2023 Mt. Whitney Football Preview: 'A lot of excitement' after playoff season
Under head coach Nathan Chamberlain, the Mt. Whitney High School football team has improved every season.
In his first year at the helm in 2019, the Pioneers went 0-10 but found some success after nearly a two-year break due to the COVID-19 pandemic during the 2021 campaign and won two games, including a stunning upset victory over rival Redwood in the annual Cowhide game.
Then last season, Mt. Whitney posted its best record since 2018 by rolling to four victories and earning a postseason berth in the Central Section Division III playoffs.
What can fans expect from the Pioneers in 2023?
"A lot of excitement," Chamberlain said. "We have a lot of good returning kids who worked really hard in the weight room this offseason — hard-working, flying to the ball, high intensity, high energy, a little chip on their shoulder."
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Brian Allen returns as Mt. Whitney's defensive coordinator for his second season. He has over 40 years of coaching experience with head coaching stints at Selma and Clovis West. He served as Golden West's interim head coach in 2021.
Offensively, the Pioneers will operate a base 10-personnel spread attack with five linemen, four receivers, one running back and a quarterback. Chamberlain is also the team's offensive coordinator and running backs coach.
Leading the receiving corps this season are Carter Myers, a three-year starter, and sophomore wideout Israel Briggs. Myers was an All-East Yosemite League honorable mention last season. Briggs is one of the top returning wideouts in the EYL after earning all-conference, first-team recognition during a breakout freshman campaign.
The 6-foot-4 Briggs is also an outstanding three-sport athlete who excels in basketball and track.
"We have a lot of good guys in our receiver group," Myers said. "There's a lot of talent, especially with Israel. I try to be the leader of the group and just try to coach everyone up, make sure they understand every play and how to execute well and how to get the best out of them."
Micah Rodriguez will take over at quarterback with the gradation of two-year starter Dominic Pineda.
Rodriguez actually started one game last season in an 18-13 loss to Golden West. In his varsity debut, he threw two touchdown passes.
"We feel pretty comfortable with him," Myers said. "We'll be successful this year."
Up front, three-year starter Jacob Barney leads an offensive line unit that also includes Adam Casas — the Pioneers' starting left tackle who is 6-foot-5.
Senior Michael Sanchez will likely share carries in the backfield with junior Kysen Sing. Sanchez received All-EYL second-team honors at running back in 2022.
Sanchez will also start at middle linebacker and is a three-year starter at that position. Nose guard Issac Seechan, a senior, and linebacker Mario Rodriguez are a couple of impact players to watch on defense.
What do the Pioneers have to do to be successful this season?
"We have to play to our best ability each time," Chamberlain said. "I think what these guys learned this summer is that you can't take it for granted. You can't go one week where you played really well, and they been able to, at least the leaders have been able to identify, the times where we practiced really well and warmed up really well and then we played well. They have been able to retrospect go back and, 'Hey, we played poorly. Why did we play poorly?' They've been able to identify, 'Hey these are the reasons why we played poorly.' I'm hoping this year by this summer program, being able to learn from those mistakes and then have good lead-up practices, then also the day of, to have their mind right, then pre-game, warm-ups, to have their mind right to be able to reach all of their goals that they are wanting to [achieve on] Friday night."
Mt. Whitney hosts Tulare Union for its season opener on Aug. 18 at Mineral King Bowl. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
How important is it to kick off the season with a victory?
"I think in football, it's always important because you only have 10 games," Chamberlain said. "It's not like basketball or soccer or these other sports where you have like 35 games. You only have 10 games guaranteed and it's really important to win."
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Mt. Whitney Pioneers
Head coach: Nathan Chamberlain, fifth season
Coaching staff: Brian Allen (defensive coordinator), George Diaz (linebackers), Luis Alvarez (receivers), Blake Kelley (offensive line), Wil Arnold (defensive backs), Dillon Kelley (defensive line), Ivan Rodriguez (quarterbacks)
Roster size: 45
Base offense/defense: Spread (10 personnel)/3-3 stack
2022 win record: 4-7 (lost to Tehachapi in the Central Section Division III first-round playoffs)
Impact players: WR Carter Myers, OL Jacob Barney, MLB/FB Michael Sanchez, OL Adam Casas, NG Issac Seechan, QB Micah Rodriguez, WR Israel Briggs, LB Mario Rodriguez
Projected starting lineup
Offense
QB: Micah Rodriguez
RB: Kysen Sing
WR: Carter Myers
WR: Tallen Xiong
WR: Matthew Townsend
WR: Israel Briggs
LT: Adam Casas
LG: Chris Oseguera
C: Robert Ordonez
RG: Thomas Avila
RT: Jacob Barney
Defense
DE: Bryce William
NG: Issac Seechan
DE: Jose Cantu
WLB: Mario Rodriguez
MLB: Mike Sanchez
SLB: Nick Daguman
SS: Elijah Mendez
S: Adrian Huerta
S: Israel Briggs
CB: Matthew Townsend
CB: Carter Myers
Schedule
Aug. 18: Tulare Union, 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 25: at Morro Bay, 7 p.m.
Sept. 1: Tulare Western, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 8: at Mission Oak, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 22: at Reedley, 7 p.m.
Sept. 29: Porterville, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 6: Golden West, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 13: at El Diamante, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 20: Monache, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 27: at Redwood (Cowhide), 6:30 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: 2023 Mt. Whitney Football Preview
