Chaparrals Gearing up for 2011 Football Season

Last season’s victory over highly touted Coffeyville Community College (Kan.) in the Graphic Edge Bowl helped put football at back on the map.

Interim head coach Gary Thomas is using that win as a springboard into what he believes will be a successful 2011 campaign for the Chaparrals, who open their 2011 season Saturday, Aug. 27 in Williamsville, N.Y. against Erie Community College.

COD defeated Erie last season, 20-15.

“As any coach would, we have high expectations for the team,” Thomas said. “When (former head coach) Fred (Fimbres) got here five years ago, we were taking over a program that hadn’t had a good first couple of years before we got here. But I’m taking over a team that went to a bowl game, and I’m lucky enough that I retained my whole (coaching) staff.

“We have great facilities here; we have a great location. I think the people on our campus are embracing what we’re trying to accomplish here. We’ve put together a string of wins, which is always helpful.

“I think people appreciate the way we do business and trying to teach these kids discipline, responsibility, accountability. That has started to equate into some wins, and I think people are now seeing the fruits of our vision a little bit. We feel pretty good about the direction that we’re going.”                 

Erie, better known for its men’s basketball program and two-time all-American selection God’s Gift Achiuwa, now at St. John’s—yep, that’s his first name: God’s Gift—went 2-7 in 2010. However, the Kats return 6'6'' sophomore quarterback Taylor Henry, who threw for over 800 yards last season.

Division I prospects

The Chaps don’t have a player on their roster with a unique first name such as God’s Gift, but a handful of COD players are catching the attention of college recruiters, particularly on defense.

Topping the list is sophomore safety Josh Pettus (5'10'', 190 lbs.), whom Thomas notes has “tons and tons” of Division I schools knocking on his door. According to Rivals.com, Pettus has scholarship offers on the table from Central Michigan and Houston. Big Ten schools such as Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Purdue and Wisconsin also have shown interest.

Thomas calls another defensive standout, linebacker DJ Lemons, one of the top junior college linebackers in the nation. The 6'3'', 227 lbs., Lemons registered 63 total tackles for the Chaps last season.

The coach believes cornerback Brandon Turman, whom the Chaps redshirted in 2010, is a possible Division I recruit and should be an impact player for COD this season. Linebacker Vince Coach (5'10'', 212 lbs.) returns after a successful freshman season in which COD used him primarily as a third-down specialist in its blitz package.

The Chaps’ defense line has been bolstered by 6'2'', 360 lbs., Brandon Davis, who transferred to COD from Joliet Junior College. Davis, whom Thomas says is a Division I prospect as well, started at defensive tackle for Joliet last fall.

Thomas is confident all of the aforementioned players will get scholarships with an NCAA school at some level after completing their junior college careers.

“We’ll probably be a little younger on defense (this year) than we are on offense, but we red-shirted a lot of guys last year,” Thomas said. “I would be disappointed if we weren’t playing for a conference championship and be in a position to be in a bowl game.”

Offensive outlook

Offensively, the Chaps’ line will be one of its strengths in 2011. Rivals.com’s Edgy Tim website lists guard Thomas Foley (6'2'', 295 lbs.) and center Darius Jones (6'1'', 290 lbs.), both sophomores, on its quick list of college football offensive linemen recruits from the Class of 2012. Foley and Jones also were named to the Region IV all-conference team as freshmen.

An already solid offensive line was given a shot in the arm with the addition of 6'7'', 285 lbs., tackle Sam Quintanilla. Quintanilla, who attended the University of Texas-El Paso last year and joined the Miners as a walk-on, transferred to COD this year. Quintanilla was a high school standout at Rockton Hononegah.

Quarterback Bobby Vega and tailback Darnell Ratcliffe, a second-team Region IV pick in 2010, provides the Chaparrals with experience in the backfield.

“I don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves,” Thomas said, “but we’ve got a good nucleus coming back from that team. A quarterback that played in every game for us and a tailback that started six games for us.”

Vega, who is from the Miami area, was the team’s No. 2 quarterback last season. But as Thomas mentioned, he saw plenty of action throughout 2010.

Thomas said Ratcliffe will be pushed for playing time by Jacob Arnold, a Plainfield North product and one-time Grand Rapids (Mich.) Community College recruit who once won the annual Football’s Fastest Man competition, (an event held at Joliet’s Memorial Stadium that’s open to any high school football player).

Former Lake Park star Artie Monaco, a Class 8A all-stater in 2009 who had over 1,800 all-purpose yards for the Lancers that year, also will be vying for touches at running back.

“We’ve got a pretty good stable of running backs,” Thomas said.

COD plays schools such as Iowa Central, Iowa Western and North Dakota Science in September. During the October portion of its schedule, the Chaps will face a handful of familiar foes, including Grand Rapids, Harper and Joliet.

“Harper seems to be a fairly well-coached team,” Thomas said. “We beat them twice last year. The Joliet game, you watch them on film and they were quite talented last year. They’ve always got good athletes running around, but for whatever reason they didn’t have the success they had in the past. I feel confident going into both of those games.

“However, it’s pretty hard to gauge where they’re at this time of the year, as well, especially when half of your team turns over every year. They may have had a great freshman class last year and they could potentially go from the bottom to the top at any moment.”