Potent rushing attack bolsters East

The ironic thing about football in the summer is that it offers a chance to see some of the best football all year.

The quarterbacks with the best arms will be tossing gems to wide receivers with the best hands while evading defenders with the best skills of taking them down.

In a nutshell, that’s what’s happening at the Giant-Chevrolet Mineral King Bowl in Visalia tonight as the game’s finest take the field for the Tulare-Kings Counties East-West All-Star Game at 7 p.m.

“It’s gonna be a lot of fun,” Monache wide receiver Ulyses Serna said after wrapping up their final practice Thursday. “We wanna enjoy this as much as we can and try to win our last game.”

Serna and four other Marauders will suit up for the first time as East All-Stars and for the last time in their high school careers. The recent graduate said eight days of practicing with some of the Valley’s elite over the past two weeks has built up the excitement for tonight.

“It’s been great — everybody’s cool and we all get along,” said Serna, who led the Marauders in 2008 with 302 yards off 24 catches for a pair of touchdowns. “We’re all equal out here, no one thinks they’re better than everybody else. It’s a good experience.”

Serna is the lone offensive player from Monache, which sends defensive linemen Gerardo Hernandez and Garion Brown, and linebackers Sebastian Alcantar and Alfredo Vargas to the East defense.

“I played both ways last season, so I wasn’t sure if I was gonna get asked to play here,” said Hernandez, who actually contributed more to the Marauder offensive line last season. “I was kind of shocked I got invited.”

Despite Hernandez’s humble thinking, East All-Stars coach Mark Rogers, who led El Diamante to an 11-2 record and a trip to the Division II championship game, spoke quite highly of the Marauder bunch.

“Monche’s always had a very good football program,” Rogers said, “Chris Likewise does a good job of coaching, so you know their kids are gonna be well-coached and good individuals.”

Rogers enlisted five of his Miners to man the East offensive line and four others at various positions after several invitees backed out. The seventh-year Miners coach in his first year at the helm of the All-Stars expects the East’s chemistry to give them a leg up over the West.

“Absolutely, you’ve got El D kids, Redwood, CVC and Monache... That’s our base,” Rogers said. “All the kids we got this year have great attitudes.”

Originally, Rogers had a battle at the quarterback spot between Central Valley Christian’s Parker Anderson and Woodlake (and former Monache quarterback) Matt McMillan. But McMillan decided not to play after four days of practice.

“Parker’s our man now,” said Rogers, who has been installing the Miners’ pro-style offense. “CVC’s offense is pretty similar to ours, so Parker has done a good job of jumping in. The kid can throw the ball pretty darn well.”

What has everyone in camp excited, however, is the Miners’ vaunted front line that should open up the running game for Redwood’s pint-sized tailback Josh Ramos.

“That’s probably the best O-line I’ve coached in 25 years,” Rogers said. “Josh is lightning; I don’t think even Redwood realizes how good he is. We should run the ball very well.”

Even Serna said he would prefer they run.

“We have a great offensive line and I actually hope we run and have the receivers hit people,” Serna said. “I like a lot of contact.”

On the other hand, El Diamante DB Luis Navarez, who’s seen the front line in action all year, is equally confident of taking it through the air.

“(Serna) is quick and he’s got hands,” Navarez said. “I think we’re gonna be a lot deeper, a lot bigger, a lot more physical than (the West) and we’re gonna show it on Saturday.”

Also from the Orange Belt will be Porterville’s Josh Callanan at receiver and Exeter’s kicker, Osmar Macias, and offensive lineman, Ivan Rubio.

Strathmore wideout Serafin Moreno bolsters the receiver corps, while Granite Hills tight end Felipe Andrade is a late addition to the squad.

Lindsay lineman Jose “Pepe” Palos rounds out the Orange Belt representation.

Unfortunately for the East, three top running backs will be unavailable, including Mount Whitney’s Ben Bowen, El Diamante’s Stephon Jefferson and Exeter standout Cameron Loeffler.

But Rogers simply shrugged his shoulders and said he’ll make do.

“The kids that wanna be here are here,” Rogers said. “It’s more fun to have kids that are excited about playing football.”

When Rogers asked how many of the squad planned to play football at the next level, just seven raised their hands.

“Realistically, you’ve got 30 kids that are putting their helmets and pads on for the last time,” Rogers said. “Winning’s the icing on the cake, but the No. 1 thing is that I told them to play like they’ve been here before. We want kids to respect the game.”

East Roster

Ulyses Serna, wide receiver - Monache

Alfredo Vargas, linebacker - Monache

Sebastian Alcantar, linebacker - Monache

Garion Brown, defensive end - Monache

Gerardo Hernandez, defensive end - Monache

Josh Callanan, wide receiver - Porterville

Felipe Andrade, tight end - Granite Hills

Serafin Moreno, wide receiver - Strathmore

Jose Palos, offensive line - Lindsay

Ivan Rubio, lineman - Exeter

Osmar Macias, kicker - Exeter

Parker Anderson, quarterback - CVC

Micah De Groot, linebacker - CVC

Chody Newkirk, lineman - CVC

Tyler Schmidt, linebacker - CVC

Adam Te Velde, linebacker - CVC

Skyler Bettencourt, running back - El Diamante

Brad Bulllock, running back - El Diamante

Greg Capella, lineman - El Diamante

Justin Jeffries, defensive back - El Diamante 

Greg Jones, lineman - El Diamante

Steven Juker, lineman - El Diamante

Luis Navarez, defensive back - El Diamante

Andrew Rios, lineman - El Diamante

Jesus Soto, lineman - El Diamante

Shane Souza, lineman - El Diamante

Manuel Gomez, lineman - Farmersville

John Bueno, wide receiver - Redwood

Jeff Nichols, tight end - Redwood

Josh Ramos, running back - Redwood

Campbell Schengel, defensive back - Redwood