Students sat disappointed in the stands for many nights during last year’s football season as SCHS’s team lost one game after another, including a 58-point loss to arch-rival Wilcox.

But a new season has arrived and Hank Roberts, now in his second year coaching the Bruins, promises that change is coming.

“We’re going to win a lot more than the two games we won last year,” he said.

Cornerback Abel Berhane agreed. “We’re going to do better; we worked hard all summer,” Berhane said.

During the summer break practices, which took place almost every day, being late was not an option, slot-receiver Erick Arevalo added.

Arevalo said, “If you’re late, you have to condition until you throw up.”

The Bruins will face the upcoming season with a new offensive style. According to Roberts, the team will now play with a spread offense, where the team constantly throws the ball to the receivers.

“We’re going to throw the heck out of the ball,” Roberts said.

Because of this new offensive style, there will be more plays this year, and therefore more opportunities to score, Roberts added. This was not the case last year, especially when the team did not score a single point against Los Gatos High, losing the game 0-42.

Even though last year’s team leaders, such as 2014 graduate and captain Damont Hardnett, are now gone, Roberts says he will use the experience the juniors and seniors acquired in the past season to make the team better as a whole.

Hardnett’s position has now been taken by junior Hadkeem Watts.
“He leads us. I may be the coach, but I think there will be times when they will listen to him more than they do to me,” Roberts said.

Berhane agreed, adding, “He is a good leader and a good teammate. He’s always helping us out.”

Many players, like Berhane, Watts, and Arevalo, have secures positions on the team, but the battle for the position of starting quarterback continues. Junior Brandon Priest and senior Daniel Green are competing for this position.

“We don’t know who’s going to start,” Roberts said. The starting quarterback won’t be announced until the first game.

The SCHS Bruins’ first away game is Friday, Sept. 5 at Independence High. Their first home game will be against Leland High School on Sept. 19.

Roberts encourages all SCHS students and teachers to come out and watch the games every Friday night in hopes that their attention will motivate the team. “This is your school,” he said. “You should support your school.”