A changing of the guard at Colusa

Things are changing at Colusa High — and not just its mascot, which is still three years away from an official replacement.

The Redskins' football team will have several new looks in 2008, including new uniforms, a new offense, a new league and a fresh set of bleachers at its stadium.

"There's a lot of new stuff this year, so we're doing a lot of learning right now," said Colusa coach Bob Miller, who starts his second year at the helm of the program after going 3-7 last season.

The biggest change will be in the schedule, where smaller enrollment numbers forced the Redskins to make the switch from the Sacramento Valley League North to the Mid-Valley League.

Even though Colusa has moved down a notch, the competition doesn't get any easier.

"We're walking into the hornet's nest," Miller said, noting that East Nicolaus, Hamilton, Biggs and Williams are all tough teams. "It's not like we're a Div. I college team moving down to Div. III. We're playing some pretty good teams."

Miller figures that East Nicolaus and Hamilton will battle for the league title, but Williams could surprise some teams.

"Williams is no slouch. They played some good football last year," he said.

Colusa will also showcase a new offense this season by making the switch to the shotgun-fly, where they will lineup in the shotgun on almost every play.

Either junior Nick Allergini or senior Jaime Garcia will get the nod at quarterback for Colusa. Garcia, who will also see time at middle linebacker, is the better runner of the two, while Allergini is the more efficient passer.

Carlos Gutierrez, who led the team in rushing as a sophomore last season, will rumble with Jeremy Hernandez and Darren Smith in the backfield.

"We have a lot more depth in the backfield than we do on the line," Miller said. "They're not great big backs so they'll rely more on speed and quickness."

Nick Hecker is the team's lone big back and will see time at strong safety, while junior Hayden Meyers will start at tight end and middle linebacker.

"He's the one player that probably won't leave the field," Miller said of Meyers. "He's a hard-working, weight room kid who likes to get after it."

Benji Gill and Morgan Bressler, both juniors, will anchor the offensive and defensive lines and senior Bernardo Pedraza will replace the hard-hitting Matt Vedo at free safety.

"He's very similar to Matt," Miller said of Pedraza, noting that both love to come up and smack ball carriers.

The Redskins had a pleasant surprise with an increase in numbers this season, with 60 players coming out for the varsity and junior varsity squads combined.

However the influx of players has caused some headaches for the coach.

"It's nice, but it's killing me equipment-wise," Miller said, as several players sat out contact drills due to a lack of helmets and other equipment.

While they return just five seniors from last year's squad, the Redskins should be able to restock nicely thanks to a strong junior class, which went 6-4 last year at the junior varsity level.

"We're trying to develop as many kids as we can so they won't have to go both ways," Miller said, adding that attrition at the end of last year left him with just 18 players. "Hopefully we'll get 18 or 19 starters to keep people fresh.

"We've got to get things solidified," Miller added. "Who ever gets the job done on the field, gets to start."