Thursday, Sept. 8, 2005 | 9:40 a.m.
Eldorado's 0-2 record to start 2005 is well deserving of an asterisk -- or three.
The Sundevils look nothing like the Northeast Division's preseason favorites, but their coach, Frank DeSantis, resigned just a week before their first scheduled game.
That was against Foothill, now 2-0 and ranked fifth in the state.
Last week, the Sundevils were faced with Shadow Ridge, the state's top-ranked team, and actually improved, going from a 51-23 loss against the Falcons to a 30-9 loss to the Mustangs.
Last week also marked the return of all-state receiver Davell Jackson, who was ineligible to play against Foothill.
"There's been a lot of distractions that we've had to deal with," interim coach Frank Tousa said. "We're kind of getting used to it."
Jackson, who also plays defensive back, was stifled by the Mustangs last week, catching just three passes for 30 yards. He said he and his teammates are still adapting to the new coaching staff.
"They're switching up some stuff, everybody's learning new positions," he said. "(Shadow Ridge) had three DB's on me the whole game. It just makes us work harder. It's slow right now but we're getting it together."
Triple coverage has been an option with Andy Bacchetta sidelined with a knee injury. He expects to be back this week at Palo Verde.
Bacchetta is also a key part of Eldorado's defense on a team that last year gave up 206 points in 11 games. Spare the calculator -- Eldorado's allowed 81 points in two games in 2005.
He said the loss of linebacker Steve Shark and cornerback LuQris Thompson underscores a general lack of size on this year's Eldorado defense.
But he also cited Foothill running back DeAngelo Jones' comments to a reporter after the Falcons' opening-week win as a reason for the improvement against the fiery Shadow Ridge offense.
"We just knew if we kept going at them and at them they'd eventually quit like they did in the fourth quarter," Jones said in the Saturday newspaper.
"Losing like that, people saying we're quitters, that really took into effect. Getting called quitters, that just really hurt," Bacchetta said. "I don't feel that. We stepped big-time on Shadow Ridge, but we just fell short."
The gauntlet doesn't get any easier for the Sundevils, as they face a Palo Verde team that until last week hadn't lost a regular-season game in two years. The Panthers lost at Foothill 36-27.
First-year starter Joshua Creveling, who has completed 22-of-62 passes for 324 yards but has had four interceptions, said the tough schedule shouldn't be an excuse for the start.
"It's not about the team on the opposite side of the field," he said. "If you lose the first week, you've got to come back in the second week and try to get better. If you lose the second week, it's just that much more to come back and try to get better. It's hard getting up for all these practices but you've got to do it and try to get going."
Once Around Town
"We were ugly," coach Jim Massey said.
By the way, the Vikings won that game.
With other parts of the country in desperate need of sandbags, why is Massey saying such things about a team that opened with 52 points?
"Every break went our way," he said.
Massey's starting quarterback, Josiah Casella, didn't even practice or work out with the team this summer. Casella was thrust into the starter's role after the first- and second-string quarterbacks left the program.
"He did a much better job than we thought he would," Massey said. "He was a playmaker."
The Vikings are still in a transition year, with many of the faces and leaders that took them to the Sunrise Region final last year gone. But the rushing attack worked out well, particularly with Geno Odong's 193 yards, followed by JaCory Hawkins' 149.
Valley plays at Clark, where Massey coached the now-hapless Chargers to a division championship in 2001, at 7 p.m. on Friday.
"There's always a meaning going back to a place where you have put in a lot of hours and invested a lot of time and still have a lot of good friends," Murphy said. "It's going to be a good feeling going back to where you planted a few roots."
Still, it's not a great test for the Gators, who are 2-0 but have played weaker teams in Sierra Vista and Bonanza thus far.
"We need to get things running on all cylinders," Murphy said, conceding that if the Gators were a V8 engine, they'd be firing on about 5 1/2 right now.
Green Valley's rushing attack has been solid thus far, with Brian Wiltshire leading the way with 235 yards on the ground, followed by Jeff Garcia's 148 yards. Quarterback Kalin Beau is 8-for-11 passing for 130 yards.
"We're trying to fine-tune what we're doing on offense, and we've got to get better on special teams every week. We've been missing the boat on special teams," Murphy said. "Wins are nice but I don't feel that we're executing as well as we can."
The Gators play at Centennial at 7 p.m. Friday.
Gaels coach Dave White still sounded disturbed Wednesday as he recounted last week's 34-19 loss at Las Vegas High.
"This is the most upset and disappointed team I've been a part of in the three years I've been here," he said. "We gave up some plays that -- it just won't happen again."
White didn't hesitate when asked what went wrong.
"The biggest thing was giving up the big plays," White said. "Offensively, we had too many three-and-outs. Looking at the tape and the film, we definitely shot ourselves in the foot."
After DeMarco Murray suffered frequent cramping in the second half at Vegas, White said the highly touted running back will see significantly less time on defense this week. That exposes the Gaels' lack of depth.
The Gaels return to Las Vegas to face Palo Verde at Valley High on September 16.
Palo Verde had a 19-game regular season winning streak up to last week's loss at Foothill, and with a hungry Eldorado team heading to Summerlin this week, a game that was already going to be a test now is looking even tougher.
"Before the season I would have said that Eldorado would be our toughest game," Rost said. "After looking at what Foothill and Coronado did to us, I don't know. I never imagined Eldorado would be 0-2 but they played two undefeated programs."
The focus at Palo Verde this week was the facts, particularly this one -- the Panthers gave up 21 points on special teams last week.
"Our defense had only one touchdown scored on it," Rost said, adding that he wouldn't charge the defense for Foothill's score after Palo Verde's offense turned over the ball on its own 11.
Rost said this week, he's also watching for what Davell Jackson will be able to do on both sides of the ball.
"He's kind of a force on defense too," Rost said. "He makes some plays as an outside backer. I'm not going to feel sorry for Eldorado."
The Sundevils, which Rost coached from 1988 to 1993 culminating in a state championship in 1991, play at Palo Verde at 7 p.m. Friday. The Panthers edged Eldorado 20-14 last September.
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