El Cerrito-Encinal Football Preview: Gauchos Look to Rebound Against East Bay Powerhouse

Encinal High football  coach Joe Tenorio scheduled his team's season opener against El Cerrito because he wanted to begin the year by testing his players against a quality opponent.

But last week against Kennedy-Richmond, the Gauchos didn't look the part.

El Cerrito lost to the Eagles, a team that had to forfeit its final five games in 2009 because it lacked enough players. Tenorio was in the stands for El Cerrito's season-opener and was surprised by what he saw.

"I couldn't believe it," he said. "I thought there was no way El Cerrito would lose that game."

Neither could the Gauchos.

El Cerrito, which won seven games last season, will try to get back on track tonight at Encinal against Tenorio's Jets, a perennial North Coast Section power. Encinal has won the last three meetings between the schools and delivered a 45-18 drubbing at El Cerrito last fall. The teams were once Alameda Contra Costa Athletic League rivals and have continued to meet each year since the Jets left for the Bay Shore league in 2008.

"It's always been a good rivalry," El Cerrito coach Kenny Kahn said. "There was a time when they usually fell to us, but lately it's been us who has fallen to them. But it's a great preseason game that shows you the kind of team you could play in the playoffs."

While the Jets certainly have league and section championship ambitions, they'll begin their season in flux. Junior starting quarterback Andrew Ve'e will miss the opener with a left knee injury. Backup Demonyo Bills — a senior transfer from Berkeley who typically plays tight end — faced eligibility questions this week, and his status has been unclear. If Bills cannot play, then junior wide receiver Bo Banks will assume command of the Jets' offense.

"We have a package for Bo, but that's about it," Tenorio said, before adding that Banks is a running threat who runs "wildcat"-style plays.  "But we run the ball a lot anyways. We've developed a system that can be very reliant on the quarterback or not reliant on the quarterback at all. You don't want one injury to derail your whole season."

Meanwhile, El Cerrito is hoping its season won't get derailed by an 0-2 start. So this week Kahn returned practice attention to fundamentals to correct the mistakes made last week.

"We're trying to work on just carrying out your assignments," he said. "We also want to see leadership. What does it mean to be a leader? How strong is our senior leadership? Who's going to step up?"

Friday night at 7 p.m., he'll find out.

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