FALL SPORTS PREVIEW: Major changes for Tomales football this season

There are some major changes on the horizon for football fans of the Tomales Braves.

After decades of success against larger schools in the North Coast Section, the Braves are finally venturing into the arena of eight-man football, and it may be an adjustment for those who have witnessed their relentless ground game and the defensive problems it created for opponents.

Steadily declining numbers have forced the change at the little Marin County school, now with a current roster of only ?13 able bodies set to open the season against ?NCS runner-up Mendocino on Sept. 5. Numbers for ?the team could increase when the school ?begins with 171 students expected.

First-year varsity head coach Dominic Sacheli ?explained that the eight-man game will force some new approaches, but Tomales will not completely abandon all of the schemes that require strong blocking techniques and execution.

“If it were nine-man football it would be an easy conversion, but that missing extra player is going to require some adjustments,” Sacheli said after guiding his squad through the first two weeks of practice. “It’s definitely more of a player’s game where individual mistakes can hurt in a hurry.”

“We have been working the kids hard, and they will have to be in top shape because most of them will go both ways. So far, the kids have done everything we have asked, and it’s been fun. Everybody is going to see some action.”

Four seniors return for the Braves headed by running back Ty Evenich, the team’s third-leading rusher last season with an average of 4.4 yards per carry. “Ty will be our featured back, but we can’t over use him because he is also a very strong defensive player,” noted Sacheli.

Evenich will get offensive support from backs Andres Cuevas and Johnny Barajas. Both saw considerable service last season. Cuevas rolled up 51 rushing yards in a 16-14 win over Balboa of San Francisco.

Eli Gutierrez also returns after going both ways on the line of scrimmage, averaging 3.9 tackles per game.

Four sophomores are back in the fold for the Braves after seeing limited service in 2014, Tomales did not field a junior varsity team, and the then freshmen missed a number of minutes of valuable experience except for practice and limited substitutions.

“We are trying to put Jake Fernandes, Celt Carr, Brandon Hitchcock and Bryce Bianchi in positions where they can succeed,” said Sacheli, “So far they have played well.” Hitchcock made 25 tackles for the Braves in his sophomore season.

Four freshman players are also listed on the Tomales roster for the upcoming season. “We are very happy with those kids so far,” said the former junior varsity head coach. “We have to be very careful because some of them have little or no football experience. It’s a process, and the coaches have been very patient. Those four kids have enthusiastically made every practice.”

Tomales joins the North Central League III this season along with former league foes Upper Lake and Calistoga. The new 10-team configuration will gave each school a nine-game schedule.

Last season, the North Coast Section promoted a two-team playoff between the top two teams for the eight-man Division 6 title won by Anderson Valley. The champs lose only three seniors and may very well be the NCL III favorite again this season.

Scoring can be fast and furious with six players ?removed from the standard football match up. There?is plenty of open field ?and Tomales fans might not have time to take their eyes off the action on the field. The Brave staff has been busy studying schemes on the Internet and applying changes that will be needed to help Tomales quickly catch up to the fundamentals of the quick pace and possible trick plays that many teams use.

The assistant coaches this season are Bailey Tucker, Javier Isias and long-time veteran coach Bill Tucker.

An issue that may come up is that the football field is shortened by 20 yards for eight-man football. The Braves field is also set up for soccer which might force the football opponents to switch sides of the field when they turn to offense.

One last change, the Mendocino game will be the first in 19 years without a familiar face prowling the Tomales sideline. Football has to move forward, but Leon Feliciano will be missed.