FOOTBALL PREVIEW: St. Vincent counts on its front line muscle

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St. Vincent High School football coach Gary Galloway invented the wheel 40 years ago and is certainly not going to re-invent it this season, not with an all-veteran front line and several quality athletes stepping up to fill in at the skill positions.

“We’ll be running the same offense,” he explains. “We’re not going to be re-inventing the wheel. We have a lot of players returning and they put in a lot of work in the summer. We just have to make sure they play well together. I think that will happen. This team has a very good chemistry.”

While the Mustangs’ multiple-formation offense will remain basically the same, there may be a little tweaking as Jim Cerf takes over as offensive coordinator replacing Taylor Galloway, who had to step away from coaching this year because of family commitments.

Cerf will be one of the few new faces on the St. Vincent sideline as the Mustangs have 20 seniors on their 26-man roster, with most of the juniors coming up from the junior varsity that utilizes the same offensive and defensive schemes as the varsity.

Back is a veteran offensive line - Will Tarrant (235 pounds), Tyler Schmidt (200 pounds), Jack Gatfield (250 pounds), Jordan Pech (190 pounds) and Justin Sablik (180 pounds).

Perhaps the even better news is that there are several quality linemen ready to help the veterans. Challenging for playing time are Armand Carcelen (230 pounds), Connor Carr (205 pounds), Jacob Dorn (175 pounds), Isaac Torres (240 pounds), Francis Rae (210 pounds), Jeremy Ford (195 pounds) and Paul Gregorian (250 pounds), who is moving to the interior after playing tight end last season.

It is a rare luxury for Galloway and his staff to have so many quality linemen. “Linemen are like diamonds at St. Vincent,” the coach says. “We treasure them like gold. This year we will be able to rest guys on both sides of the ball.”

If the Mustangs have a questionable area, it is at the wide receiver positions. Numbers are important at that spot for St. Vincent because the Mustangs like to spread the wealth and the football in their passing game.

St. Vincent has several quality candidates, but little varsity experience, with Michale Gross, Austin Both, Kyle Dannewitz, Alec Woodyatt, Nick Vollert and Scott Jepsen all in the mix. Vollert was the top receiver for the junior varsity last season. Jepson is an excellent athlete who played football as a freshmean, but hasn’t played since. Gross and Dannewitz did get some playing time for the varsity last season.

A significant loss to graduation for St. Vincent was Derek Murphy, who led the team on offense, defense and inspiration. When the Mustangs needed a play on either side of scrimmage last season, Murphy was the man who made it.

St. Vincent has several strong options for replacing him on offense, including varsity veterans George Sammon and Zach Sitchler. Both have speed and toughness.

There is also depth at the position with Jas Murray, Jacob Farinha and Manny Reyes all qualified ball carriers. Reyes had an excellent season with the junior varsity last season.

Another graduated player who will be tough to replace is quarterback Jack Richardson, an accurate passer, but more importantly a master technician at running the Mustang offense, which relies heavily on the quarterback to make snap decisions as the play unfolds.

Galloway believes he has an excellent replacement in junior Dominic Pedersen, last year’s junior varsity quarterback. “We will miss Jack, but Pedersen has a strong arm, and he had a great year for the junior varsity,” the coach says.

Vollert will be the back-up.

Because of its explosive and exciting nature, much attention is always given to the St. Vincent offense, but Galloway says the defense is more important.

“Defense wins championships,” he maintains.

Key to the St. Vincent defense will be middle linebackers Sean Healy and Sitchler. Both were among the best North Central League II defenders last season as juniors and are expected to be even better this season.

Dannewitz, Vollert and Murray will be on the outside.

Up front, the defensive line is in the same capable hands as the offense with Tarrant, Gregorian, Peck and Sablik getting help from Schmidt, Dorn, Carclen and others.

St. Vincent defensive backs are counted on to be both pass defenders and run stoppers, a double duty that Murphy excelled at last season.

Galloway has been impressed with the play of Jepsen and Austin Booth in the secondary. Booth played football as a sophomore, but last year played soccer and is now back to football. “He is a fast, agressive athlete,” the coach says.

Pedersen will also get playing time in the defensive backfield as will Reyes.

Once again, the North Central League II has been restructured with only four teams, meaning St. Vincent will play each of its opposing league teams twice.

As defending league champion, St. Vincent will go into every league game with a target on its back, and Galloway says a repeat will not be easy.

“Calistoga had a good team last year and they also had a good JV team,” he points out. “Tomales, with the way they run the football, is always someone to watch. The only unknown is Upper Lake. Playing everyone twice, makes it more difficult. We’re not going to overlook anyone.”

Galloway should have a pretty good idea of how good his team is going to be before the Mustangs get into league play. Their pre-league season is loaded beginning Aug. 30 with St. Bernard’s, an 8-3 team last season, and following with Cloverdale from the North Central League I, San Rafael from the Marin County Athletic League and concluding with a trip to St. Helena to play what is reputed to be one of the best Saints team in years.

“The pre-season will say a lot about us,” Galloway says. “I’m very excited about this football team. It has a lot of character.”

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