Barstow Sports Blog

Football season is almost upon us. We’ve been doing our own preparations for the season at the Desert Dispatch, and so have the Barstow and Silver Valley teams. Here are some news and notes from the teams.

Barstow

• The Aztecs will begin the second year of coach Jesse Ceniceros’ regime Aug. 31 against Highland in Palmdale. Barstow went 5-6 overall last year and finished the year with a 49-0 playoff loss to Palm Desert.
• Barstow plays the exact same schedule as last year, except the home and road dates are reversed. The Aztecs have five home games and five away games. They end the season with three out of their last four games on the road.
• Training camp officially opens up on Monday. It will be the coaches’ first opportunity to see their players in pads.
• The Aztecs have a smaller roster this year. Their roster is at about 30 players, according to Maxpreps.com. However, there are still a few players who need to be added. You’ll notice Jerrell Green isn’t on the list, but the junior running back was at the team’s weight-lifting session Thursday. Ceniceros will also fill out his roster with about 10 JV players on game nights.
• Green will be an important part of the Barstow’s success as its only returning running back in a predominantly run-oriented offense.
• Ceniceros warned his players about enjoying the new skate park at Dana Park after the team’s weight lifting session Thursday. With the season set to begin on August 31 and a small roster, the Aztecs can’t afford any injuries, Ceniceros said. He said he’d be making frequent trips past the skate park to make sure none of his players are skating.
• We’re not even into preseason yet, but Ceniceros wasted no time breaking out the inspirational speeches. He talked about making Barstow proud before sending his players off for the weekend. We were ready to put on some pads, and we aren’t even on the team.

Silver Valley

• Silver Valley begins its first year under the direction of coach Andy Campbell on Sept. 7 at home against Needles. Campbell served as an assistant coach with the Trojans last season when the team went 3-7 and missed the playoffs.
• It will be a season of firsts for reasons other than just Campbell’s debut. The Trojans have new jerseys and a new logo. Campbell plans to install an up-tempo spread offense this season.
• The Trojans play a similar schedule to last season but not exactly the same. Non-league games against Summit and Roosevelt have been replaced with games against St. Genevieve and Tahquitz. Silver Valley has six of its 10 games at home.
• John “Tex” Williams will not be joining the Trojans as an assistant coach as originally planned. Williams is focusing on his work with the Barstow Riffians instead. The Trojans will have about eight assistant coaches this season, though.

— Matthew Peters and David Heldreth

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