FOOTBALL PREVIEW: Tomales is short in numbers, but tall in talent

Tomales opens the football season on Friday with a contest at Andy Azevedo Field against Hoopa Valley with high expectations, but low player numbers again this season.|

Tomales opens the football season on Friday with a contest at Andy Azevedo Field against Hoopa Valley with high expectations, but low player numbers again this season.

The Braves, coming off a winning 6-4 campaign last year, narrowly missed the Division V playoffs and coach Leon Feliciano is anxious to get back into the hunt in his 19th and final season.

“We now have 16 teams in our division, and some of them should be very good again,” noted Feliciano. “Our team will only field 14 players against Hoopa because some of the kids don’t have the required 10 practices. Overall, we should field from 18 to 20 players. Obviously, we have to stay healthy to remain competitive. Everybody on the roster is going to get some playing time this year.”

Feliciano has to be very creative on the practice field to keep his squad in good condition and versatile enough to fill in for each other when the situation arises. “I don’t want to paint a negative picture because we have very good athletes this year,” he said. “They are as skilled as we’ve had. We will just have to avoid the injuries that have hurt our continuity the last two seasons.”

Leading the way for the Braves will be two-way performers Alex Palomares and Dante Feliciano.

Palomares, a bruising 240-pound senior fullback, doubles as a defensive lineman, and comes with good credentials. He was an All-League North Central II performer last season with 64 tackles on the defensive side of the football.

Three-year senior letterman Dante Feliciano (205 pounds) also returns as a versatile lineman on both offense, where he starts at center, and on defense. Feliciano had 43 combined tackles and assists last season.

“Those two kids are set to be our leaders this year,” noted coach Feliciano. “They both played very well last season. In addition, we are happy with the early season work of Eli Gutierrez, who has slimmed down to 245 pounds.”

Tomales runs its offense from the familiar wing-T formation in which fundamental blocking often leads to a punishing ground game that is difficult to defend. Running backs Willy Lepori and last-season Petaluma transfer Ty Evenich figure to get multiple ball carrying opportunities.

Lepori got a majority of work from the wingback set last season, but Feliciano has plans to move him to the deep running back slot for different opportunities this year. The rugged senior had a combined 572 yards rushing and receiving last season. He also finished with nine scoring plays.

“Both Lepori and Evenich have been cutting well in their runs and they move a little quicker than our bigger kids of the past,” noted Feliciano.

At quarterback this season the Braves will rely on lanky veteran Joel Gutierrez. “We might throw the ball a little more,” smiled Feliciano. “Joel throws a good deep ball. We are still working on his consistency in the shorter routes.” Gutierrez had 371 passing yards including seven touchdowns last season.

Backing Gutierrez will be junior Johnny Barajas, who is up from the ranks of the junior varsity.

Pacing the Brave receivers in early practices has been rangy junior wide out Jacob Sampietro (160 pounds). “Jacob has excellent speed, and he had some good moments last year, including a big touchdown catch against Emery,” said Feliciano.

“Overall, I think we will be very competitive,” said an optimistic Feliciano, “Defensively we usually operate out of the 4-4 set but with the athletes we have this season I can see us stunting a little more.”

Dante Feliciano led the Braves with 12 quarterback sacks in 2013, while senior linebacker Conner Freeman returns after recording 25 stops last year.

“I think that our last practice game at Balboa in San Francisco will be a major test for us,” noted Feliciano, “They are big and have many more athletes to pick from.”

“In our league, I think that St. Vincent might have an early edge because they have several key returning players and they are always well coached. If we can stay healthy, it looks like we can compete with everybody. We play each league team twice and our kids are looking forward to a full schedule.”

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