As rough as last year went for Gavilan College football, optimism couldn't be higher heading into the 2008 season opener Saturday in Kentfield against the College of Marin.
Why? Because right now, everyone is standing on a level playing field.
"Expectations are always high," head coach John Lango said. "I don't think there's a coach that goes in saying we want to go 5-5.
"Everybody's undefeated at this point. Well, most teams."
Even the Rams' first opponent is undefeated, which might not last long considering the Mariners haven't won in their last 46 tries. The club is four short of tying the national junior college record for consecutive losses. However, Lango says the coaching staff and players aren't about to overlook anyone. In fact, they're not looking at anyone but themselves.
"We don't talk about [Marin's losing streak]," Lango said. "Like I say, 'I gotta take care of my own asylum.' We're focused on playing at a top level, all the time."
To outperform its 2-8 record from a year ago - 0-4 in the Coast Conference - Gavilan will be relying on a strong cast of returners. With only 10 sophomores on last year's squad, the Rams will boast twice that number this season, with many of those key players coming back to prop up a defense that ranked 12th in Northern California against the run in 2007.
"I think defense is going to be the strength (of our team). That's kind of been the tradition around here," Lango said. "We return a lot more guys on defense than on offense."
Three of the team's five captains come from the defense - safety Steven Norman, middle linebacker Taylor Micali (37 tackles) and defensive lineman Brett Norris - which should help to keep the Rams closer in games. Add in some athletic, incoming linebackers and the Rams are hoping to ease the burden on an offense that scored 10 points less than the 30 points per game they allowed.
Not to say the offense doesn't have some playmakers of its own.
The Rams' rushing attack will feature running back Tim Lango (519 yards, 3 TDs), fullback Matt McCoy, and tailback Matt Perkins of Palma, who returns to Gavilan after taking a year off. Perkins is one of several players on this year's team who is coming back to football after taking off a season or more. The time off shouldn't be a hindrance, said Lango.
"We have couple guys," he said, "that sat out a year or two and came back bigger and stronger."
Nick Kalantari (1,517 yards, 12 TDs, 11 INTs) will call the shots, but is likely to split time with incoming freshman Connor Farotte, who suffered a severe head injury while playing for Palma last season but could be cleared to play at some point this season, possibly as soon as Saturday.
Whoever is leading Gavilan out of the huddle, that signal-caller will have several speedy threats on the outside, possibly none with more raw talent than Victor Sapp, a 2008 grad of North Salinas High School.
"He's real good," Lango said. "He's going to make things happen on the football field."
For Sapp and the other freshmen, the key will be understanding that this isn't the same game they've been playing for the last four years.
"I told my kids from high school, there are no pushovers (on the schedule)," Lango said. "It's like playing a playoff game every week now."
Josh Koehn Josh Koehn is a sports writer for South Valley Newspapers. He can be reached at jkoehn@svnewspapers.com.
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