The Port Lavaca Wave’s
Sandcrabs Football 2020
Magazine
inside:
2020 Schedule, Page 3 Season Preview, Page 4 New faces lead on offense, Page 6 Young defense looks to hold the line, Page 7
Photo by Kellie Whitaker
Calhoun HS 2020 Varsity Sandcrabs
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2020 SANDCRABS FOOTBALL
2020 Sandcrabs Varsity Schedule
Due to the novel coronavirus the schedule is subject to change.
Sept. 4: at Stafford, TBA Sept 11: vs. El Campo (Homecoming), TBA Sept. 18: vs. Episcopal Bellaire, TBA Sept. 26: at Houston Second Baptist, TBA Oct. 2: Open Week *Oct. 9: at Beeville, TBA *Oct. 16: at Tuloso-Midway, TBA *Oct 23: vs. Corpus Christi Miller, TBA *Oct. 30: at Alice, TBA *Nov. 6: vs. Calallen, TBA Press On To Victory!
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SEASON PREVIEW
Sandcrabs look to overcome their opponents as well as COVID-19 By JARED VAN EPPS jvanepps@plwave.com The Calhoun Sandcrabs varsity football team returns for the 2020 season under Head Coach Richard Whitaker in his 15th season. Whitaker and the Sandcrabs will face a tough challenge, like many other high schools in Texas playing the season during the pandemic. Whitaker talked about this, and he said that they are happy to get “an opportunity” to get the season going. “We’re happy to at least get an opportunity to make this a go, and nobody knows what’s going to happen in the future and, hopefully, this continues to get better,” Whitaker said. “Our kids really want this opportunity to play, so we’re just as excited about to at least get this opportunity.” Whitaker talked about missing some time in the spring with his players when the schools closed in March, but he added they weren’t the only ones affected as the other schools in the district were as well. “It’s going to be a slow process right now to get our kids back into the mode of playing high-
quality football,” Whitaker said. “That is going to be a challenge every day. It’s going to be a challenge with the heat that we have right now.” Whitaker added they are going to keep pushing and “expect the best from them.” During the first practice of the season, the team and coaches wore masks, and Whitaker discussed the plans for masks moving forward into the season. “Right now, masks are mandatory for us in practices and games; it’s all the kids right now,” Whitaker said. Everything is subject to change “on a daily basis,” Whitaker added, and Athletic Trainer Frank Parker is giving him the information from the UIL, TEA, CDC, and the hospitals to stay on the same page as everyone else. The Sandcrabs enter the season as the fifthranked team in 4A Division I and will have a tough road this year with five ranked teams on the schedule, and three of them are in Calhoun’s district. Calhoun will face number nine El Campo (4ADI), number five Calallen (4A-DI), number seven
Corpus Christi Miller (4A-DI), number 23 Alice (4A-DI), and defending state champion Bellaire Episcopal. “It’s a tough schedule. It is one of the toughest that we’ve had in a long time,” Whitaker said. When Calhoun dropped to 4A, Whitaker said they “jumped out of the frying pan into the fire,” and he added it’s going to be a tough year for his team. “With the challenges with everyone with the Coronavirus, it’s going to be a challenge,” Whitaker said. “So, hopefully, our kids will be up to it, and we stay healthy and stay on the field.” Whitaker talked about the Sandcrabs being ranked and being part of a tough district with three other ranked teams. “It’s a very special district as I talked about. Some of the best teams in the coastal bend moved into this district,” Whitaker said. “For the last few years, these have been the best teams, you know. Of course, Calallen is always there, and we feel like we’ve been pretty good, and Miller is the team that is up and coming, and they are really good
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SEASON PREVIEW
Calhoun Sandcrabs Head Coach Richard Whitaker stands in the Calhoun’s end zone during the first day of practice. Whitaker entered his 15th season with the Sandcrabs. (Jared Van Epps/Wave Photo) SANDCRABS FROM Page 4 right now.” Whitaker added Alice and Beeville are good. Even though Beeville is not ranked, they went 11-1 last season. “It’s such a strong district, and you don’t have any week where you go out there and have a bad
game,” Whitaker said. “It puts so much pressure on you, and you have to play at a high level every week.” Whitaker talked about the expectations for his team overall, and he said they’ll keep pounding the football. “That’s the goal for us every year. We think it helps us offensively and defensively if we make
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first downs and eat the clock up,” Whitaker said. Whitaker added the more first downs, and the more time they take off the clock, “the fewer plays” their defense is on the field. The Calhoun Sandcrabs kick off the season Friday, Sept. 4, against Stafford at home and begins district play on the road against Beeville Friday, October 9.
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ON OFFENSE Offense features new faces looking to make a mark By JARED VAN EPPS jvanepps@plwave.com The Calhoun Sandcrabs will have a lot of new faces on offense for the 2020 season. Calhoun will have a new offensive line to work with this season as Heath Henke, Caleb Harrington, Joseph Beebe, Logan Bonuz, and Kammron Caruso all graduated in May. Sandcrabs Head Coach Richard Whitaker talked about rebuilding the O-Line, and it will be big this year. “Football is played in the trenches, and when you lose that many linemen, that’s huge,” Whitaker said. When the schools closed their doors on the 2019-20 year in March, Whitaker said the loss of spring snaps in April and May set the team back behind the eight ball a bit. “Right now, it is a process of trying to fit the best five that we have and get those playing at a high level together,” Whitaker said. Senior Damian Chavez will be one of the leaders of the offensive line as he switches from playing on the defensive line. Whitaker said Chavez has been a leader since summer and will play on the offensive side of the ball more. “Like we told Henke, he’s embraced that move and is working hard to become a great player there,” Whitaker said. “He’ll still play some defense, but we need him to solidify that left side where Caleb Harrington played.” Chavez talked about being a leader this year and working with the new faces on the O-Line. “I feel like our offensive line is gonna do pretty well this year,” Chavez said. “It’s a whole batch of new kids, but they are strong, they are eager to work,
Sandcrabs Head Coach Richard Whitaker with his offensive players as they prepare for the triple option for the 2020 season. (Jared Van Epps/Wave Photo) and they are dedicated.” One of the other positions to be filled is at quarterback. Conner Kestler graduated in May, and Whitaker talked about finding a QB this year. “Conner Kestler was a special football player, and it is sad to see those guys move on,” Whitaker said. “And you’d love to have Conner Kestler every year [on the team].” Whitaker has two players that’ll take over for Kestler this year; Jarius Stewart and Jacob Laughlin. Stewart filled in for Kestler two years ago against Calallen, and he talked
OFFENSE, Page 13
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ON DEFENSE
Young defense looks to hold the line By JARED VAN EPPS jvanepps@plwave.com The Calhoun Sandcrabs defense will be young this season after losing key players due to graduation. Calhoun Defensive Coordinator Cory McFall talked about this year’s team and knows that it’s a little different with the new faces on the squad. “We got a lot of new faces this year. A lot of really good players have moved on to the college level and on with their lives,” McFall said. “We have to rebuild, and we’ve done that before, and I think we got a lot of young kids that can fit the bill.” One of the highlights of the team was the duo of Jarius Stewart and Adrian Chambers in the secondary, and McFall said they would match up well with almost anyone they defend. “Our strength should be in the secondary, and we got a few kids that are really good that might not be starters,” McFall said. “But they can fill in quite a bit.” McFall said the defense must adjust to their strengths this year, and the defensive line is young. McFall talked about players that play both offense and defense, especially Stewart. “We would love for every kid to be able to go both ways, and we do get the most of almost every kid that we put on the field,” McFall said. Stewart is a special kind of player, McFall said, and “he doesn’t get tired. He works extremely hard, and he can handle it.” McFall added. Stewart talked about the expectations of the secondary this year, and he said he expects his defensive backs to do great things again this season.
DEFENSE, Page 13
Sandcrabs Defensive Coordinator Cory McFall training the linebackers in preparation for the 2020 season. (Jared Van Epps/Wave Photo)
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Damen Salinas
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Jacob Laughlin
Aaron Martinez
Jarius Stewart
Adrian Chambers
Sebastian Madera
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2020 SANDCRABS FOOTBALL
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2020 SANDCRABS COACHES
The Calhoun High School Sandcrabs take the field this season amid the uncertainity of the novel coronavirus. Leading the team are, bottom row from left, Athletic Traniner Ariane Demers, Santos Alvarado, Roger Saenz, Head Coach Richard Whitaker, Cory McFall, Robert Anderson, Head Athletic Trainer Frank Parker; middle row from left, Tino Mendoza, Wes Johnson, Josh Voss, Allen Salena, Jason Bagwell, Todd Alexander, Mike Innerarity; and top row from left, Shane Lothman, Cristian Cooper, Kyle Foster, Matt Searcy, Adam Sternadel, Daniel Castillo, John Stancik.
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Calhoun County ISD
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6 Damen Salinas, Senior, Running Back/ Defensive Back 7 Jakob Cortez, Senior, Running Back/Defensive Back 8 Min Htway, Junior, Running Back/Defensive Back 9 Kristopher Salinas, Senior, Split End/Defensive Back 10 Dalton Alford, Senior, Quarterback/Defensive Back 11 Jacob Laughlin, Junior, Quarterback/Defensive Back 12 Aaron Martinez, Sophomore, Quarterback/Defensive Back 15 Jarius Stewart, Senior, Quarterback/Defensive Back 18 Adrian Chambers, Junior, Running Back/Defensive Back 19 Sebastian Madera, Senior, Split End/Defensive Back 20 Aaron Zapata, Senior, Tight End/ Outside Linebacker 21 Sean Flores, Senior, Running Back/Defensive Back 22 Colin Carabajal, Senior, Split End/Defensive Back 24 Jose Hernandez, Senior, Fullback/Linebacker 26 Jon NaTha, Senior, Split End/Defensive Back 28 Radley Williams, Senior, Split End/Outside Linebacker 30 Samuel Torres, Senior, Tight End/Outside Linebacker 40 Kirk Stringham, Junior, Fullback/Linebacker 42 Esteban Cruz, Junior, Fullback/Linebacker 44 Steve Johnson, Senior, Fullback/Linebacker 48 Zach Ramirez, Junior, Fullback/Linebacker 52 Trent Woody, Senior, Center/Linebacker 54 Roman Lopez, Senior, Offensive/Defensive Lineman 57 Cesar Blanco, Senior, Offensive/Defensive Lineman 62 Alex Flood, Senior, Offensive/Defensive Lineman 64 Gilbert Saldivar, Junior, Center/Defensive Lineman 65 Sammy Lopez, Junior, Offensive/Defensive Lineman 68 Jesus Herrera, Senior, Offensive/Defensive Lineman 71 Aidan Rubio, Senior, Offensive/Defensive Lineman 72 Vinson Samudio, Junior, Offensive/Defensive Lineman 75 Danny Garcia, Senior, Offensive/Defensive Lineman 76 John Ruiz, Senior, Offensive/Defensive Lineman 77 Matthew Colley, Junior, Offensive/Defensive Lineman 78 Damian Chavez, Senior, Offensive/Defensive Lineman 82 Spencer Allen, Senior, Split End/Defensive Back 83 Saul Rodas, Senior, Kicker/Punter 84 Jose Ledezma, Senior, Kicker/Punter 86 Xavier Smith, Junior, Tight End/Defensive Tackle 88 Garret Medlin, Junior, Tight End/Outside Linebacker 99 Jezaveon Espino, Junior, Tight End/Outside Linebacker
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2020 SANDCRABS JV
ROSTER 6 Derek Chavez 8 Carlos Brown-Baez 9 Calvin Navarro 10 Aaron Martinez 11 Iann Cobos 15 Tyler Cobb 18 Eh Ler Moo 20 Tyson Bonuz 21 Tony Hensley
22 Darian Boone 24 Alek Luna 26 Ayden Maddux 35 Riley Henderson 40 Terrick Martinez 42 Jose Reynaga 44 Isaac Saenz 48 David Perez 50 Martin Sowa
51 Juan Andrade 54 Damian Tafolla 56 Damian Guzman 57 Abraham Meija 60 William Boehl 64 Christian Rodriguez 65 Gage Spencer 68 Sammy Lopez 70 Gary Thompson
72 Avery Flood 75 Drayvn Trevino 76 Marquise Stinton 82 Garret Medlin 84 Justin Smith 86 Zach McClellan 88 Chris Villarreal 89 Diego Ledezma ---
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2020 SANDCRABS FOOTBALL
OFFENSE, FROM Page 6 about the possibility of being the quarterback for the 2020 Calhoun Sandcrabs. “It’s a big deal because Conner played really good the past two years, I’m going to do my best to fill his spot,” Stewart said. The Sandcrabs will have their starting fullback Steve Johnson for his fourth and final year on the varsity team. Whitaker said it unusual for a player in a school of this size to play on the varsity for four years. “Since I’ve been here, we’ve had three, maybe four freshmen that have played on the varsity, with Steve being one of those,” Whitaker said. “He has a lot of games under his belt. We’ve been fortunate to keep him healthy, and, hopefully, we can do that this year, and give him a great senior year.” Whitaker added Johnson is one of those
players that “every coach dreams of ” and would love for him to have a successful year this season. Johnson talked about playing his final year in the black and gold uniform this season and learning from the past seniors during his four years on the varsity. “You grow a lot of bonds with different kinds of people, older people, and you get to take off what they learn and their good habits,” Johnson said. “But this year, it’ll be me that’ll say goodbye, so that is a thing that’ll be the hardest part.” Whitaker talked about having leaders like Johnson and Stewart and their expectations of the team. “There’s a lot of things that happen with the football team that just can’t come from coaches. It has to come from your senior leadership,” Whitaker said. “And what two better right now to turn to than Jarius and Steve.”
Johnson and Stewart have played so many football games, and all the other players look up to them, Whitaker said. “They certainly are embracing that leadership role, and like I said, it’s great to have good quality kids like that as your leaders.” Whitaker talked about the expectations for the offense, and he said his team needs to be a team that has patience and ball security. “We got some tremendous kids this year. They can take care of the football this year,” Whitaker said. “And I hope that’ll be one of the strengths; the team takes care of the ball, but also does really well with time management, and keeps the ball away from the other team.”
said. He added that the players look up to Stewart, and they couldn’t have a better leader than him, saying, “he’s a great example.” McFall talked about the overall expectations for the defense and playing in a tough district. “My expectations are always the same. We want to be the best defense in the district,” McFall said. “We want to win a district championship and go
far in the playoffs.” McFall added they set high goals as a coaching staff. “We don’t think a state championship is some far fetched dream,” McFall said. “We feel like we can achieve it, given the right breaks and staying healthy. It’s our job to convince these kids that they can do this as well.”
DEFENSE, FROM Page 7 McFall has set his expectations for his leaders on the defense this year and expects a “great phenomenal year” from both Stewart and Chambers. “I believe they have a lot to offer, and the sky’s the limit for those two guys,” McFall said. Stewart is a senior this year, and more is expected of him in that leadership role, McFall
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2020 SANDCRABS FRESHMEN
ROSTER 6 David Castillo 7 Jakob Bargas 8 Angel Guerrero 8 Joshua Sanchez 9 Braeden Ragusin 10 Ethan Perez 11 Jacob Salas 12 Gavin Hisquieredo 14 Jayce Campos 15 Hugh Everts 18 Sean Laguna 19 Cory Massey 20 Dylan Ramirez 21 Caleb Gonzales 22 Ta Moo 24 Eric Anzaldua 26 Marquise Farrow 28 Julian Cazares 30 Athyn Morales 32 Emilio Zavala Salas 33 Zachary Rangel 34 Trevor Dykes
35 Bryan Winston 38 Mason Henke 40 Nathaniel Quirey 42 Ruben Villarreal 44 Edgar Munoz 48 Sergio Hernandez 50 Tyler Salinas 51 Pedro Chavez 52 Emilio Ortiz 54 David Acosta 55 John Paul Morales 56 Roberto Chavez 57 Jakob Novelo 60 Anthony Barlow 61 Jonathan Nguyen 62 Eli Delgado 64 Courtland Curlee 65 Tucker Whittlee 68 Leonardo Sanchez 70 Morgun McGrew 71 Ayden Brown 72 Victor Hernandez
#11 Jacob Laughlin
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75 Ethan Dietrich 76 Omar Gonzales 77 Sergio Sanchez 78 Jose Olachia 79 Jayden Magana 83 Blake Bundrick 84 Bradley Thomas
86 Maverick Cortes 88 Gabriel Quintanilla 89 Haygen Burkett 99 Leonardo Reyes --Daniel Cantu --Kadin Resendez
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