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West Hills looking to stay atop Valley League
- Updated: August 13, 2015
NOTE: This is the fifth of a 13-part series that will take a look at each football team that East County Sports.com covers. Each day, we will look at a different school, leading up to the final preview which will be published on the day that most of the teams in East County have their scrimmage leading into the 2015 season. This edition we look at how the West Hills Wolf Pack look to win the Grossmont Valley League again.
Spencer Moyer and Taj Broomfield
By Chris Davis
© East County Sports.com
SANTEE (8-13-15) — Last year at this time Coach CASEY ASH had a lot of questions heading into his first season in the Grossmont Valley League. A year later, and a championship later, he does not have as many questions, but he still has questions.
As always West Hills, along with every other school in America, lost senior leadership from last year’s club. The good news says coach Ash, “We have a good group of tough nosed kids, with a lot of heart.”
QB Spencer Moyer / EastCountySports.com photo
Position breakdown:
Quarterbacks: Many coaches and a few publications have SPENCER MOYER (see video above) among the best quarterbacks in the county. “I think we have one of the best passing quarterbacks, traditional drop back type quarterbacks in the county,” the fifth year head coach said.
Backing up the senior will be junior DALLEN BROWNING who will be making the move up from junior varsity.
Running backs: After losing JACOB SHAW to graduation, the Wolf Pack looks to have someone emerge from the running back by committee that will be employed at the beginning of the season. Some members of that committee are JOVAN BEA (Jr.), GRIFFIN GUINN (Jr.) and DANIEL ALVAREZ (Sr.).
“We have to replace the 1,200 yards that Jacob carried for, so we will look to have a running back by committee,” Ash said.
Wide receivers/Tight ends: TAJ BROOMFIELD will return and will be the number one option. Broomfield caught 41 passes last year for 605 yards and five touchdowns as the number two option. Others that look to be moving up and catching Moyer’s passes will be TYLER SUPULVEDA. AUSTIN ESTRADA will be catching out of his tight end position. Estrada and Supulveda combined to catch seven passes for 110 yards and four touchdowns a season ago.
“Taj, Tyler and Estrada look to be catching a majority of our passes this season,” Ash commented.
Taj Broomfield makes a reception last season against Santana / EastCountySports.com photo
Offensive line: In 2014, Ash had zero returning linemen. This year he has three returners. RICHARD IMBIMBO will anchor the line, as he will be flanked by MARCO GIAQUNTA-FOWLER and DOMINIC TUFI at the guard positions. Looking to fill-in the holes at tackle will be CHRISTIAN RODRIGUEZ, ZACH WEAVER, OSCAR MORALES and DIEGO SANCHEZ.
“We expect the offensive line to be a strength of the team,” Ash pointed out.
Defensive line: The Wolf Pack could be young on the defensive line. Morales will look to play some Ironman football as he is penciled in as the starting nose guard.
“There are four guys competing for only two spots,” the veteran coach said.
Linebackers: Alvarez, Estrada and CLAYTON LEWIS will be returning to their positions. A few juniors will be vying for playing time as well.
“The final spot is a battle between three guys,” said Ash.
Defensive backs: Bloomfield will be on one side and Ash expects him to be the East County version of “Revis Island”. Three gentlemen will be fighting for playing time on the other corner. SETH MONA, Supulveda and Browning will also be back in the backfield looking to turn the Wolf Pack defensive backfield into a No Fly Zone.
“Our DB’s will be another strength of the team,” commented Ash about his defensive backfield.
Special teams: West Hills has some new blood coming in the kicking game. The punting chores was held by Moyer last year. This year it is looking like Supulveda might edge him out in that position.
“The punting game will be a positive for us this year,” Ash said about his special teams.
Schedule:
The schedule has yet to be turned over to Ash. It is still the schedule from former coach Tay Sneddon who had just entered into the contracts prior to being relieved of his duties.
August’s lone game will see the Wolf Pack head to the beach, Mission Bay to be exact. It will not be the only trip to Mission Bay for the Wolf Pack this season. The Buccaneers will be looking to get above .500 this year as they went a sub-par 4-6 in the Western League.
September will see three home games and a neutral site contest. The month opens with a home date against a team that Ash believes will be in the hunt in Division II, Christian. It doesn’t get any easier on the 11th of September when El Capitan comes to the West side of Santee. A return trip to Mission Bay will be in the offering on the 18th to play La Jolla High. The Vikings are getting their home field completely redone by the San Diego Unified School District and will be playing their games at neighboring Mission Bay. The final week of the month will be see Valley Center come down I-15 and hook East on the 52.
Week six will open the month of October where the Wolf Pack will travel to Valhalla. “I think (Valhalla) are a top 10 team,” Ash said. The second week of the month will see the opening of Valley League play with a road trip to the center of El Cajon to take on El Cajon Valley. Another big game will be on the 16th when Granite Hills comes to West Hills, for what could be the Valley League championship. That is if what the two coaches see happening. “I would say Granite Hills has to be the pick going in,” Ash said of his rivals on Madison Ave. After the big game against the Eagles, West Hills will take their bye week to gear up for the final two games of the season. Halloween Eve will be the renewal of the “Mayor’s Cup” as crosstown rival Santana comes Westward.
Finishing up in November will be a road trip to Spring Valley’s Monarch Stadium to take on Monte Vista.
“I would say it is a challenging preseason schedule. There are a lot of games that I could see going either way, and last year we won all of those games,” the coach commented.
It is going to be a season that is determined by breaks. If West Hills gets a few they could have another 10 win season. However if a few of those breaks goes against them, the Wolf Pack could be looking at a season of what-if’s.
