The big linemen are back in the Dos Pueblos football program.
The backbone of those Charger teams that battled for Channel League titles and had deep CIF playoff runs three to four years ago was the line. There were guys like Erick Nisich, Nathan Beveridge, Matt Molina, Marcellous Gossett and Angel Flores.
First-year coach AJ Pateras has a group led by senior Merrick Foster that will lead the way this season.
“Merrick Foster is our senior leader,” said Pateras of the 6-foot-2, 257-pound guard/defensive tackle. “He’s a very imposing, physical, nasty lineman. If you talk to him, he’s very happy go lucky, nice and calm. So, it’s nice to see him turn the switch on.”
Pateras is excited to see juniors Brody Frederickson (6-2, 240) and Nic Bitar. (6-3, 245) learning the ropes from Foster.
“He’s elevating that play on the line of scrimmage. We’re excited about Merrick being the leader of those guys,” said Pateras, who previously was the head coach at Cabrillo High, an assistant at SBCC and the defensive coordinator at Ventura High.
Senior running back Eric Roldan is looking forward to running behind the big offensive line.
“I’m honestly just really excited to get behind them, and I trust that they’ll do their job,” he said.
The Chargers also have size at the wide receiver position. Senior Osiris Fox is 6-4 and 220 pounds and junior Dylon Bailey is 6-1,180; junior tight end Brett Jones is 6-2, 180.
Senior Tim Lisi (5-8, 175) was DP’s top receiver during the spring season.
“Tim is one our senior leaders. He is is going to be one of our leaders on the offensive and defensive side,” said Pateras.
A newcomer expected to make an impact is sophomore Roman Alonzo (5-11,165).
The receivers will be catching passes from junior quarterback Jordan Rico, who was standout pitcher as a sophomore on the varsity baseball team.
“He is dynamic with his feet and has a big arm,” said Pateras. “He leads by example is a hard worker and makes players around him better.
“We’ve come some good young talent to work with, a lot of juniors and a lot of big linemen.”
Pateras likes what he sees from his first group at DP.
“What I like about this group is they are extremely coachable, they are enthusiastic about practice, and they respond well to adversity,” he said.
Roldan has been impressed with the first-year coach.
“I really like AJ. I like the energy that he brings. He’s getting a lot of guys fired up this year.”
The Chargers kick off their season with a Week One game at Nordhoff on Aug. 27. Pateras then gets to face his former school Ventura in DP’s home opener on Sept. 3. They continue non-league play against Buena, Royal and San Marcos before entering a challenging Channel League campaign. The league includes Pacifica, Oxnard, Rio Mesa, Santa Barbara and Lompoc.
“Our non-league sets us up pretty good to prepare us for a very tough league season,” he said.
Pateras looks forward to the challenge.
“Every week you’re getting to go up against great programs with great kids and great coaches, so it will be an honor for us to just compete.”
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.