Progression has seen Monterey High climb from the Cypress Division five years ago to the Gabilan Division this season, while St. Francis has jumped three divisions in the last three years.
Two teams that have played for a Central Coast Section Division V title in the last two years, the Toreadores will square off with the Watsonville-based private school Friday at 7 p.m. at Monterey Peninsula College.
The Sharks, who opened last year with nine straight wins, have won nine games in each of the last two seasons, reaching the CCS Division V finals in 2022.
“In watching them scrimmage, you’re looking for changes in their schemes,” Monterey second-year coach Alex Besaw said. “Personnel changes each year. Last year’s film of St. Francis doesn’t help a whole lot for us.”
In part, because the Sharks — who scrimmaged North County and Carmel last week – have just two returning starters from last year’s roster – a roster that will hover around 21 to 24 players.
“We can’t go 11-on-11 in practice with our numbers,” St. Francis coach John Ausman said. “Last week’s scrimmage gave us an idea of where we’re at. I like this group a lot. This game will prepare us for our league.”
Ausman, who is his ninth year at St. Francis, was part of the resurrection of a football program that played an independent schedule for three years between 2014-16.
St. Francis joined the Mission Trail Athletic League for one year in its return before becoming a member of the Pacific Coast Athletic League, rising three levels in the last three years.
“St. Francis does a good job in running the football to set up the passing game,” Besaw said. “It is a very disciplined program. We have to be dialed in with our keys, while trying to figure out their personnel.”
The Sharks, whose offensive coordinator is former Monterey running back Vernon Calhoun, are no strangers to dealing with a lack of depth, having rosters of no more than 25 players in each of the last three years.
“Making it work is something we enjoy here,” Ausman said. “Everyone goes both ways. The ability to compete at a high level with players that haven’t played a whole lot makes it special.”
While St. Francis’ roster will have a new look and offensive identity with quarterback Javier Fonseca, the Toreadores reached the CCS Division V finals last fall with the core of their talent being sophomores.
“Watching film of them last year and seeing their scrimmage, I’m impressed with what Coach Besaw is doing,” Ausman said. “Monterey was young and talented last season. We think our seniors are talented. We just need experience.”
Instead of learning on the job this fall, the Toreadores began adding to their playbook back in the spring, providing new wrinkles to an attack that scored 40 or more points five times last fall.
“I threw the entire playbook at them in the spring,” Besaw said. “I was prepared to scale back. But we have been able to evolve in our offense. I’m always looking for ways to make it better.”
It doesn’t hurt having junior quarterback Preston White and his 2,300 passing yards and 32 total touchdowns behind center.
Playing his first season at quarterback last fall, the 6-foot-2 White tossed just five picks in 280 attempts. He has two of the more gifted receivers in the county to throw the ball to in junior Kevon Collins and transfer Isiah Bevins.
Collins caught 42 passes last year for nearly 800 yards, scoring six touchdowns in the playoffs, while the 6-3 Bevins already has offers on the table from colleges.
Both were on display last week in a limited capacity along with returning junior running backs Soakai Funaki and Enobong Wirth in a scrimmage at Palma.
“I was extremely pleased with how we competed and the difference between this year and last year at this time,” Besaw said. “We kept it very vanilla. But we got to see how we do in our schemes. We finished off a couple of drives.”
Improvement in the run game and containing an opponent’s running attack are intangibles that Besaw feels can be coached up in practice.
“There were a few times we didn’t step into the right gaps,” Besaw said. “Defense has to do a better job getting off blocks. But it was a scrimmage. We got to see a lot of people in different positions. I was happy how we flew to the ball.”
As dynamic as the Toreadores offense can potentially be, the defense is expected to rise to another level with seven returning starters.
Bevins will shut down one half of the field as a defensive back, while sophomore Kai Vaughn has the experience of being called up and starting in the playoffs last year as a freshman cornerback.
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