Football preview: Ganesha in good company
David Fleming's thick Boston accent doesn't make Ganesha's concerns sound any less daunting. In 2010, however, the Ganesha head football coach will have some company that can relate when the Giants move out of the Valle Vista League -- home to defending CIF champion San Dimas, among others -- and into a seven-team Montview League with programs more comparable to Ganesha's.
After breaking a state-record, 49-game losing streak in Fleming's first season and entering his third at the helm, the former Diamond Ranch assistant has collected three total victories in two years. However, Duarte averaged three points a game during a winless 2009 season while Montview League foe La Puente Bassett's roster dwindled to seven players in the spring because of coaching issues. Two Montview League head coaches are in their first season with their respective teams while three are in their second.
"We'll match up much better with these teams than the ones we played last year," Fleming said. "Obviously the playoffs are our goal and we intend on playing for league titles."
The league title must be taken from Azusa, the two-time defending Montview champion expected to be a favorite again. It's hard to predict where Ganesha will end up in a league of more comparable teams, but its a safe bet it will generate more momentum for a program no longer playing a nonleague schedule "that was unwise," according to Fleming.
In place of last year's dive-option offense, the Giants will employ a "Swing-T" that includes Wing-T principles out of the shotgun. Taking the snaps will be Terry Francis, an all-league track and basketball star who broke his hand in the first quarter of the first game of the 2009 season.
"There won't be any secrets," Fleming said. "We don't have a bunch of quality receivers so he'll be running the ball out of the shotgun a lot."
Along with senior running back Julian Reyes, Ganesha could have a couple of breakaway threats in the backfield. There are only a couple of automatic playoff berths in the Montview League, but Ganesha is planning to threaten for one of those, too.
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About Clay
Clay Fowler has been covering high school sports for six years in California and Texas. He was born in Dallas, attended the University of Texas and worked in Central Texas before joining the Daily Bulletin staff in 2006.
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