WATSONVILLE — A quick look at a St. Francis High practice speaks volumes.
The Sharks speed through one segment of practice to the next. They sprint up to the line of scrimmage to run a play and zoom back to the huddle after the play is over. An interval training app on first-year head coach John Ausman’s phone blares through the loudspeakers every 10 minutes, signaling the end of one drill and the beginning of another.
There is no time wasted wondering what they’re doing or what’s coming next.
“It’s more football based — time flies,” Ausman said. “It doesn’t give guys time to think, which is like a game. It’s as close to a game as we can get in practice.”
Have the players felt the difference?
“Our attitude is way more aggressive and we’re going to play smash mouth football against everyone,” said senior linebacker and offensive guard Tanner Putnins. “It’s a lot more intense this year. We look stronger, a lot faster. Everything looks better this year.”
Everything?
“We get things going,” said senior linebacker and offensive guard Josh Kovacs. “There’s not as much sitting around and listening. We just get out there and go. [Ausman] throws a lot at you at once and you just have to pick it up.”
After serving as the Sharks’ defensive coordinator for the past two seasons under Adam Hazel, Ausman is now the head coach of the St. Francis program. The University of La Verne alumnus has tried to keep most of the same offensive and defensive concepts in place but has made an effort of bringing in a new sense of urgency and pace into everything the Sharks do.
“I get distracted after five minutes. I can only imagine what those guys are going through,” Ausman said. “It allows us to get a lot of things in and keep moving.”
Which is a good thing with so many new faces on the Sharks’ roster.
St. Francis has only 12 seniors that have all had to step up as leaders in order to bring a massive 23-player junior class — the largest class the program has ever seen — up to speed. The newcomers, however, are no slouches. The juniors have not lost a game at the high school level, posting undefeated seasons at the frosh/soph level each of the last two years.
“That group is really good,” said senior safety and running back Mario Velasquez. “They’re going to help us a lot — on both sides.”
Speedy 5-foot-8, 160-pound running back Andrew Seymour, powerful 5-foot-8, 170-pound fullback Aaron Soto, wiry 5-foot-10, 150-pound defensive back Carsten Gomez and sizable linemen Johnny Ceballos (6-0, 230) and Malyk L. Johnson (6-1, 250) power the talented junior class, which has the Sharks believing they can compete for the league title in the newly formed Mission Trail Athletic League Coastal division.
St. Francis will compete against Marina High, Greenfield High, Harbor High, Soquel High, Gonzales High and Santa Cruz High in the MTAL-C, which was created after the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League decided to disband for football last December. The Sharks last year competed in the Bay Football League of the North Coast Section after playing three seasons as an independent program.
The Sharks said they can’t wait to show what they’re capable of.
“We’re ready,” said Seymour, who was moved up to the varsity level for the NCS Division V playoffs and scored three touchdowns. “We’re going to show everybody what we’ve got.”
Senior Derric Estrada-Haro and junior Joseph Ramirez are fighting for the starting quarterback position. Estrada-Haro tossed nine touchdowns and led the Sharks to a 4-1 start last season before suffering a broken collarbone and missing the rest of the year. Ramirez filled in for Estrada-Haro the rest of the season as St. Francis finished 6-6.
“Derric is putting in 100 percent and so is Joseph,” Seymour said. “It’s going to be a battle.”
Whoever wins the QB competition figures to be in good hands with Johnson, Kovacs (5-10, 185), Ceballos, Putnins (5-10, 185) and senior Ethan Lobue (6-2, 250) up front and offensive coordinator Anthony Valdivia, who returns to the program after a coaching stint at Aptos last season, calling the plays in the Sharks’ Wing-T offense.
Along with Seymour and Velasquez (5-7, 140), senior running backs Carson Cuzick (6-2, 215) and Brandon Moakler (5-11, 165) and junior fullback Justin Parker (5-8, 140) will also carry the ball plenty.
“It’s going to take all of us,” Velasquez said. “Everyone is going to get their chance. The ones who deserve it.”
Velasquez is one of only three returning starters on defense. Kovacs is back at inside backer and Ceballos returns at defensive tackle. Putnins replaces two-way standout Andrew Ciandro at the other inside linebacker spot; Soto and junior Andy O’Rourke will play at outside linebacker; Gomez and Seymour man the cornerback positions and Ramirez is currently starting at safety next to Velasquez. Several players will rotate in at defensive line, including Cuzick.
“We all want it pretty bad, I think,” Kovacs said. “Andrew, he was the man and I learned a lot from him last year. But this being my senior year, I want to take it upon myself and I know the other seniors, too, want to take it upon themselves, we want to win. It’s the bottom line.”
St. Francis will begin its first season of the Ausman era with a tough preseason slate. The Sharks play Pajaro Valley High (Aug. 25), California School for the Deaf (Sept. 1), La Salle, of Oregon (Sept. 8), and Pacific Grove High (Sept. 15) before kicking off league play against Marina on Homecoming on Sept. 23.
No team in the MTAL-C finished last season with a winning record. Santa Cruz, which went 4-6 last year and returns several key players, figures to be the favorite in an otherwise up-for-grabs league.
The Sharks don’t see why they can’t challenge the Cardinals for the title.
“After the first three years, we’ve worked our way up to wanting to win league. That’s our goal this year,” Putnins said. “If we get better every day we can win league.”
