Rebuilding the Titans: Cedric Walker takes over Chavez football program

When Cedric Walker set out to find a head football coaching position, he wanted to take on a program in need.

His search landed him in South Stockton, over a thousand miles from Portland, Oregon, where he’s lived for the past 15 years. He will be at the helm of the Chavez Titans — a team filled with untapped potential.

“I just saw that the athletes at Chavez weren't getting what I felt was the right leadership, to be more successful,” he said. “Those kids are just like me when I was coming up and I don't want to see those kids fall through the cracks due to lack of direction or leadership.”

Filling in the cracks

The Titans ended the 2022-23 season with an overall record of 2-8 and in sixth place in the San Joaquin Athletic Association. Their only wins came against McNair and Franklin, who won zero games last season. Chavez’s losses weren’t close ones except for its 19-8 loss to Tokay on Aug. 19, 2022.

These kinds of results aren’t out of the ordinary for Chavez who has been a bottom-of-the-barrel team in the SJAA for the past decade.

Walker is looking to turn things around in his first season at the helm of the program.

To start, he brought on an almost brand new coaching staff as the Titans' only returned coach Michael Chicago. This was just one of many steps Walker took as Chavez is in a transitioning period heading into the 2023-24 season.

“I would call it a growing period,” Walker said. “Anytime you have change there is a learning curve that you got to go through. As the new head coach and our new coaches who weren’t familiar with the kids, we all had to go through the growing and learning experience together.”

As well as personnel changes, Walker is looking to provide mentorship for his players on and off the field. Learning many life lessons through football in his own youth drives Walker to do the same for the Titans.

“I have to teach these young men what success looks like,” he said. “Success is getting your homework assignments turned in on time, showing up, and being accountable to your teammates and your coaches on the football field — that’s success. It’s not just one thing, it's a combination of everyday choices.”

The need to compete

Having a successful mindset is only part of the battle Walker and the Titans will have this season. Chavez competes in one of the most loaded leagues in the 209 with yearly matchups against powerhouse Edison.

Two players who will need to shine this year are senior Raymond Arnold and Amaro Braga-Sarcos. The senior duo will act as leaders for Chavez on and off the field, both with the overwhelming goal to hang with the big dogs in the SJAA.

“When I watched film from last season they just seemed like they weren't competitive because they just didn't feel they could compete against other Stockton schools,” Walker said. “Our goal is to compete. Wins or losses, no big deal as long as we are doing what we’re supposed to do.”

Arnold will be Chavez’s do-it-all athlete at the quarterback, wide receiver, and defensive back positions. Standing at 6-foot-4 inches and 175 pounds, his got the perfect build to cause problems for opponents this season. He will likely be one of the Titians' captains this year as an athlete who leads by example, according to Walker.

Defensively, Braga-Sarcos is the key returner at the middle linebacker position. Last season he racked up close to 35 total tackles and caused two fumbles. He averaged the second-most tackles per game on the team with 5.5 tackles per game. He will be the Titans' defensive weapon this season after they graduated last year’s lead tackler Jaiden Crawford.

Walker and the Titians will set out for a competitive season which is set to start with a rematch against Tokay on Aug. 18. The season will be a chance for Walker to turn things around, one practice at a time.

Record reporter Shannon Belt covers sports. She can be reached at sbelt@recordnet.com or on Twitter @ShannonBelt3. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.

This article originally appeared on The Record: Rebuilding the Titans: Cedric Walker takes over Chavez football