Full slate of games as high school football returns

High school football kicks off tonight with a full slate of games throughout the Redwood Empire, marking the first test of a new league alignment that matches some teams with former league rivals and others with foes they’ve never met before.

More than a dozen games launch the 2018 non-league season that will include a redesigned North Bay League with Oak and Redwood divisions, the newly formed Vine Valley League, the North Central I, North Central III north and south, and a couple of small schools that aren’t in formal leagues.

Leading the slate is Casa Grande at Windsor, which last year would have been an important NBL matchup. But this year it’s a non-league game, since Casa has moved to the VVL, which encompasses Petaluma, Napa and Sonoma schools.

“It does have a different spin,” said Casa coach Denis Brunk. “We’ll be playing Windsor and they’re not in our league. It’s a little weird.”

In the other direction is Santa Rosa at Analy. Last year, those would have been non-league rivals. This season, they are both in the NBL - although the Panthers are in the Redwood division and the Tigers in Oak.

Weirder still for Sonoma County residents will be following Napa County schools in league competition with local teams. Napa schools American Canyon, Napa, Vintage and Justin-Siena make up the VVL with southern Sonoma County teams Petaluma, Casa and Sonoma Valley.

Whichever league they’re in, teams will kick off the rust tonight and begin the long march toward November and the North Coast Section playoffs.

Brunk said his team put in serious work this offseason to make a run in the VVL.

“Our big belief is that we win games in the offseason. If they come in the weight room and learn the system, we should be able to do good things,” he said.

Casa added local coaching mainstay Keith Simons as offensive coordinator this season. Simons had filled the same role at Analy following 17 years as head football coach at Santa Rosa Junior College.

“We’ll mix it up, run and throw,” Brunk said.

Quarterback Jadon Bosarge returns to lead the spread offense, alongside running back Matt Herrera and receivers Cole Shimek and Dominic McHale.

While Casa’s staff has been solid, Windsor’s has been a revolving door. Brad Stibi has taken over the Jaguars as the fourth head football coach in five years.

Stibi is no newbie. Born and raised in Windsor, he played for legendary coach Tom Kirkpatrick at Healdsburg High and coached with him for two years when Kirkpatrick filled in for the Jaguars in 2015 and ’16.

Stibi was a linebacker at SRJC and Sacramento State before becoming the defensive coordinator for Windsor’s junior varsity team. He served the same role for varsity the past three years under Kirkpatrick and Kevin Ballatore.

It makes sense that as a former linebacker, Stibi starts out talking about the Jaguars’ line.

“Those are the guys who are going to get it done for us,” he said. “I believe it’s won up front.”

Returners Austin Jacob and Aidan Boettger and juniors Jacob Thrall and Christian Jernigan will be grinding away in the trenches, he said.

Another solid game to watch is Santa Rosa at Analy. The Panthers will be led by running back Jayvee Long, Emilio Campos, Jamie Lemus and quarterback Trevor Anderson, who transferred from Maria Carrillo.

Santa Rosa coach Russell Ponce said his seniors will lead the team.

“They are a great group, no superstars, blue collar,” he said. “They get the work done, have great chemistry, are fun to coach. Our seniors are our hardest workers.”

Analy’s Nic Visser, a first-team all-league receiver last year, has stepped into the Tigers’ quarterback slot.

“He actually has been a quarterback his entire life,” coach James Foster said. “Last year we had a good senior quarterback and (Nic) is a big kid, so we could throw him in at receiver and be OK. But quarterback is his natural position.”

In other games:

Cardinal Newman travels to Fortuna, Rancho Cotate hosts Sacramento, Willits will play at Ukiah, Sonoma Valley heads to Cloverdale, Healdsburg hosts Sir Francis Drake and Piner will travel to Fairfield to take on Rodriguez.

In the VVL, American Canyon hosts Deer Valley, Justin-Siena goes to Piedmont and Napa travels to Pittman.

Some smaller leagues begin play Saturday, including St. Vincent hosting McKinleyville. Roseland University Prep begins its 8-man play season on Sept. 1 against Rincon Valley Christian.

You can reach Staff Writer Lori A. Carter at 707-521-5470 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @loriacarter.