Coronado coach optimistic in first year

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Thursday, Aug. 20, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.

From the outside looking in, it appears Coronado High will struggle this fall.

The Cougars, which finished last in the Southeast Division last year, will have their third coach in three years when they open the season Sept. 11 at Eldorado.

But new coach Todd Stratton is not going to throw in the towel on the season. He is encouraged by the progress his players have made since he took over in the spring and feels a winning season is a realistic goal.

“I told them the first day that I didn’t come here to be a .500 team,” said Stratton, who was an assistant at Basic last year. “We have some talent. If everyone does their part we should be fine.”

Several teams will have two games under their belts before Coronado takes the field in the second week of September. That puts more importance on a scrimmage with Cimarron-Memorial in late August and the practices leading up to opening night.

“We are going to have to be ready to go,” Stratton said.

Coronado has several returners who will be counted on to lead the way. However, most of the players in the skilled positions have limited experience.

Coronado will operate out of the spread offense and has a two-way battle at quarterback between seniors RJ Newton and Rashan Harris, neither of which have significant varsity experience. They will be throwing the ball to receivers David Lowery, Garrett Rowe and ninth grader Cody Mucino.

Linebackers Chase Silvas, Matt Chavarria and Matt Casella will anchor the defense, while linemen Derrick Palma, Jeff Chaprynski and Zane Bradley will play multiple snaps on both sides of the ball.

“I’m pleased with where we are at,” the coach said. “We’ve had some spirited practices and I'm very happy with the way we are doing things.”

Stratton said the turning point came at Southern Utah’s camp this summer. Coronado struggled in a scrimmage against state runner-up Palo Verde High and received a major tongue-lashing from their coach afterward.

The following day, he arranged for another scrimmage against Palo Verde and noticed an immediate difference.

“We explained to them that this is big boy football and that if they weren’t ready, they could board the bus and we would head home,” Stratton said.

Ray Brewer can be reached at 990-2662 or ray.brewer@lasvegassun.com.