2016 COS Football Preview
College of the Sequoias' head football coach Irv Pankey is up for a challenge this 2016 season.
The Giants lost 26 players from last year's roster. On this year's roster, 59 of the 80 players are Freshman. However, for Pankey, a former NFL offensive lineman, he never backs down from a challenge.
"This is JC football," Pankey said. "You are recruiting a new team every six months. We lose people every year but it just so happens we lost 26 this year."
To explain the 4-6 2015 season in one word, it would be rollercoaster. The Giants won their first four games easily, putting up a minimum of 319 yards on offense. Then Santa Rosa came to Visalia.
Sophomore center Bronson Espinoza knew Sequoias weren't the same team after that as they dropped their next six.
"We had such a great start last season," Espinoza said. We were 14th in the nation and then the fifth game happened. Players were ejected and a lot of us were injured, so in that two-week period we fell apart. We just lost our mojo."
Pankey echoed Espinoza and believes depth played a role in the 2015 tail spin.
"We had one's and some's. We didn't have one's and two's. We just didn't have enough depth and injuries definitely hurt us in the second half of the season. We couldn't recover."
This 2016 season, Pankey will lean on his veterans a little extra this year than the previous.
Espinoza is the captain of the offensive line and he will be creating holes for sophomore running back Elijah Porchia. The former Mission Oak standout was a wide-receiver last season for COS. He racked up a team-high 28 receptions for 279 yards and also rushed for 84 yards on 17 carries.
"Elijah is back playing running back and he seems happy there," Pankey said. "I personally think he is going to do really well this season. He is very explosive and he finds the holes really well."
The biggest question for the Giants is who is going to be their quarterback this season. All three quarterbacks from the 2015 season who threw a pass moved on to four-year institutions.
Kingsburg High graduate and redshirt freshman, Jake Sierra, looks to have the inside track at starting the season as quarterback for the Giants. Sierra is receiving most of the first team snaps in practice with Courvosier King closely behind. Steve Bailey and Thomas Wilson are also battling for the signal caller position. Pankey declined to name a starter.
On defense, sophomore corner's Mark Meyniesse and Preveon Alexander look to create a no-fly zone for opposing offenses. Linebacker Devonte Jones also looks to improve on his 34 tackle season as he will be the head of the linebacking corps.
"We want to put a good product out for the community. A lot of the kids are from the area, so it's nice for the people who come out to see them. I like to definitely win games in league this year. We are going to win this season. No doubt about that."
The Giants will host Contra Costa at the Mineral King Bowl this Saturday. Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m
