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| Preview: League title on the line |
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| Written by Marc Aceves / Patterson Irrigator | |
| Wednesday, 05 November 2008 | |
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This is when the fun starts. Two more games remain in the regular season for the Patterson High football team. Two games against two opponents fighting to claim the Western Athletic Conference championship. What more can you ask for? It will likely be another week of little sleep for Patterson coach Rob Cozart as he prepares his team for its latest biggest game of the season, when WAC foe Central Catholic rolls into Patterson Community Stadium on Friday for an all-important showdown. “This game is ultimately for the WAC championship,” Cozart said. “That is the one thing that has eluded us for a while now. “The last conference championship for Patterson was in 1995.” As soon as the 2008 high school football schedule was released, Cozart pinpointed a two-game stretch that he figured would make or break the season. The first of those games is Friday’s clash with the Raiders. The second is the season finale at Hilmar. “This year’s Central Catholic team is like the others,” Cozart said. “They’re strong, fast, efficient and disciplined. “They aren’t ranked in Northern California for nothing.” The rival schools — located about 20 miles apart — have battled it out in numerous meaningful games. Most recently, Central handed the Tigers a 23-6 defeat at the University of the Pacific in last year’s section championship game. The Raiders also ended Patterson’s 7-0 start to the 2007 campaign with a 35-10 win in Modesto. Still, the Tigers remain optimistic that this could be their year. “We’re planning on working hard to get this win against Central,” Patterson running back-defensive end Imani Brown said. “This is going to be at our house. We haven’t lost at home, and I really don’t want to lose. “We’re going to do well and practice as hard as we can this week to make it happen.” First-year coach Roger Canepa has replaced Mike Glines at the controls for Central. Last season, Glines led the Raiders to the section title, but several of those champion players — including offensive and defensive stud Louis Bland — have moved on. Still, Canepa — a 10-year coach at Calaveras — has plenty of pieces to play with. Running backs-linebackers T.J. Belton and James Orth lead the way for the Raiders. Wide receiver-defensive back David Biscevic, running back-linebacker Kory Varni and quarterback Dylan Swartz round out Central’s top returning players. “Anytime you are dealing with Central and the magnitude of their program, it’s a major task at hand,” Cozart said. “But now it’s official. It’s Week 9, and we’re talking about a potential league championship at our place against an amazing opponent.” Cozart said that a win against Central on Friday would rank among the top of his achievements as a coach since he took over the Patterson football program in 2003. “We’re ready for them,” Cozart said. “We’re up to the challenge, and we’re ready to go.” Contact Marc Aceves at 892-6187 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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