Trojans are young, but they know the Petaluma system well

Petaluma boys basketball team could start three sophomores|

The Petaluma High School boys basketball team will be very young, but that doesn’t mean the Trojans are going to be inexperienced.

Coach Scott Behrs could start as many as three sophomores in Petaluma’s first year in the Vine Valley Athletic League.

Eric Perez, Estaban Bermudez and Ivan Cortes Galena are all athletic, talented and varsity ready.

What makes them especially unique is that they all know Behrs’ court system on both offense and defense.

“I’ve been coaching them since they were in the sixth grade,” Behrs explained. “They know our system better than some of our seniors.”

The coach said another sophomore, Julian Garihan, is also going to see playing time.

Of course, not everyone is new, and Petaluma has some key players coming back from last year’s injury-plagued team that went 12-15 overall and 6-6 in the Sonoma County League.

“We kept getting people hurt,” Behrs recalled. “It was like a train wreck and we couldn’t get off the track.”

Leading the list of returning veterans is guard Robbie Isetta, a 3-year varsity veteran who not only handles the ball well and knows the Petaluma offense, but also has long-range shooting capability.

Kenny Alexander returns to provide muscle. At 6-feet, 4-inches, 240 pounds, the football offensive lineman will be counted on for inside scoring, defense and rebounding. “He came back with fire in his eyes,” said Behrs.

The hard work of returning senior Zack Clark has earned him the honor of being the team captain. “He has done everything you could ask an athlete to do,” said Behrs. “He has a great work ethic.”

Garrett Gehring returns much improved over his junior year on the varsity. “He is more physical and he has a better understanding of his role on the team,” the coach said.

George Tynes is another who returns improved for his senior season. “He has learned the game of basketball,” Behrs said.

Junior Sam Brown, an outstanding athlete who was good enough to play varsity baseball as a freshman, is out for basketball as a junior and has impressed Behrs.

“He looks like a basketball player,” the coach said. “He is another guy who likes contact.”

Two seniors who also know the Trojan system well after playing in the program for the past three seasons, Cole Stremlau and Lucas Stevenson, provide experienced depth.

Ryan Sullivan and John Mahrt, coming up from the junior varsity, will also help as Behrs seeks to find the right combinations to face the unknown that is the VVAL.

“It will be nice to see different faces,” said Behrs. “With the exception of that Friday night drive, I’m a fan of he new league.

“I think it is going to be nicely balanced. There are no pushovers, but there are no bullies, either.”

There has been a change in the Petaluma coaching lineup, with the head coach’s father, former varsity coach John Behrs, taking over the junior varsity. He will be assisted by Steve Mahrt. Nick Iacopi will continue to help Behrs with the varsity.

“We will be young and ambitious,” Behrs summed up. “I don’t know how successful we will be, but we will be competitive night in and night out.”

Petaluma opens at San Marin on Nov. 24.

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.