Valencia and West Ranch Set for Transition Seasons in Foothill League
Valencia High faces a rebuilding year after going undefeated in the Foothill League but losing 28 seniors, including their entire defensive front eight. Meanwhile, West Ranch, which finished second and also exited the playoffs early, is focusing on its depth and returning players like running backs Luke DePerno and Justus Morris for the new season.
Valencia High Faces Rebuilding Year After Undefeated Foothill League Season
The Valencia High football team went undefeated in the Foothill League last season. The Vikings were 9 and 2 overall and 6 and oh against Foothill League teams. After a successful regular season, Valencia made a quick exit in the CIF Southern Section playoffs.
The Vikings lost to Servite in the first round of the Division 2 playoffs. Servite went on to play in the championship game and lost to Mission Viejo.
Valencia High coach Larry Muir is in a bit of a rebuilding mode. His team graduated 28 seniors and his entire front eight on defense, the linebackers and defensive line, are gone.
However, Valencia has arguably the fastest player in the Foothill League, running back Brian Bonner, and an experienced defensive backfield with Nick Seymour and Ronald Bruner.
Bonner, only a junior, reached the CIF State Finals in the 100-meter and is one of the fastest track athletes in California. He will be a challenge for opposing defenses once the football season starts.
Muir talked to Santa Clarita Weekly about how his team is preparing for the start of the football season:
Coach Larry Muir: Our summer work we get in the month of June of passing leagues and passing tournaments and practice and all that good stuff. So we've got a lot of work done in June. And our kids, I thought, made a lot of good progress. In certain areas, we had graduated a lot of guys last year. I think we had 28 seniors last year, and they were a big part of a lot of what we did. And so we had a lot of young guys that really needed to step up this offseason. So we're currently on break, and we're starting back up July 22nd. And we'll be ramping it up and getting it going next week.
Tim Haddock: So it seems like you will have a lot of new players on this team. Who are the key returners coming back for you?
Coach Muir: So we graduated a lot of our guys, especially on our defensive front eight. So our D-line and linebackers, those are all going to be all new guys. So a lot of guys, new guys in those areas. Some of our defensive backs and our receivers, we have coming back Nick Seymour, Ronald Bruner, A big name for us, I think a returning running back for us, Brian Bonner. He's got a lot of attention this offseason. He did a great job in track. He ran a 10-4-8 in the 100 and was one of the finalists in the state of California. He's gotten over 20 scholarship offers, and he's having a tremendous offseason. So he's gonna be a big returner for us.
He'll only be a junior next year. Brady Bretthauer, our quarterback, He alternated with a kid we had last year, a senior, and so he's coming back, and he's going to be now the quarterback, and he's the guy now as a junior. But he got some reps last year, and so we're looking for real big things for him. He had a really big offseason, and he can do a lot of things. He's a good football player. On our offensive line, we have Conor Quiteves is a He's going to be our senior, kind of the captain of the offensive line, a guy that knows the ins and outs of everything that we do up front. And we have two or three guys that come back up front there.
Aiden Enns is going to be a step up and have a big year for us. Luke Gastil is another guy. And then, again, we have some young guys in there that we're pushing through in there as well. And so, yeah, we're excited. about a lot of the guys coming back and then blending in some of those young guys that really kind of grow up fast for us.
Tim: Are any of the newcomers standing out for you? Are you excited for anybody new coming to the team?
Coach Muir: Yeah, we have a lot of new guys. And so there's a lot of guys that have done a really good job. Logan Thompson is a guy that's playing slot receiver and safety for us this summer and done a really good job. Yeah, man, I could go down the list, but we have two freshmen that are starting out on varsity, which is new for us. Will Mayberry and Matt Steen are two really talented kids. They're doing a really good job for us as freshmen playing on varsity. And so, yeah, there's a lot of guys that on defense, Xander Hohler and a lot of guys in the linebacking corps that are – stepping up and having a good summer and hopefully we can find that chemistry and that kind of the right group that kind of works the best together.
Tim: Okay, so you won the Foothill League Championship. I don't know how many years in a row it's been, but you did it again. What are your expectations this year and what do you want this team to accomplish this season?
Coach Muir: I think, you know, it's a balancing act. The expectation has never really changed. You want to win a Foothill League title, and then let's see where, with the whole new playoff format, where does that throw you into the playoffs, and you always want to win a CIF championship and those kind of things, but at the end of the day, I hate to do the coach speak thing on you, but at the end of the day, it's about the process, and it's about the step-by-step. As you go, it's like you climb a ladder, but you can't skip a step. You have to go through that process and lay the foundation every day and then each week during the season if you can kind of control it where you have this great focus on the week and the task at hand and the process that has to happen on a Monday and a Tuesday and a Wednesday and the preparation and the will to prepare every week and you try to go 1-0 that week and then 1-0 that week and 1-0 that week in regards to the results in the prior weeks and the goal and the process stays the same for the next week so but in the end you know like a Foothill League championship I think is the expectation every year and that's where we want to go and then where the playoffs take us you know it takes us and let's make a run and try to get to the end game.
Coach Varner Highlights Depth as Key Strength for West Ranch Football
The West Ranch football team finished in second place in the Foothill League last season with a 5 and 1 record, the only loss to Valencia. The Wildcats were 7 and 4 overall and made the CIF Southern Section playoffs. But like Valencia, West Ranch made a quick exit losing to La Habra in the first round of the Division 6 playoffs. West Ranch football coach Chris Varner says one of the strengths of this year’s team is depth. The team has experienced running backs with Luke DePerno and Justus Morris. Santa Clarita Weekly had a chance to talk to Coach Varner:
Tim Haddock: So I'm here with Chris Varner, the head coach of the West Ridge football team. We're talking about his preparation for the upcoming high school football season, football season. Trying to get your thoughts on what are the strengths of this football team? And where do you think you're going to be performing best once the season starts?
Coach Chris Varner: I think our strengths are, you know, we've had a good amount of returns. We had a successful season. I think the strength is with the new kids we're looking at coming up in supporting roles, they're meshing very well. And that's something you always worry about is how will the returning players get along with the new players. And so far it's been great. A lot of collaboration. The kids are working hard.
So I feel pretty good with that. We're trying to create depth. That's the main thing we're trying to do right now is we can't be a great team with ones and a terrible team if we lose one or two guys. So We've had that happen in the past where we've had some hiccups. We've been able to get through that. So this year, our main focus is really seeing key people we can get along with backups in those positions. So when injuries, and it's football, they happen, then we don't completely take a nosedive. So what are the things that this team needs to work on over the summer? You know, we've got a new offensive coordinator this year. The offense isn't very different from last year, but it's going to be a little bit different.
We have some new coaches. So I think we're kind of at the gelling point right now, trying to get everyone sort of used to each other. I picked up some new coaches. We had some players transfer. And, you know, we're looking at now these are the kids that we're going to have and just try to make it work as best as we can. That's my job.
Tim: Okay. And what are you doing to prepare for the season this summer? Seven-on-seven tournaments? Any joint practices? What is your plan for preparation?
Coach Varner: Well, we did seven-on-sevens, but it's not – we don't do as many as – we said 20 years ago when we were doing them every week. I think there's some validity to it. It breaks up the monotony of a hot summer to be able to go out and compete against some different kids.
However, our main focus is trying to just unify and work stuff out specifically for our team. So we do have a couple tournaments. We do a couple round robins, but after the Saturday, we're in a tournament and a live competition after that. It's no more. We focus on what we have to do to get better. Who are some of the key returners to this team and who do you think is going to shine in the season? Well, I'm very excited about Vernon. He's the returning LCIF. He was all-league last year. I'll put him up there with any running back in the league right now. We also have Justice Morris, who's an outside linebacker and is also a running back. So I feel pretty good in that spot, being that we have a very, very good team. Sort of stable of some guys that can run the ball. I think Aiden Lynch is going to be a big offensive force and receiver. And I really like Andrew Hamilton, who last year he did very well, but he's very undersized this year. He hit the bear. And he's probably our most experienced returning receiver, so I'm excited to see what he can do. We've got a new quarterback this year, Cooper Jackson. Yeah, great kid. He has all the tools. We have a system, obviously, the speed at varsity is much, much faster. Those windows are much, much smaller at varsity. So, I like that we have those sporting bags. We've got to take the pressure off him. I'm very excited.
Max Michelino, who's on the coaching, he's on the returning defensive line, the forest defensive end. I think he'll be top of the league this year. He's really put his time in the weight room, went to some camps, got some new skills, and his leadership and experience for that defense.
Tim:
y other new faces
You mention
Aned Cooper as your new quarterback.
on this team? Anybody that you are excited to have on this team this year?
Coach Varner: Actually, I mean, that's the thing. We have a lot. We lost some key components, but Lincoln Ruffin supplied Ben Tismini, and he's our main returner from last year. He's taking on the leadership role, trying to get some of these younger guys – sort of up to speed with what we're doing. So this is what I was saying with the tailing process. We've got all the components here.
We've just got to put it together and make it work. And then finally, what are your expectations for this team? What do you want this team to accomplish this year? I want this team to have fun. That's my thing. This is my 27th year coaching, and I want them to go back to... I spent many, many years focusing on the wins and losses, and I realized after we went 10-0 in one league in 22... I need to start enjoying this a little bit more. So I've tried to get them to take my personality of let's work hard, let's remember this is a game, and most people don't have time to play this. So I'm trying to make it work hard, but still indeed have fun doing it.
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