El CENTRO – It’s not very often that Week 1 presents compelling matchups. Usually coaches schedule a lesser opponent to open up a season. They do this to establish early continuity amongst the new players and to raise the morale of the team following a long and exhausting training camp.
Well don’t tell that to Central head coach David “Rookie” Peña, who is hitting the ground running with the Spartans opening up their 2021 season at Cal Jones Field when they welcome the Mt. Carmel Sundevils.
The Spartans and the Sundevils share recent history with one another: they faced in the 1st round of the CIF-SDS playoffs in 2019, a narrow 46-38 victory for the hometown Spartans. The mentality going into this game for the Sundevils focused solely on one premise: run it back.
The only returning player from the Sundevils is senior wide receiver Jayden Virgin, who compiled 8 catches for 126 yards and one touchdown in that playoff game. He backed that up with 468 yards receiving, 94 yards rushing and accounting for seven total TDs this past spring.
Word out of Central is that there really isn’t much to say. Mum has been the word as to who will be the heir to the throne as Central’s next quarterback. From Deniro Osuna to Jordan Reed, head coach David “Rookie” Peña has yet to reveal who his starting quarterback will be, saying that there’s been a lot of competition for that spot.
Whoever is under center for the Spartans would be wise to get the ball to Gavin Marini early and often this season. Marini, a junior wide receiver, will return as the Spartans leading receiver from last season, reeling in 14 catches for 248 yards and five touchdowns during the spring.
Kickoff will be at 7 p.m. at Cal Jones Field in El Centro on Friday night. VSN will have the game LIVE with John Moreno and Vic Carrillo on the call. Livestream will begin 10 minutes prior to kickoff.
