Second-year San Marcos High School football coach Ralph Molina has continually reminded his players the importance of being stronger and fitter in preparation to play in the realigned and expanded Channel League.
The Royals, who last season played in the Pacific View League, join a nine-team circuit that includes crosstown rivals Dos Pueblos and Santa Barbara, along with Buena, Channel Islands, Oxnard, Pacifica, Rio Mesa and Ventura in Ventura County.
“I’ve been preaching Channel League, and in order to compete, we got to be stronger,” Molina said.
The Royals logged tons of hours in the weight room during the offseason and continue to pump the iron.
“We’re bigger than we were a year ago and we’re clearly stronger,” Molina said. “I’ve had them for the whole year, and I can see the big difference in strength. They bought into it and they work hard.
“We’re in the weight room every day and they want to be there. They understand what we have to do to compete.”
San Marcos has skill, talent and experience to go with its improved strength.
It starts with senior running back Andre McCullough, who is coming off a stellar junior year. He rushed for more than 1,400 yards and scored 15 touchdowns, including four scoring runs of more than 65 yards.
“He’s got natural vision,” Molina said of the speedy 6-foot-1, 190-pound multisport athlete. “But did I expect him to do that well? No.”
Quarterback Josh Engel enters his third year on varsity.
“He had a really good summer,” Molina said. “He’s improved a lot.”
Engel impressed at 7-on-7 pass competitions during the summer.
“We got into two passing tournaments and we lost maybe one game in those tournaments,” Molina said. “We were the surprise at Arroyo Grande, we went 7-1-1.”
On the line, Ebrahim Afar, a 6-2, 275-pound tackle, returns after earning all-Pacific View League first-team honors as a junior last season. Molina sees him playing in college next year.
Owen Lauderdale is another all-league returnee and a multisport athlete. As a linebacker, he had three interceptions in a game and finished the season with six last year. Molina plans to use him in a rover/strong safety role on defense and as a wide receiver.
“He’ll be all over the field,” Molina said. “He can play anywhere.”
Molina plans to handle the defensive coaching duties, and has brought in former head coach Jason Fowle to coach the quarterbacks.
“I have a good staff,” he added. “I had time to bring in some guys I wanted.”
Molina has brought up some talented sophomores who played on an 8-2 freshman team last season. They include running backs Brody Branstetter and Nathan Jones, who will be joined by senior Patrick Kelly, who will also play at cornerback.
At the receiver spots, Molina is excited about returnee Arturo Luna and JV standouts Luke Crawford and Landon Sheffey. The 6-foot-2 Crawford and Sheffey were playmakers on a pass-happy JV team last year.
“All they did is throw the ball, and these guys would catch everything over the middle,” Molina exclaimed. “They are great athletes, volleyball and basketball players.”
Luke Sheffey, a star player on the Royals’ Channel League-champion soccer team and Landon’s older brother, will be the team’s kicker.
Molina said there is a big difference in the team’s confidence going into the season.
“We talked about it,” he said. “With the move into the Channel League, mentally we got to be as tough as we are physically. We start league with Rio Mesa and Pacifica right off the bat. Then we play Buena, which went to the CIF finals last year.
“(The players) understand what we’re getting into. We’ll surprise people, I’m telling you. The key for us is we got to stay healthy. We got to be able to survive with those big teams early.”
Molina is confident the team can contend for one of the league’s four playoff spots.
“We want one of those spots, we want to be 6-4,” he said. “The ones who survive this tough league and are healthy are going to have a shot. And we want to be one of those. We’re going to compete.”
San Marcos Football At a Glance
Top Returning Players
Name, year, positions, height/weight, coach Ralph Molina’s comment
1. Andre McCullough, senior, RB, 6-1 190: “First team All-Pacific View League; rushed for 1,400 yds, 15 touchdowns; 4.5 GPA. Amazing athlete. He is one of the best players in the county. 4.5 40-yard dash, high jumps 6 feet, plays on basketball team.”
2. Ebrahim Alfar, senior, OT/DT, 6-2, 275: “First team All-League defensive tackle. “Best OL/DL; a future Division I player.”
3. Owen Lauderdale, senior, FS/Rec, 6-1 190: “First team All-League LB; had six interceptions last season. A big hitter and smart player. Also plays on basketball team.”
4. Josh Engle, senior, QB, 6-3, 190: “Played quarterback on the varsity the last three seasons. Bigger, stronger, he had a very good spring/summer.”
5. John Frohling, senior, TE/DE, 6-3, 220: “A returning starter at tight end, he will move to strong side defensive end. Outstanding long snapper. He will be a key player on both sides of the ball.”
6. Patrick Kelly, senior, RB/CB, 5-9 175: “Another good athlete with great speed. Runs and catches the ball well. Will start at cornerback.”
7. Arturo Luna, senior, WR/CB, 5-9 165: “Outstanding hands, runs excellent routes. He’s made a huge improvement in one year.”
8. Adrian Alaniz, senior, WR/TE/DE, 6-3 190: “He will be a key player for us on both sides of the ball. Another player who improved so much in a year.”
9. Carlos Gomez, senior, OG /DT, 6-2 235: “Started on the O-line and D-line last season. He may be the hardest-working player in the weight room and on the field. High expectations for him. Huge improvement from a year ago.”
Impact Newcomers
1. Brody Bransetter, sophomore, RB/ILB, 5-9 190: “A top player on an 8-2 freshmen team. Big, strong, and smart football player with tremendous potential. You will notice him on the field.”
2. Nathan Jones, sophomore, RB/FS, 5-11 180: “Another amazing athlete. Fast and can flat-out hit. Expect big things from him.”
3. Luke Crawford, junior, Rec/ DB, 6-2 180: “Tall athletic, best player on the JVs a year ago. Great hands and great jumping ability.”
4. Landon Sheffey, junior, Rec/DB, 6-2, 180: “Another tall, athletic player. He and Crawford will help us on both sides of the ball.”
5. Adrian Barraza, senior, ILB, 5-9 215: “First-year player with tremendous closing speed. He’s strong and has shown to be a natural linebacker.”
Players Receiving Recruiting Interest
Andre McCullough, Ebrahim Alfar, Owen Lauderdale
Coach’s Outlook for Season
“We are stronger and bigger from a year ago. We have better athletes on this team. With that, mixed with experience, we have the potential to be very good. We have a nice mixture of veterans and newcomers who can play. We need to be ready because we have only two nonleague games and then right away we open Channel League with last year’s No. 2 Rio Mesa and No. 1 Pacifica followed by last year’s defending Pacific View champs, Buena. If we can stay healthy, we will surprise everyone. There are some very good football players on this team.” — Ralph Molina
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.