Giants set to host deceptively tough West Hills-Coalinga
By Nick Giannandrea
COS Athletics
College of the Sequoias football coach Joe D'Agostino isn't fooled by West Hills-Coalinga's winless record.
D'Agostino knows full well the Falcons (0-7, 0-2) have been battle tested heading into a Central Valley Conference game against his Giants (4-3, 1-1) set for 7 p.m. Nov. 2 at Giant Chevrolet and Cadillac Mineral King Bowl.
West Hills-Coalinga has played one of the tougher schedules in Northern California, with losses to teams ranked No. 2 (Modesto), tied for No. 7 (Shasta and Sierra), No. 9 (Laney) and No. 10 (Chabot) in the regional National Division Top 10 by the California Community College Football Coaches Association.
"I've stressed to the team that anytime you play a team that doesn't have a victory, that's the most dangerous team you will face all season," D'Agostino said. "They have played a lot of really good teams. Their record might not reflect it, but they are a very talented team, and we have to be prepared. We are trying to focus on bringing the right energy and making sure we are ready to play."
COS, which is ranked No. 29 in the state by the JC Athletic Bureau, has plenty of reason to bring its "A" game. One more victory makes the Giants bowl eligible for the first time since 2013. COS last played in a bowl in 2010 and has played in only two bowls over the past 20 seasons.
COS will likely need wins in at least two of its last three games - if not all three - to reach the postseason. The Giants close the regular season with games at Fresno City (5-2, 2-0) on Nov. 9 and at home against Sacramento City (2-5, 1-1) on Nov. 16.
"The players are in charge of writing the narrative of this program," D'Agostino said. "It would be huge (if COS earned a bowl bid.) It would be a testament these kids and them buying into the philosophy we brought to the table 18 months ago.
"If we get to .500 or if we get to six or seven wins, it says a lot about the plan we put in place, the players we have, the staff we have and the support we've received from the administration."
COS is coming off a 31-21 victory over San Joaquin Delta (2-5, 0-2) on Oct. 26 that featured a breakthrough performance from an all-freshman offensive line. Left tackle T.J. Parker (Macon, Ga.), left guard Rigo Lopez (Tulare Western), center Miguel Madrigal (Porterville), right guard Carlos Keil (Apia, Samoa) and right tackle Nick Smith (Redwood) paved the way for returning all-conference running back Davonte Green (Hammond, La.) to rush for a season-best 171 yards on 18 carries.
"It was nice to get the ground game going," D'Agostino said. "I was very proud of those five freshmen blocking for Davonte. They are starting to jell. They are starting to play like sophomores."
Green was limited early in the season with a shoulder injury, but has been healthy since COS' bye week Oct. 12.
"It was good to see Davonte do his thing when he got to the second level," D'Agostino said of Green, who had three runs of 20 or more yards, including a 68-yard touchdown.
D'Agostino also is excited about a Giants' defense that has gotten stronger as the season has progressed, highlighted by an eight-sack performance against Delta. Noah Wright (Lemoore) and Corleone Peters (New Orleans) led the way with 2.5 and two sacks, respectively. Mitch Maggini (Riverdale), Marcos Moran (Panorama City), Jeremiah Russell (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Rook Landers (Knoxville, Tenn.) also got to the quarterback for COS.
"Our defense played outstanding last week," D'Agostino said. "If we can keep getting after the quarterback like that, I feel pretty good about our chances. There's no team in the country that wouldn't like having eight sacks in a game."
D'Agostino said he's pleased with the progress made by a team made up mostly of area players and augmented by out-of-state recruits at positions the Giants' staff couldn't fill locally.
COS has already won two more games that last season, when it was 2-8 in D'Agostino's debut as head coach.
"We're headed in the right direction," D'Agostino said. "The next step is sustaining it. Can we become consistently competitive. That has yet to be determined. It's nice to be 4-3, but can we get to five, six or seven wins? Can we do that consistently? These kids are trying to lay the foundation."
COS sophomore quarterback Gus Villareal (Dinuba), who passed for 150 yards and two touchdowns against Delta, received his first scholarship offer this week from Oklahoma Panhandle State, an NAIA university in Goodwell, Okla.
One of Villareal's scoring passes went to Bryson Allen (Tulare), his eighth of the season which ties for the state's seventh-best total of receiving touchdowns.
