It’s a new season with a chance to erase history.
The Ignacio Bobcats football team will try to buck a losing trend in 2016. Head coach Alfonso “Ponch” Garcia and his team will begin the season on the road against Ellicott, which will surely put a test to the Bobcats’ new attitude. Kickoff for the season opener is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at Ellicott High School.
“Now we can say, it’s on,” Garcia said. “We were getting blown away. We want to be able to compete so the scores aren’t as big. It’s only my second year here, so the wins will come.”
The game could be a shootout. Ellicott is coming off a 6-4 campaign from last season and is fully capable of scoring in bunches, but it also allowed more than 200 points on defense last season, which should play into Ignacio’s strengths. If the Bobcats plan to hang with the Thunderhawks, Ignacio will need to air it out to junior wide receivers Marcus Chapman and Kruz Pardo.
“I think our strength will be our wide receivers and running backs,” Garcia said. “(Our offense) is our main strength. Our utility players will be our main help. We’re going to mix it up more since we have more talent.”
Garcia has preached confidence to a team that is trying to forget an 0-9 finish from a year ago. Senior quarterback Zach Weinrich is under center and will run an offense that is built to his strengths. The lefty will command an offense that plans to utilize his arm strength to spread the ball out. With seniors Lorenzo Peña and Ethan Appenzeller running the ball, the running game will also be a focal point for the Bobcats.
The question mark remains, however, at the offensive and defensive line. Last season, Garcia had trouble filling spots on the offensive line. With a heftier turnout of 43 players, Ignacio should be able to get Weinrich better protection when he drops back.
“They’re growing, we have about 18 linemen this year,” Garcia said.
jmentzer@durangoherald.com
If you go
Who:
Ignacio at Ellicott
What:
High school football
When:
7 p.m. Friday
Where:
Ellicott High School
Listen Live:
KSUT 91.3 FM
Twitter:
@jonathanmentzer
