4-0), Pacific Grove (4-0) and North High (3-1) who are averaging 30 – 40+ points per game in their non-league games. However, this isn’t a concern to Coach Chaidez. “We never look at our opponents, we always focus on ourselves,” he said.
This key message of only concentrating on what the Trojans can control has gotten through to the players. “When we play football we have to stick to who we are and eliminate the noise,” said starting quarterback and team captain Santiago Chaidez. All of this concentration has paid off early, with the team going 3-1 in preseason, with the lone loss against Palma.
After the loss to Palma, Coach Chaidez gave the team a pep talk stressing the importance of every game, especially in league play. “Every game is a championship game, you better believe that,” he said.
The players have gravitated towards that message and have taken it to heart. “We got a fire lit under us,” senior wide receiver Jorge Ventura said. “We’re going to use that as motivation as we continue on in the season on our path to win a championship,” Santiago Chaidez said.
The Trojans (3-1) look to bounce back on Saturday when they face Carmel (4-0) on the road in the league opener. Now, the betting man might favor Carmel in this league opener as they are averaging 48 points a game to the Trojans’ 28, and the fact that they defeated Alvarez 35-14, compared to the Trojans 25-21 victory. However, this ain’t Vegas, this is football and the game needs to be played on the field, not the stat sheets. Santiago Chaidez said it best, “I’m most excited to play Carmel this week and shock the world.”
