Through three weeks of Southern Athletic League play, the Denair High football team has been slowly separating themselves in the conference standings.
On Friday night in front of a large homecoming crowd at Jack Lytton Stadium, the trend continued as the Coyotes defeated Le Grand by a 49-21 score for their fifth straight victory.
The Coyotes improved to 6-1 overall and to 3-0 against conference opponents, and now sit alone atop the Southern League standings with the Bulldogs dropping to 2-1.
“We knew coming into this game, we were both undefeated in league, and that they were going to try to beat us on our homecoming,” said junior running back Bryson Salazar. “They scored first, we tied it twice, and from then on, we just put our foot on the ground and we were off to the races.”
What began as a back-and-forth affair quickly turned into an onslaught following a momentum-shifting onside kick recovery.
The Bulldogs scored four plays into the game before Salazar capped off a seven-play opening drive with a 42-yard touchdown rush on fourth-and-3. It was his first of four rushing touchdowns on the night — the second week in a row he has run for four scores. Le Grand responded with a 17-play scoring drive that lasted nearly 12 minutes before Salazar found the end zone again from 47 yards out to tie the game at 14 midway through the second quarter.
The gutsy onside call came on the ensuing kickoff, and it was executed perfectly by junior kicker Harlan Brown, who dribbled the ball towards the Denair sideline. It was bobbled by four players before ultimately secured by a pile of Coyotes. Two plays later, quarterback Derek Potter connected with a wide open Brown on a play action pass 39 yards for the score. They then scored 21 more unanswered points.
Denair head coach Anthony Armas credited assistant Elvis Silva for noticing that the Bulldogs had lined up five yards further back than most teams usually do during the opening kickoff.
“He said, ‘If they do it again, I’m calling an onside.’ So they did, and he called it, and it went perfectly,” Armas said.
“In youth football, yes, I’ve kicked an onside,” Brown said. “As for high school, never have. This was my first time. I just hit the top of the ball, made it bounce a couple times, and yeah, we got it back.”
Brown has now made it four straight games with a receiving touchdown.
“Derek’s just so good at faking handoffs, and then all the (cornerbacks) and safeties bite in, so it usually leaves me open on the backside,” Brown said.
After forcing a turnover on downs, Potter executed a deceiving delayed handoff to Salazar that left him an open hole to run through from 69 yards out for his third touchdown, making it a 28-14 game at the half. Senior teammate Degan Butler added on with a 6-yard score on the opening drive of the second half. Another turnover on downs set the table for Salazar’s fourth score of the night, a run from 15 yards out.
Le Grand scored midway through the fourth quarter, but junior Connor Hart responded with a 48-yard touchdown run almost 30 seconds later to cap off the scoring for each team.
Salazar finished with 227 rushing yards on 11 carries, while Butler added 101 on 15 tries.
Salazar made sure to embrace the offensive linemen after the game.
“Center Darrien Schell, right guard Even Coronel, right tackle Bryson Davis, left guard Victor Sarmiento, and my left tackle Brody McFarland, those guys are amazing every game,” Salazar said. ”They all did their job, along with the other (running) backs, with everyone blocking. I can’t thank them enough.”
Though every team now stares up at the Coyotes in the standings, a major test still awaits down south, as they will take the trip to the foothills next week for a meeting with Mariposa. The Grizzlies are undefeated through six games this season, earning their second league win Friday against Delhi by a 42-13 score.
“They're usually pretty physical team, they defend pretty well and are very well coached,” Armas said. “The boys going up to Mariposa by the fairgrounds is always a little different experience, so they have a big home field advantage there, but that’s what I tell these kids — Every week is going to be a big game. It'll be a tough one next week.”
