New football coach Bryan Rojas plans to instill commitment and stability at Farmersville
"Either you're all in ... or you're all out."
That's Bryan Rojas' new mantra for the Farmersville High School football team.
The first-year head coach has big plans for the Aztecs this season.
First, it starts with commitment and discipline.
An Army veteran who served 20 years in the military, Rojas' goal is to establish stability while using football as an avenue to mold teenagers into men.
"I understand our community," said Rojas, who is also a social studies teacher on the Aztecs' campus. "I understand our kids. These kids are good kids. They have, sometimes, challenges that are not under their control. It's what they're given, but they're just like any other kid, and for me, I want to teach them about commitment. Understanding what we do together impacts us."
Farmersville has had three different head coaches in four seasons.
That's something Rojas wants to change.
"If you look at it, in the past five or six years, there's been a lot of coaching turnover," Rojas said. "A lot of different offenses and defenses. We need to build continuity. We need to establish that."
Preparing his players for the real world, life after high school is also at the top of Rojas' to-do list.
Tulare County 2023 football preview: Ranking Tulare County's top five active winningest football coaches
One of his core philosophies is borrowed from legendary American rugby coach Larry Gelwix, known for leading the Highland Rugby team in Utah.
Gelwix inspired the 2008 film "Forever Strong," starring Sean Faris and Penn Badgley. Rojas lives by one of Gelwix's most famous quotes, "It’s not about rugby. It’s about young men. It’s not about building a championship team. It’s about building championship boys. Boys who will be forever strong.”
"That's what I want to do," Rojas said. "I want to help these young men prepare for life, and I think football gives that to them."
Rojas has been a teacher at Farmersville for five years. When he was first hired as the Aztecs' new head coach, one of his primary goals was to assemble a committed coaching staff beyond one season.
Roaming the sidelines with Rojas this season are assistants Branden Feder (offensive coordinator), Sergio Valencia (running backs), Josh Garcia (offensive line), Victor Castrejon (receivers), Joey Haas (defensive line), Joshua Garcia (linebackers), and Andrew Williamson (defensive backs).
Feder recently served as an assistant coach at Golden West and El Diamante. He was the offensive line coach for the Trailblazers in 2022 and will step in to call the offensive plays for the Aztecs.
"The coaches that I brought, that was the one thing that I was really upfront when I talked with them, 'It's really important being here long-term for the kids,'" Rojas said. "Me being a teacher, I'm all in."
Rojas and his staff have installed a split-veer offense in his first season with the Aztecs. That run-oriented, triple-option attack should help complement the team's small roster of 20 players.
"Knowing the number of kids you got and their athletic experience, you don't have as many, so trying to do certain things that the higher levels are doing isn't realistic because we don't have a lot of experienced, athletic kids," Rojas said. "A lot of kids are green. They come in new, first year, second year, never touched a football in their lives. The best way I can describe the split veer is not only does it chew up the clock, it allows us to control the tempo. It allows us to be able to move the ball."
2023 football previews: Who are the top Tulare County football pass catchers to watch in 2023?
Farmersville will line up in a 3-3-stack base defense.
Rojas has brought some defensive strategies with him to the Aztecs that he picked up during his time with Porterville and Panthers' head coach Keith Thompson last season.
Rojas coached the defensive backs during Porterville's nine-win campaign in 2022.
This year, leading the Aztecs on the field are quarterback/free safety Ziler Almanza, running back/outside linebacker Judah Andrade, receiver/cornerback Gary Gonzalez, and tight end/linebacker Jonathan Perez.
Almanza is the team's returning starting quarterback. He passed for 722 yards and eight touchdowns in 2022 while leading the Aztecs to the Central Section Division VI playoffs.
Perez is the only returning Farmersville player who earned All-East Sequoia League first-team honors in 2022. As a sophomore defensive end last season, he racked up 46 tackles, a team-high five sacks, and an interception. He has made the switch to middle linebacker for the 2023 campaign.
"There's a lot of good things we got going on," Rojas said. "There's a lot of potential in what we have."
Farmersville Aztecs
Head coach: Bryan Rojas, first season
Coaching staff: Branden Feder (offensive coordinator), Sergio Valencia (running backs), Josh Garcia (offensive line), Victor Castrejon (receivers), Joey Haas (defensive line), Joshua Garcia (linebackers), Andrew Williamson (defensive backs)
Roster size: 20
Base offense/defensive schemes: Split veer/3-3 stack
2022 win-loss record: 5-5 (lost to Avenal in the Central Section Division VI first round)
Impact players: QB/FS Ziler Almanza, RB/OLB Judah Andrade, WR/CB Gary Gonzalez, TE/LB Jonathan Perez, WR/FS Heleno Saucedo, OL Humberto Medrano, OL/DL Jayden Olea
Projected starting lineup
Offense
QB: Ziler Almanza
RB: Judah Andrade
RB: Michael Moreno
WR: Gary Gonzalez
WR: Heleno Saucedo
WR: Jayden Valencia
LT: Robert Briseno
LG: Jayden Olea
C: Jacob Valencia
RG: David Talamantez
RT: Humberto Medrano
Defense
DT: Jayden Olea
NG: Emmanuel Lopez
DE: Alex Esquivel
SLB: Judah Andrade
MLB: Jonathan Perez
WLB: Andrew Rivera
DB: Michael Moreno
DB: Jayden Valencia
DB: Heleno Saucedo
DB: Gary Gonzalez
DB: Matty Isias
Schedule
Aug. 18: Parlier, 7 p.m.
Sept. 1: at Tranquility, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 8: Avenal, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 15: Orosi, 7:15 p.m.
Sept. 22: at Strathmore, 7:15 p.m.
Sept. 29: Granite Hills, 7:15 p.m.
Oct. 6: at Lindsay, 7:15 p.m.
Oct. 13: at Woodlake, 7:15 p.m.
Oct. 20: at Orange Cove, 7:15 p.m.
Oct. 27: Corcoran, 7:15 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Bryan Rojas plans to instill commitment and stability at Farmersville
