Wildcats looking to retool from within

By Tyler Wainfeld Signal Sports Writer

It’s a good time to be a part of the West Ranch High School football program.

The Wildcats have been on an upward trajectory ever since head coach Chris Varner took over the team prior to the 2016 season, culminating in an undefeated regular season and a first Foothill League title in 2022.

Many of those players are now gone, including the reigning Foothill League Player of the Year, Ryan Staub, who is now playing his trade as one of the quarterbacks at the University of Colorado. However, that suits Varner, who enjoys the reality of having to move on from a group of players as a high school coach.

“I’m gonna miss the heck out of those kids,” Varner said. “They’re talented. We almost shared the same mind in terms of what we wanted to do … I look at this as an opportunity to start over with some hungry, fresh kids and see what they can do.”

Front and center for the Wild-

The Numbers

44.8

12.17 cats in 2023 will be junior running back Luke DePerno. A second-team all-league selection as a sophomore with 629 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground — both top marks for the squad — DePerno, who said his goal this year is 1,500 rushing yards, is ready to fill in as a leader for a team that graduated north of 30 players.

“I’m expecting that we’re gonna do pretty good,” DePerno said. “I think Valencia will be our hardest matchup this season. I think a lot of people think we’re going to be a lot worse this year, but I think we’re gonna be a lot better than people think.”

DePerno is one of the few starters from last year’s team who returns. Everywhere else, Varner will be

3,117 looking for homegrown talent to step up.

Senior Zach Wyre is poised to be the new man under center, though the Wildcats did pick up a transfer from Calabasas in junior Liam McDaniel who has been competing with Wyre throughout the summer. Varner expects Wyre to take over for Staub, who Wyre got to learn from as the backup last year.

“Ryan was a great mentor for me. I’m still really close with him,” Wyre said. “He’s always been the nice guy and tried to help me, and every time I got in, he was always rooting me on. It’s just taught me a lot, showed me what it’s like to be a leader and what it’s going to require to have that good of a season.”