NorCal Issue 200, October 2021 by Sport Stars Magazine

OCTOBER 2021 NORCAL EDITION VOL. 12 ISSUE 200

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MILESTONES Then And Now

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erspective can be a funny thing. I remember in April 2015 when I was writing this column for what was our 100th issue, and I really believed we needed to have the celebratory-rah-rah meter cranked to 11. Which was fine, of course. Milestone issues are definitely something to be proud of. But now, as we spent the last couple weeks planning for this issue — No. 200 — it all felt a little more business as usual. I like to think it’s because we’re just more sophisticated now and are established enough after 10 years that we’re the cagy veteran who scores the touchdown and just flips the ball to the referee. Just acting like we’ve been there before. Because we have! Maybe that’s part of it, but I also think it has a little bit to do with some of the changes we’ve gone through at SportStars. Due to the pandemic and its effect on so many of the small businesses that were our advertisers, we haven’t produced a printed issue since March 2020. All of which has made us think more globally about SportStars. We no longer tie our success to the issue numbers. Our issues, which we of course still produce digitally, are tied to the bigger product now: SportStarsMag.com. It’s one part of the variety of digital content we’re producing — truly at a greater volume than we ever have before. However, if you’d asked me back in July 2020 if I’d be writing a column for issue 200, I wouldn’t have been able to answer you with much confidence. Getting from that summer to this past summer was indeed a feat worth celebrating, and a lot of thanks are in order for that. First and foremost, the biggest thank yous go to the advertisers who stayed with us throughout those 12 months. The California Army National Guard, Northern California Volleyball Association, Big O Tires and Absolute Volleyball have been massive supporters in the truest sense of the word. There were obviously other advertisers who stayed on as well. Those of you know who you are, and we thank you! I personally would like to thank our original publisher Mike Calamusa for making the commitment to keep us going, and for his efforts in keeping those advertisers above on board with us. During that 12 month stretch, Mike also found us a new home in merging with our new frontman, Dan Kesterson, and his fine folks at Youth Runner Magazine. They deserve a big thanks as well for taking us in and breathing new life into our website while encouraging us to just keep doing what we’ve been doing. Lastly, we didn’t get to 200 issues without a lot more people. One in particular that needs credit is Mike DeCicco, who has designed every single issue. He’s not with us full time anymore as he’s taken on teaching, but we’re now quite excited about the future journalists and designers who will graduate from Bear River High in Grass Valley. So thanks again to all who have added their efforts to this publication and media company. I honestly hope I can just flip the ball to the official once again another five years from now. ✪

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YOUR TICKET TO CALIFORNIA SPORTS ADMIT ONE; RAIN OR SHINE This Vol. #12, October 2021, Whole No. 200 is published by GoSportzStars Media LLC, PO Box 741, Clayton, CA 94517. SportStars™© 2010-2014 by Caliente! Communications, LLC. All rights reserved. Receive FREE Digital Subscription in your inbox. Subscribe at SportStarsMag. com. To receive sample issues, please send $3 per copy, or $8 total for bulk. Back issues are $4 each. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission of Publisher is strictly prohibited. The staff and management, including Board of Directors, of SportStars™© does not advocate or encourage the use of any product or service advertised herein for illegal purposes. Editorial contributions, photos and letters to the editor are welcome and should be addressed to the Editor. All material should be typed, double-spaced on disk or email and will be handled with reasonable care. For materials return, please enclose a stamped, selfaddressed envelope. SportStars™© and STARS!™© Clinics are registered trademarks of Caliente! Communications, LLC.

Read Me. Recycle Me.

anthony johnston ROCKLIN - FOOTBALL - SENIOR With senior starting quarterback Kenny Leuth sidelined by injury, fellow senior running back Johnston picked up the slack by posting his second 100-yard game of the season. Johnston carried 12 times for 100 yards and a touchdown during Friday’s 26-6 win over visiting Granite Bay. The win improved Rocklin to 6-0 on the season. The Thunder currently rank 6th overall in the Oct. 4 NorCal Top 20 rankings release. Through five games, Johnston leads the team in rushing yards (445) and is also averaging more than 8 yards per carry.

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8.25.16 Carondelet-Concord sophomore Yealimi Noh watches her fairway shot at Boundary Oak Golf Course in Walnut Creek. The 2016 season would be Noh’s last year at Carondelet before she transitioned to an independent study program that would better accommodate her golf schedule. It paid off. Noh just recently finished her first full year on the LPGA Tour and is currently ranked 31st in the Women’s World Golf Rankings. Photo by Phillip Walton

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After Being Wiped Out In 2020, NCVA Boys Power League Returns This Month

t may not look exactly the same — there are more masks

on the court and less fans in the stands — but the Northern California Volleyball Association has finally been able to

revive its boys Power League. Qualifying tournaments for the 13/14s and 17/18s Divisions

took place at @TheGrounds in Roseville on Sept. 11-12. Qualifiers for 12s and 15/16s happened at the same place over the weekend of Sept. 18-19. In the first set of qualifiers, the top performing clubs were no surprise. Mountain View Volleyball Club’s 18-Red finished a perfect 7-0 in fourteen straight sets. Bay To Bay Club out of San Jose saw both its 18-1 and 17-1 teams finish 7-0 as well. The Bay To Bay 17-Premier team didn’t go unbeaten, but it

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was the only squad to take a set from Pacific Rim

The second wave will take place Oct. 23-24 and

Volleyball Academy’s 18U team.

the third wave happens Nov. 13-14. The sites for all

PRVA went 7-0 but needed three sets to vanquish the Bay To Bay team after Bay To Bay took the open-

three weekends remain TBA. The teams will return to @TheGrounds in Roseville

ing set of their match 27-25. Pacific Rim rallied to

for Regional Championships weekend on Dec. 18-

win the next two 25-14 and 15-11.

19. Girls Power League begins that same weekend

A pair of MVVC teams went undefeated through

with the 17/18s qualifiers. The other divisions won’t

13/14s qualifying. MVVC 14-Red and 14-Black both

have their qualifiers until the new year, beginning

finished their weekends without dropping a set.

late January and early Februrary.

Lakas Club out of Union City finished 6-1

Visitors wishing to attend any Power League

with its only loss coming against MVVC

events must be cleared ahead of time by register-

14-Red.

ing for a wrist band from the Power League page at

Power League play began on Oct. 2-3.

NCVA.com. ✪

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Miramonte senior co-captain Carly Hoskins 10

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Miramonte Girls Water Polo Embraced The Challenge Of Getting A New Coach A Week Before The Season — And Have Quickly Piled Up The Wins Story by Mike Wood | Photos by Chace Bryson

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xceptional describes the season thus far for Miramonte girls water polo. Most impressive for one of the region’s best programs, despite less than ideal circumstances. Through early October the Matadors are undefeated at 12-0, ranked second in the state by MaxPreps.com and chock full of talented players fully capable of playing at the next level. It’s quite a feat for a team whose new coach didn’t come aboard until a week before the first practice. And that new coach had to scramble to compile a full schedule. Fortunately for the Matadors, that new coach is John Roemer, who has a broad resume and connections throughout the water polo world. Thus he was able to rapidly put together a top-tier schedule. A seamless transition? Not exactly. “It took me two weeks to learn everybody’s name,” Roemer said. His new players initially thought of him as that club coach who is Jewel Roemer’s dad. “They all do,” he chuckled. For good reason. Now starring at Stanford and a member of the senior national team, Jewel had a phenomenal run at Acalanes-Lafayette before graduating in 2020. It’s been a whirlwind for the Matadors girls, as with any team in a high school sports world trying to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet they have been excelling in spite of obstacles. First there was the shortened spring season with no chance for playoffs, after which coach Lance Morrison resigned. They switched gears to a full fall season with a new coach. Impressively, they haven’t lost a match in the 2021 calendar year. “It was especially hard for last year’s captains because that was at the height of it,” said Carly Hoskins, one of three senior co-captains this season. “But it puts a lot of responsibility on us to revive all the traditions and keep the spirit alive and keep the good vibe of Mats polo.” It’s a merger of elements of great water polo traditions. As a collegiate player, Roemer learned from one of water polo’s greatest minds, legendary Cal coach Pete Cutino, one of many mentors. “Pete Cutino, Steve Heaston, Bill Brown … the best,” Roemer said. Roemer had a nice run at Diablo Valley College, coaching the women for three years and the men for eight, with the men winning the conference undefeated each year. After relocating back to the Bay Area from Santa Barbara, Roemer has been with the 680 Drivers Water Polo Association club program for five years, coaching the 18-under females, often against many of his current charges at Miramonte. It’s his first high school coaching job since a successful one-year stint at College Park in the mid 2000s. Miramonte is steeped in tradition, establishing itself from the onset of girls water polo as an official high school sport, thanks to the efforts of legendary Mats water polo coach — Bill Brown — to get the program going. The Matadors won the first two North Coast Section girls titles in 1995-96, with superstar-inthe-making Heather Petri, who went to play at Cal and then became a four-time Olympian. The Matadors have won five NCS titles to date, most recently the Division I championship in 2017. In some ways this was an unlikely pairing, not just that it was a recent Acalanes sports dad coming over to rival Miramonte. “I wasn’t sure they were going to hire me because I am the 680 club coach,” Roemer said. “These girls are either Lamorinda (Water Polo) or Diablo (Alliance).

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"(Coach John Roemer) couldn't talk to us a day before the season started. So it was definitely a little bit abrupt. But he's such a great coach it wasn't a hard transition at all."

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— Senior Shannon Murphy Follow us on Twitter & Instagram, like us on Facebook!

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Megan McAninch winds up to take a shot during a practice intrasquad scrimmage.

Ninety percent of them are Lamorinda.” Despite coming from different spheres, things are going well. Roemer put together a demanding schedule on the fly and the Matadors have been more than up to the task. That has included a 10-7 overtime victory over 16-time Sac-Joaquin Section champion Davis on Oct. 2 and a hard-fought 7-6 win over Central Coast Section power Soquel on Sept. 18. They have won the Amanda McDonald Tournament at Menlo School-Atherton and the Acalanes Invitational. Coming up is the NorCal Invitational in late October, featuring the region’s top 16 teams. Also there’s a Diablo Athletic League match on Oct. 6 against Acalanes, the same school that beat Miramonte in the most recent NCS Open Division final in 2019. “At least we got a semi-season last year, but this year is truly a delight,” senior Shannon Murphy said. “We’re just excited to see what the future holds and what we can accomplish this season.” Through Roemer’s vast experience, his connection with college coaches and familiarity with the recruiting process are invaluable. Due to COVID-19, the recruiting waters are even more choppy. With the NCAA allowing an additional year of eligibility to current collegiate players due to the pandemic, it’s created a scenario where there are few if any scholarships open to high school seniors. It’s made the talented crew of seniors at Miramonte anxious. 14

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“The colleges are not recruiting anybody,” Roemer explained. “Fifth-year people coming back who had eligibility. So it’s like, ‘I have all these people, I don’t need to recruit anybody.’ Crazy. … This is a really bad situation for these girls heading out of high school.” The Matadors girls kept in contact throughout the various stoppages of workouts during the pandemic and in the wait for a new coach to be hired, as changes in the school administration led to the process being longer. “During COVID we were still doing Zooms and workouts,” senior goalkeeper Lindsay Lucas said. “For Miramonte, since we could not have summer “green team” as we call it, since we didn’t have a coach, we had a pool party and stuff like that just to keep each other together and stay in contact. And we did all of our training to stay in shape.” Roemer was getting ready for a flight to Southern California to coach 680 in the Junior Olympics when he got the call from Miramonte for an interview. “I said no, I am flying to JOs, I am about to get on an airplane at 1 p.m.” he said. “‘Can you come in at 10?’ I said sure.” Without a coach, schedules had not been fully filled out in advance as in usual times. “I get here and ‘here’s the schedule’ …. Six games. Just league,” Roemer said. “We are allowed 24 contacts, right now we have 20. I was able to scrounge up 14 via basically tournaments.”

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Anna Painter

Though happening at warp speed, everything fell into place quickly. “He couldn’t talk to us a day before the season started,” senior Shannon Murphy said. “So it was definitely a little bit abrupt. But he’s such a great coach it wasn’t a hard transition at all.” There was a pivotal meeting that day before the first practice with Roemer and captains Lucas, Murphy and Hoskins. First Roemer described his philosophy and approach to coaching. “And then we were giving him our side of the story which is “here’s our traditions, here’s our culture, this is what we need to keep in place,” Hoskins said. “This is what we are open to, but these things have to stay. Which he did a good job of accepting and he was really open about.” That culture’s foundation is an extraordinary support system from team parents. “There’s so much support from parents, it’s incredible,” Roemer exclaimed. “Every practice parents show up with a table full of food. That’s the support they get. We have all the equipment we need. That’s what it’s about and I love it. It gives me time just to coach.” Follow us on Twitter & Instagram, like us on Facebook!

Experience and depth have been valuable for the Matadors. Roemer has utilized the Golden State Warriors’ motto, strength in numbers. The Mats can constantly sub groups in and not lose a beat from their deep roster of 20 players. “Every single person on our team is extremely talented,” Hoskins said. “We have a very deep bench. Every group is just as good as the last and that definitely adds to it but we have been playing together, mostly everyone, since we were 12-13 years old.” Contributions come throughout the roster. Roemer cites Dania Innis and Megan McAninch offensively and defenders Ally Smith and Allie Lurie as examples of excelling in the new approach. Roemer is a proponent of leg-driven water polo, and is trying to invoke a different mindset with constant group substitutions. “We want them to play as hard as they can for 2-3 minutes and not at 80 percent for long periods of time,” he said. “Water polo is not a swim meet. It’s a series of explosive movements.” The Matadors are showing how to be explosive, even under challenging circumstances. ✪ Support Your Advertisers — Say You Found Them in SportStars!

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“You hope that you can limit her success — which you never can, because she is going to get her points regardless.” — Oakmont-Roseville coach Matt Taylor

here is no game plan that keeps the volleyball from striking the palm of California’s leader in kills, Lincoln High senior Morgan Colyer. One way or another, Colyer is going to hurt you. The daughter of two NCAA All-American athletes will soon craft her own legacy at Oregon, but before that, she will continue spike-blasting the finish off hardwood inside prep gymnasiums. “You hope that you can limit her success — which you never can, because she is going to get her points regardless,” Oakmont-Roseville coach Matt Taylor reflected after a 3-0 Foothill Valley League defeat at Lincoln last week. “The last couple of days we have been going outside heavy just to kind of anticipate what she can do, but we don’t have anybody at practice that is doing what she is doing on the court. “I anticipated her being a front-row stud, but now she is killing us out of the back row too … It’s just a tough player to game plan for.” With less than a month remaining in CIF regular season volleyball, Colyer leads all California hitters with 399 kills, among stats reported to MaxPreps.com. She’s done it in just 55 sets played.

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“I feel honored to set to someone like Morgan,” Lincoln setter Jordyn Deter said. “If I know we are in a bad spot, I can set to her and it’s most likely going to be a kill.” Colyer’s finishes have led Lincoln to a 20-2 stanza in 2021 and a 7-0 start to the FVL schedule. It’s why the Fighting Zebras closed out September at No. 7 in the SportStars NorCal Volleyball Rankings, highest among all SJS teams.

CHIP OFF THE OL’ TWO-HANDED BLOCK

Colyer was destined for collegiate athletics at birth. Her parents didn’t just play college sports, they dominated. Mom Nicole Colyer is better known in NCAA lore as Nique Crump, a two-time All-American (1996, 1997) and four-time All-Big West Conference honoree for Long Beach State. She led the nation in hitting percentage (.428) as a senior and is listed 25 times in the ‘49ers record book. Nicole was a NCAA Regional Semifinalist with Long Beach in 1996 and third in the NCAA Final Four a year later. For three years, she was Follow us on Twitter & Instagram, like us on Facebook!

set by Misty May-Treanor, a three-time Olympic gold medalist considered to be one of the most successful female beach volleyball players of all time. Morgan’s father, Jeff Colyer, earned his prestige in the Long Beach pool. Jeff was a two-time NCAA All-American (1997, 1998) on the ‘49ers water polo team. He still holds the school record for goals scored in a single game (eight) and is sixth all-time in career goals (174). Mom’s path won out. “I played soccer when I was 4 until sixth grade, then I moved to volleyball because it’s what my mom played,” Morgan said. “I was just drawn to it.” Morgan landed at SynergyForce Volleyball in Roseville, a 38-team volleyball club with 18 collegiate commitments from the last two classes alone. Between SynergyForce and Lincoln, she’s enjoyed consistent tutelage throughout her career. “I think all of my coaches have been incredible,” Morgan said. “All of them have different things they bring to the table and collectively they have been amazing. “I think it’s about trust and confidence in each other.”

DUCK TO THE FUTURE

Morgan announced her verbal commitment to Oregon the same day that collegiate recruiting rules allowed Oregon coaches to speak with her. Follow us on Twitter & Instagram, like us on Facebook!

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Mallory Keuhl, left, and McKenzie Keller.

She could find immediate success if she sees early deployment. Oregon is 12-2 this fall, and was ranked No. 11 in the country in the latest NCAA American Volleyball Coaches Association coaches poll (Sept. 26). It took one visit — attendance at an Oregon volleyball camp Morgan’s sophomore year — to end the college search. “I absolutely fell in love with the facilities, location, coaches and all the girls there,” Morgan said. “The program is growing so much and I am so excited to go up there.” The Ducks are surging under fifth-year head coach Matt Ulmer, with no signs of slowing. Nine of Oregon’s most utilized players are non-seniors and seven of them are underclassmen, including rotating setters Elise Ferreira (sophomore from Liberty-Bakersfield) and Kylie Robinson (sophomore from Claremont-Upland). Oregon embraces its youth. True freshman Becca Morse (a prep state champion from Tempe, Ariz.) is tied for the team lead in sets played (51). “The coaches are incredible and Oregon has such a huge family atmosphere,” Morgan said. “It is everything that I wanted in a school’s academics and athletics.” The proximity to home, with enough room for independence, was a big draw as well. The Pac-12 schedule includes UCLA, USC, Stanford and Cal.

THE LAST DANCE

Before she heads to Eugene, Morgan will look to punctuate a sterling prep career by filling the empty spaces of Lincoln’s trophy case. The Fighting Zebras have never won a Sac-Joaquin Section title, but they enjoyed their first championship appearance in 2019. Morgan smashed 479 kills during the 2810 season that included a SJS Div. II runner-up to Tracy and three wins in the CIF state championship playoffs. The run ended in regional semifinals, via a 3-set defeat against CIF Div. II runner-up Los Gatos. All signs point to a historic campaign. Lincoln entered the first week of October having won 12 straight matches, and 28 consecutive sets. The Zebras beat the next-best team in the SJS, Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills (20-3), in two sets to win their host Lincoln Classic Tournament Oct. 2. Lincoln also owns sweeps against NorCal Top-20 teams Christian Brothers-Sacramento (No. 17) and Whitney-Rocklin (No. 19). Morgan is currently enjoying a .566 hitting percentage with a remarkable 7.3 killsper-set average. She also flexes her versatility with 61 aces, 37 blocks and 192 digs. And she’s not Lincoln’s only standout. Deter, McKenzie Keller, Adrienne Vite (42 blocks) and Kendal Widell have delivered another 309 kills. Deter is also 12th in California with 74 aces and is fourth among all Golden State setters with 647 assists. It’s Deter who pointed to bigger aspirations than a SJS banner. “State is definitely our goal, and has been our goal since my freshman year,” Deter said. “It’s obtainable this year, and if we keep working in practice we can probably get there.” Deter’s father, Jeff Deter, is also Lincoln’s head coach. He said Lincoln’s team play is probably the program’s greatest strength. A prolific outside hitter certainly helps too. “Morgan is a great kid that works hard at her craft, attentive to details and always asking questions,” Jeff said. “(She) burns to improve. Exactly the type of kid coaches want to work with.” Exactly the type of kid you don’t want to work against. ✪ Follow us on Twitter & Instagram, like us on Facebook!

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ood natured competition is the name of the game in the Rivers household. If the last few years are any indication, that atmosphere has proven the perfect incubator when it comes to turning out elite-level ath-

letes. Fans of East Contra Costa high school athletics certainly know the name by now, so it comes as no surprise that as the Heritage-Brentwood football team works to develop a burgeoning group of young talent, Devon Rivers is playing a starring role. Now in his junior season, the Patriots’ lead running back has already amassed 656 yards and six touchdowns rushing in just five games. The strong start comes on the heels of a sophomore season in which he piled up 911 yards and 12 touchdowns in just six games. That success isn’t totally unexpected when you consider the role models Devon has to draw from. Former Detroit Lions running back Ron Rivers spent seven seasons in the NFL, is a

member of the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame, and he now plays the role of both coach and dad as an assistant on the Heritage coaching staff. Older brother Ronnie starred at Freedom-Oakley before moving on to Fresno State, Ron’s alma mater, where he recently passed his own dad to move into fifth on the school’s all-time all-purpose yardage list. And, the Rivers’ success hasn’t been limited to the gridiron, because in a family full of running backs, sister Malia might also have something to say when it comes to who you want anchoring the family 400-meter relay team. A softball star at Fresno State who earned all-Mountain West honors three times, Malia once swiped 41 bases in a season during her own standout career at Heritage. “She says all the time that she was the best athlete in the house,” Ron Rivers said through a grin. “She was super fast. They all still try to race each other. It’s a good atmosphere.” So who should you take if you’re handicapping a sprint showdown between siblings?

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"As for who would win the family race, there's absolutely no doubt that it would be me. And everyone in the family knows that." — Ronnie Rivers, above “As for who would win the family race, there’s absolutely no doubt that it would be me,” Ronnie Rivers said. “And everyone in the family knows that.” Family races aside, what has become clear early in his high school football career is that Devon has designs on carving out his own identity. While that has already translated to gaudy numbers, it has also led to growth in other areas of the game. The 2021 Patriots are working to replace eight offensive linemen from their 2020 team, and with sophomore Jacob Wasso taking the helm at quarterback, building from the ground up has been a particular focus for Rivers and his teammates. “He’s probably one of the hardest working players we’ve ever had in the history of this school,” Heritage football coach Dave Fogelstrom said. “He gets it done in the weight room, he gets it done in practice and he motivates everyone around him to be better. “If you’re an o-lineman, you want to block for a kid like that. He’s always positive with his o-linemen and he tries to encourage his quarterback, who right now is young. Really we lean on (Devon) a lot as a leader.” Ron Rivers can see the differences in the way his sons approach the game. Devon is more the vocal type, so the ability to stay positive when things might not be going perfectly offers a chance for growth. Luckily, no one can confuse Ron Rivers for just another former athlete looking to wax poetic on how the game should be played. While his playing career was impressive enough, he has carved out an equally accomplished second act as a high school coach, both on the gridiron and the diamond. Under Rivers’ watch, Heritage softball has become one of California’s most consistent powerhouse Follow us on Twitter & Instagram, like us on Facebook!

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programs. Even on nights when he’s roaming the sidelines with Devon, members of the softball team pause from enjoying the game to stop and say hi to their coach. Of course, just being a good coach doesn’t detract from the good-natured ribbing that a father can have with his son. Ron isn’t shy about reminding Devon that yes, he knows what it’s like to play running back and no, he didn’t wear a one-bar face mask when he played. “It’s easier to push Devon’s buttons because Devon is a perfectionist,” Ron Rivers said. “I keep having to remind him that I didn’t just show up today. I actually played your spot. It’s been fun. It’s been challenging at times because he’s such a competitor. It’s just me trying to get him to navigate the stuff he sees in the right direction.” The fundamentals of playing running back are definitely fodder for discussion in the Rivers household. Primary among those lessons is the need to protect the quarterback, because while Devon Rivers is listed at 5-foot-6, both Ron and Ronnie know firsthand that blocking in the backfield has less to do with stature and more to do with leverage and technique. Those lessons have certainly worked for Ronnie. Now established as one of the top running backs in all of college football for a Fresno State team that owns a nationally significant win over UCLA, he earned a spot on several of the game’s most prestigious watch lists including the Maxwell Award, Doak Walker Award and Paul Hornung Award. While he finishes up a heralded college career and prepares for his own pro career, Ronnie also takes great pride in watching, and in some instances contributing to, his younger brother’s development on the field. “It’s been great being able to follow Devon’s career. Growing up we were always jumping from my practice to his practice or my games to his games.

So seeing him develop as a player and a person has made me a very proud big brother,” Ronnie Rivers said. “As for advice, I would just tell him to keep working hard and to just keep listening to Dad, because he’s been in our shoes and has played at the highest level and he’s able to give you information that will help you succeed now and in college.” The tutelage from both brother and dad doesn’t fall on deaf ears. Instead, Devon is eager to soak it all in. “It’s really helpful when you have a dad and a coach who has been there and who has gone to the highest level. Because he sees things maybe I won’t see,” Devon Rivers said. “We watch film and see the holes that I maybe don’t see. He shows me and we correct it. It’s the same thing with (Ronnie). I watch film with him too and he’s now doing the same stuff my dad does.” Where the Patriots end up in 2021 depends on their continued maturation as a group. Devon Rivers will play a big role, but the development of the entire team will ultimately dictate how far Heritage can go. In a week four win over James Logan-Union City, Rivers rushed for 184 yards and three touchdowns but Wasso and junior receiver Jeremiah Ruffin also took another big step forward. The duo connected for three touchdown passes en route to a 41-15 victory over the Colts. A win over De Anza-Richmond the following week moved the Patriots to 3-2 at the conclusion of their nonleague campaign, and next comes the ultimate test, a Bay Valley Athletic League opener against defending champion Pittsburg. “I feel like it really did take our team all the weeks we needed in the offseason to develop because of how young we are,” Devon Rivers said. “We’re still getting better, we’re still learning new things and we’re just going to go up from here.” ✪

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