A great crowd was on hand to welcome in the start of the 2024 football season at last week’s South County Football Jamboree at Greenfield High School.
Gonzales, Soledad, King City, and host Greenfield high schools entertained the fans and supporters in attendance with nearly three hours of scrimmages.
Greenfield head coach Adam Barsenas was ecstatic about the chance to finally play football, especially in front of a huge crowd.
“Our players were excited to [play] against someone else,” Barsenas said. “We have been eager to compete and Friday night was a great experience.”
On the field for defending Pacific Coast Athletic League Santa Lucia Division champion Greenfield was sophomore Hector Garcia, one of the top athletes at the school.
Barsenas also praised quarterback Christopher Morris for scoring touchdowns in the air and on the ground, and Naythen Herandez was all over the field as the Bruins’ leader on defense.
King City head coach Mac Villanueva, who has been at the helm for 17 years, was pleased the players gave it their all.
“I liked our effort last night, I felt that our defense played well,” Villanueva said. “Offensively we made too many mistakes in the night. Our QB [Junior Manriquez], went out early with an injury so it really changed our offensive game plan for the evening. I think our players did well rallying behind our backup quarterback (Alex Macias), and played much better once they all settled in.”
Gonzales head coach Eddy Ramirez went into the jamboree without his full squad of players as a flu bug hit the Spartans’ squad.
“Overall I was pleased with how the team responded to the adversity of being 10 players down,” he said. “Our team goals for the night were to have fun, get some experience for our first-year players, and stay healthy. I think we did all three versus good competition, so it was a good return to football.
The Spartans now have their sight set on this week’s regular season-opener at Rancho San Juan High in non-league action Aug. 29 at 7:30pm.
Soledad head coach Marc Villanueva in his third year with the program liked what he saw on and off the field by his players in last week’s jamboree.
“I felt our team had a much improved experience compared to last season,” Villanueva said. “We were happy everyone got a chance to play and now our staff will be able to evaluate players going into Week 1.”
Marc Villanueva said DJ Valenzuela played much more confidently and stood out in his ability to make reads, and extend plays when needed
“Benjamin Blas made good plays containing the perimeter at corner. Daniel Garcia impressed us with his ability to stuff the run and close space fast at middle linebacker,” Marc Villanueva said.
Weeklys prep football – Week 1
Thursday (Aug. 29)
Gonzales at Rancho San Juan, 7:30pm
Friday (Aug. 30)
Greenfield vs. Watsonville, 7pm
Soledad vs. Sacred Heart Cathedral, 7:30pm
Saturday (Aug. 31)
King City at St. Francis [Watsonville], 12:30pm
